2025–26 Croatian Football League
Football league season
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The 2025–26 Croatian Football League (officially SuperSport Hrvatska nogometna liga for sponsorship reasons) is the 35th season of the Croatian top division football, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 1 August 2025.
| Season | 2025–26 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 August 2025 – 23 May 2026 |
| Champions | Dinamo Zagreb (26th title) |
| Champions League | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Matches | 60 |
| Goals | 156 (2.6 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Dion Drena Beljo (29 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Dinamo Zagreb 7–0 Osijek (4 April 2026) |
| Biggest away win | Vukovar 1991 0–6 Hajduk Split (21 March 2026) |
| Highest scoring | Slaven Belupo 2–5 Dinamo Zagreb (14 December 2025) Dinamo Zagreb 7–0 Osijek (4 April 2026) |
| Longest winning run | Dinamo Zagreb (8 matches) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Dinamo Zagreb (19 matches) |
| Longest winless run | Osijek (11 matches) |
| Longest losing run | Istra 1961 (5 matches) |
← 2024–25 2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 2 May 2026. | |
The league is contested by 10 teams.
Teams
The following teams compete in the 2025–26 HNL.
Changes
Vukovar 1991 were promoted from the 2024–25 Prva NL for the first time in their history while Šibenik were relegated to the 2025–26 Prva NL after one season back in the top flight.
Stadia and locations
| Dinamo Zagreb | Gorica | Hajduk Split | Istra 1961 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stadion Maksimir | Gradski stadion Velika Gorica | Stadion Poljud | Stadion Aldo Drosina |
| Capacity: 24,851 | Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 33,987 | Capacity: 9,921 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Lokomotiva |
Locations of teams in 2024–25 HNL |
Osijek | |
| Stadion Maksimir | Opus Arena | ||
| Capacity: 24,851 | Capacity: 13,005 | ||
|
 | ||
| Rijeka | Slaven Belupo | Varaždin | Vukovar 1991 |
| Stadion Rujevica | Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš | Stadion Varteks | Stadion Gradski vrt |
| Capacity: 8,191 | Capacity: 3,054 | Capacity: 8,818 | Capacity: 18,856 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Zagreb | Zagreb | Maksimir | 24,851 | [1] |
| Gorica | Velika Gorica | ŠRC Velika Gorica | 4,536 | [2] |
| Hajduk Split | Split | Poljud | 33,987 | [3] |
| Istra 1961 | Pula | Stadion Aldo Drosina | 10,000 | |
| Lokomotiva | Zagreb | Maksimir | 24,851 | [1] |
| Osijek | Osijek | Opus Arena | 13,005 | [4] |
| Rijeka | Rijeka | Rujevica | 8,191 | [5] |
| Slaven Belupo | Koprivnica | Stadion Ivan Kušek-Apaš | 3,054 | [6] |
| Varaždin | Varaždin | Stadion Varteks | 8,818 | [7] |
| Vukovar 1991 | Vukovar | Stadion Gradski vrt | 18,856 | |
Personnel and kits
| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Zagreb |  Mario Kovačević |
Josip Mišić |
Castore | PSK |
| Gorica | Mario Carević |
Jurica Pršir |
Alpas | Kömmerling |
| Hajduk Split |  Gonzalo García |
Marko Livaja |
Adidas | Tommy |
| Istra 1961 | Krešimir Režić |
 Dario Marešić |
Joma | Germania |
| Lokomotiva | Nikica Jelavić |
Denis Kolinger |
Macron | Favbet |
| Osijek | Tomislav Radotić |
Borna Barišić |
2Rule | Mészáros és Mészáros Kft. |
| Rijeka | Víctor Sánchez |
 Martin Zlomislić |
Joma | Favbet |
| Slaven Belupo | Mario Gregurina |
Tomislav Božić |
Jako | Belupo |
| Varaždin | Nikola Šafarić |
Oliver Zelenika |
Capelli Sport | BURAI |
| Vukovar 1991 | Tomislav Stipić |
Jakov Biljan |
Nike | Ellington Properties |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo Zagreb | Sandro Perković (caretaker) |
End of caretaker spell | 4 June 2025 | Pre-season | Mario Kovačević |
4 June 2025 |
| Slaven Belupo | Mario Kovačević |
Signed by Dinamo Zagreb | 4 June 2025 | Mario Gregurina |
6 June 2025 | |
| Hajduk Split |  Gennaro Gattuso |
Mutual consent | 5 June 2025 | Gonzalo García |
13 June 2025 | |
| Istra 1961 | Gonzalo García |
Signed by Hajduk Split | 13 June 2025 | Goran Tomić |
13 June 2025 | |
| Lokomotiva | Mario Cvitanović |
End of contract | 17 June 2025 | Nikica Jelavić |
17 June 2025 | |
| Rijeka |  Radomir Đalović |
Sacked | 1 September 2025 | 7th | Víctor Sánchez |
3 September 2025 |
| Istra 1961 | Goran Tomić |
13 September 2025 | 8th | Oriol Riera |
17 September 2025 | |
| Vukovar 1991 | Gordon Schildenfeld |
18 September 2025 | 10th | Kristijan Polovanec (caretaker) |
18 September 2025 | |
| Kristijan Polovanec (caretaker) |
End of caretaker spell | 22 September 2025 | 10th | Silvijo Čabraja |
22 September 2025 | |
| Osijek |  Simon Rožman |
Sacked | 29 October 2025 | 9th | Željko Sopić |
29 October 2025 |
| Željko Sopić |
23 February 2026 | 10th | Tomislav Radotić |
24 February 2026 | ||
| Vukovar 1991 | Silvijo Čabraja |
16 March 2026 | Tomislav Stipić |
18 March 2026 | ||
| Istra 1961 | Oriol Riera |
19 April 2026 | 7th | Krešimir Režić |
20 April 2026 | |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dinamo Zagreb (C, Q) | 33 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 87 | 27 | +60 | 79 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Hajduk Split (X) | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 61 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Varaždin | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 41 | 42 | −1 | 47 | Qualification to Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Rijeka | 32 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 43 | |
| 5 | Lokomotiva | 32 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 41 | |
| 6 | Gorica | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 38 | |
| 7 | Slaven Belupo | 32 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 38 | |
| 8 | Istra 1961 | 32 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 35 | 47 | −12 | 36 | |
| 9 | Osijek | 33 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 25 | 46 | −21 | 32 | |
| 10 | Vukovar 1991 | 33 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 34 | 62 | −28 | 28 | Relegation to First Football League |
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 2026. Source: SuperSport HNL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored (at home if two teams tied); 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Play-off
(Note: Criteria 2-4 and 7 is only used if deciding champion, teams to international competition or teams for relegation and in that case criteria 6 will not be used).[8]
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (X) Guaranteed at least Conference League
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored (at home if two teams tied); 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Play-off
(Note: Criteria 2-4 and 7 is only used if deciding champion, teams to international competition or teams for relegation and in that case criteria 6 will not be used).[8]
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (X) Guaranteed at least Conference League
Notes:
- The 2025–26 Croatian Football Cup winners (Dinamo Zagreb or Rijeka) qualify for the Europa League first qualifying round (or the second-placed team if the Croatian Cup winners finish first). If the Croatian Cup winners finish in the top three, the second Conference League second qualifying round spot will be passed to the fourth-placed team.
Results
Each team plays home-and-away against every other team in the league twice, for a total of 36 matches each played.
Statistics
Top scorers
- As of 3 March 2026[9]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dion Drena Beljo |
Dinamo Zagreb | 25 |
| 2 | Hajduk Split | 10 | |
| Smail Prevljak |
Istra 1961 | ||
| Jakov Puljić |
Vukovar 1991 | ||
| 5 | Ivan Mamut |
Varaždin | 8 |
| Rijeka | |||
|
|
Lokomotiva | ||
| 7 | Adriano Jagušić |
Slaven Belupo | 7 |
 Monsef Bakrar |
Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| 9 | Miha Zajc |
Dinamo Zagreb | 6 |