Davor Šuker is a Croatian former professional footballer, who represented both the Croatia national football team and Yugoslavia national football team;[1] a prolific striker, he is the top scorer for the Croatia national team.[2] With Yugoslavia, Šuker played two matches in 1991 and scored in his second game against the Faroe Islands;[3] following the breakup of Yugoslavia, he switched allegiances to Croatia, where he spent the remainder of his international career.[4] Šuker made his unofficial debut for Croatia on 22 December 1990 (before appearing for Yugoslavia) against Romania;[5] it was Croatia's second game since reforming the national football association in the early 1990s; the team previously had not played a match since 1956.[6] He made his official debut for Croatia on 22 October 1992 against Mexico; during the friendly match at the Stadion Maksimir he scored two goals.[3]
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During his career with Croatia, he made 68 FIFA-recognised appearances,[a] scoring 45 international goals;[3] he surpassed Franjo Wölfl's record of 12 goals on 3 September 1995, where he scored a hat-trick against Estonia at the Stadion Maksimir.[7] His hat-trick against Estonia was one of two he scored at international level, the other was scored against Australia in a friendly at the same stadium in June 1998.[3] Šuker's goals helped Croatia qualify for UEFA Euro 1996, the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[8] His 12 goals scored during Croatia's UEFA Euro 1996 qualification campaign was a tournament record until it was surpassed by David Healy, when he scored 13 goals for Northern Ireland's UEFA Euro 2008 qualification campaign.[9] During the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, he won the Golden Boot after scoring six goals, helping Croatia reach third place at the tournament;[1] it was the country's best performance at a FIFA World Cup until the nation was runner-up at the 2018 tournament.[8] Šuker scored more times against Estonia than any other team, with five goals, and his most prolific year in terms of goals scored was 1998. He scored his final international goal on 17 April 2002 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he made his final appearance for Croatia against Mexico at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[3]
Based on his international performances and his impressive club career with European giants such as Arsenal, Real Madrid and Sevilla, Šuker is often regarded as a "legend" in Croatian sporting history.[1] In 2004, he was selected by Brazilian former footballer Pelé as one of the 125 "greatest living footballers".[10] Following his retirement, he was elected president of the Croatian Football Federation from 2012 to 2021,[11] and has served as a member of the UEFA Executive Committee.[12]
Goals
- Scores and results list his team's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Šuker goal.[3]
| Indicates that his team won the match | |
| Indicates the match ended in a draw | |
| Indicates that his team lost the match |
Hat-tricks
| No. | Team | Opponent | Goals | Score | Venue | Competition | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Croatia |  Estonia | 3 – (2–1, 5–1, 7–1) | 7–1 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia | UEFA Euro 1996 qualification | 3 September 1995 | [7] |
| 2 |  Australia | 3 – (1–0, 2–0, 5–0) | 7–0 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia | Friendly | 6 June 1998 | [33] |
Statistics
| Competition | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Friendlies | 25 | 14 |
| FIFA World Cup | 8 | 6 |
| UEFA European Championship | 4 | 3 |
| FIFA World Cup qualification | 15 | 6 |
| UEFA Euro qualification | 18 | 17 |
| Total | 70[a] | 46 |
| Opponent | Goals |
|---|---|
| Estonia | 5 |
 Denmark | 4 |
| Australia | 3 |
 Greece | 3 |
 Italy | 3 |
 Republic of Ireland | 3 |
 Slovenia | 3 |
 Ukraine | 3 |
 Germany | 2 |
 Macedonia | 2 |
 Mexico | 2 |
 Spain | 2 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 |
 Faroe Islands | 1 |
 France | 1 |
 Hungary | 1 |
 Iran | 1 |
 Jamaica | 1 |
 Japan | 1 |
 Malta | 1 |
 Netherlands | 1 |
 Romania | 1 |
 San Marino | 1 |
| Total | 46 |
