July 8 : Croatia's most successful head coach, Zlatko Dalic, stepped down on Wednesday after nine years in charge, less than a week after his side's exit from the 2026 World Cup following a loss to Portugal in the round of 32.Under Dalic's tenure, Croatia finished runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and third in the 2022 edition in Qatar, but the team exited the tournament without a medal this time around."When I took over the national team, I believed in the players' quality and in myself, but I didn't dare dream that we'd achieve everything we have over these nearly nine years," Dalic said. "I can't describe how proud I am of every victory, of qualifying for major tournaments, of the three medals, of those great nights in Croatian football like when we beat England or Brazil at World Cups."