"I am genuinely happy to begin this challenge and feel fully prepared for it — as a more mature and experienced coach than in 2006, but with the same motivation and desire." Slaven Bilic said it himself, and Croatia are banking on it being true.
The Croatian Football Federation confirmed on Monday that Bilic, 57, has been appointed head coach following Zlatko Dalic's departure last week. Dalic — the most successful coach in Croatian history — stepped down after nine years in charge when Croatia were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup by Portugal in the round of 32. That's not just an exit. It's the end of a generation.
A familiar hand on a changing wheel
Bilic knows this job. He previously managed Croatia's Under-21 side, then led the senior team for six years across 65 matches. He's not arriving blind. But the Croatia he's inheriting is a different beast from the one he left — the golden generation that peaked at the 2018 World Cup final is gone, and what comes next is genuinely unclear.
His recent CV doesn't exactly demand headlines. He left Al Fateh in 2024 after a single season and 36 matches in the Saudi Pro League. Before that, a five-month stint at Watford ended in the sack. His time managing West Ham, West Brom and Watford in England built real experience, but none of it recent, and none of it at the elite level Croatia are trying to re-enter.
As a player, Bilic won 44 caps for Croatia and was part of the side that finished third at the 1998 World Cup in France. That gives him credibility in the dressing room — the kind you can't manufacture. Whether it translates to results is the actual question.
What's immediately at stake
Bilic's first test is Euro 2028 qualification, with the 2030 World Cup as the longer horizon. Croatia's qualifying odds will be worth watching — a team in transition under a coach returning from relative obscurity isn't the same proposition it was under Dalic's settled setup. The Dalic era produced a World Cup final and consistent deep runs. That's a hard baseline to maintain, let alone surpass.
Croatia are a proud football country and they'll back Bilic publicly. But privately, this appointment feels like a bridge — a safe, recognisable name while the federation figures out who they actually are post-Dalic. "I have complete confidence in our players," Bilic said. He'll need more than confidence. He'll need a plan.
