Paraguay at the FIFA World Cup in France by qualifying in second place in South America, behind Argentina. The first round matches were against Bulgaria (0–0), Spain (0–0), and Nigeria (3–1; goals Celso Ayala, Miguel Ángel Benítez and José Cardozo). Paraguay qualified to the second round (Round of 16) to be defeated in a thrilling match against hosts and eventual World Champions France. France only scored through Laurent Blanc in the 114th minute, during the second half of overtime (making it the first golden goal scored in a World Cup). Paraguay's central defending duo (Carlos Gamarra and Celso Ayala) and goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert were selected
Croatia at the FIFA World Cup taking over as Bosnia and Herzegovina manager in 2008 and sensationally leading them to the verge of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Luka Modrić is the only Croatian player to ever win the Golden Ball award. He was team captain in 2018, when Croatia reached the World Cup final. Team Awards Individual Awards Croatia at the FIFA World Cup Croatia national football team have appeared in the FIFA World Cup on five occasions (in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2014 and 2018) since gaining independence in 1991. Before that, from 1930 to 1990 Croatia was part of Yugoslavia. Their best result