The match was the first World Cup final for Croatia in their fifth World Cup appearance. They are the 10th European country and 13th overall to reach a World Cup final, and the first new finalist since ایسپانیا میلّی فوتبال تیمی in 2010. With a population of 4.17 million, Croatia is the second smallest country to play in a World Cup final, behind Uruguay (victors in 1930 and 1950). Croatia's previous best performance was as World Cup debutants in 1998, when they finished in third place, losing 2–1 to hosts France in the semi-finals before beating the هولند میلّی فوتبال تیمی 2–1 in the third place play-off.