šimić came very close to completing the fairy tale and winning his 100th cap for croatia at the finals of the uefa euro 2008. however, he missed the first two games of the tournament, unable to dislodge vedran ćorluka, robert kovač or josip šimunić from their berths in the first team. with a place in the quarter-finals secured after the first two games, croatia coach slaven bilić gave many of his second-string players a chance to play in the final group match against poland, with šimić starting the match and captaining the side on the occasion of his 99th cap. croatia went on to win the match 1–0, finishing the group stage with 3 wins in 3 matches. however, he was once again left an unused substitute in the quarter-finals against turkey, which croatia lost in penalty shootout.