If surprise 2018 runners-up Croatia take the World Cup by storm again in Qatar, in the thick of it this time will probably be Mateo Kovacic, one of the beating hearts of their midfield.

The 28-year-old is going into his third finals having finally established himself as a key member of coach Zlatko Dalic's team after proving his credentials as a top-level performer at Chelsea in the Premier League.

Success has not always been so easy for the Dinamo Zagreb teenage prodigy who joined Inter Milan aged 18 and moved to Real Madrid two years later where he failed to leave his mark.

Photo: AFP

Kovacic has had his ups and downs for Croatia too.

After featuring early in their unexpectedly long run in Russia four years ago, Kovacic was an unused substitute when Croatia knocked England out in the semi-finals and did not come on in the final either when they lost 4-2 to France.

At club level, Kovacic has four Champions League winners' medals, three of them from his time at Real. But he had not played a minute in a final of Europe's most prestigious club competition until he came on as a substitute for Chelsea in their 1-0 win over Manchester City in Porto in 2021.

Now he has a grip on his place in the national team, starting all of their qualifiers for Qatar apart from two when he was injured and one when he was suspended, and he was an ever-present in their strong Nations League campaign this year.

Kovacic looks likely to form part of a midfield trio including Inter's Marcelo Brozovic and the player he once idolised as a child, Luka Modric - almost a decade his senior but still a creative genius for Croatia and Real Madrid.

Croatia boast an adept midfield with Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, and Mateo Kovacic. The three posed for a selfie following their 3-1 win against Austria in September. Photo: AFP

Kovacic, who was born to Croatian parents in Austria, has talked about how he began to understand football better when he was about 10-years-old and started watching Modric play.

Modric has been quick to repay the compliments, telling Spanish newspaper Marca this year: "I think Mateo Kovacic could be my heir, at least he is the player with the most talent."

Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic dribbles past AC Milan's Charles De Ketelaere and Ismael Bennacer. Photo: AFP

Often overshadowed by the attacking talents of Modric, Kovacic seldom basks in the limelight. But his contribution in terms of ball recovery, setting up counter-attacks and his energy are likely to be central to Croatia's campaign.

Croatia at the World Cup

Following is a statbox on Croatia

FIFA Ranking: 12

Odds: 50-1

Previous tournaments: Croatia have appeared at five World Cups since breaking away from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, starting in 1998 in France and since then only missing out on South Africa 2010. They reached the 2018 final in Russia, beating England in the last four before losing 4-2 to France in Moscow. In 1998 they reached the semis and finished third after a 2-1 win over Netherlands in the playoff.

How they qualified:

Croatia lost their opening qualifying game away to Slovenia in March 2021 but went on to win seven and draw two, conceding a total of only four goals. They clinched top spot, and automatic qualification for Qatar, by beating Russia 1-0 in their final group game last November thanks to a late own goal by defender Fedor Kudryashov.

Form guide

Croatia followed up their World Cup qualifying success by topping their Nations League group ahead of Denmark, France and Austria, winning four of their six games, drawing one and losing only once.