The UEFA European Championship is one of the major competitive international football tournaments, first played in 1960, whose finals stage has been held every four years.
The Croatia national football team has contested this tournament since 1996, having been part of Yugoslavia up until the qualifying stages for the 1992 edition. Croatia has qualified for every Euro competition except for the 2000 edition, played in Belgium and the Netherlands. The team's best performances have been reaching the quarter-finals twice â in 1996 and 2008, losing to Germany and Turkey, respectively.
Croatia won 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate and qualified for UEFA Euro 2004.
In the qualifiers, Croatia was drawn into Group E of Euro 2008's qualifications, along with Andorra, England, Estonia, Macedonia, Israel and Russia.
Over the course of qualifying, Croatia racked up nine wins, two draws, and one loss. Croatia's loss was a 2âÂÂ0 defeat at Skopje, Macedonia. Croatia and Romania became the final teams to record their first loss, both on the 17 November 2007 matchday, in a qualification cycle where every team suffered at least one defeat. Croatia gathered numerous headlines after knocking England out on the final matchday, with a 3âÂÂ2 victory at Wembley Stadium.
Croatian striker Eduardo was the second-highest goalscorer in qualifications with ten goals, trailing Northern Ireland's David Healy.
Croatia won 3âÂÂ0 on aggregate and qualified for UEFA Euro 2012.