HNS announced on May 20, 2019, that Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalić revealed the list of players for the games against Wales and Tunisia in June and announced the continuation of qualifications for the European Championship in 2020.
Zlatko Dalić emphasized on this occasion that the team is aware that they must target three points against Wales:
“The players are aware of the situation and know that we were not good enough against Azerbaijan and Hungary. After Hungary, it is clear that we have to target three points against Wales, and I’m sure the great fans will help us.”
June has long been regarded as a problematic term for qualifying matches, as Dalić pointed out:
“This is a tough match that we will play in a difficult time. Experiences in June are not the most enjoyable, but we do not have a lot of choices, and we will certainly not justify this. I hope the players will be ready for the preparations, and I’m glad we have more than a week to prepare for the game.”
Some of the players, like those who play in the German Bundesliga, will have a ten-day rest before the gathering and should be fully prepared for the qualifying match against a tough opponent.
“The players who ended club competitions received programs to get ready for the gathering, but I’m sure many of them will have a few days of rest before we get together. It is clear to me that they are exhausted and have given their maximum to the clubs, but the players know what awaits them against Wales and know they have to be in good form. We must not underestimate Wales. Each player has a special motive, and Bale is especially dangerous. However, we will find a solution and we will try to stop them,” Dalić said.
Dalić also spoke about the new names on the list, Filip Benković and Dario Melnjak:
“Over the past few months we’ve examined the players and we see this as a chance to strengthen the team. Melnjak is the only Croatian left-back player who has played the standard for the last six months. We watched him play and spoke to people in Turkey, and everything we heard was positive. Benković played a good season at Celtic and recovered from injury. I believe that we have not made mistakes with the new players.”
Dalić also listed four players who will travel to the U-21 European Championships in Italy and San Marino in June, and added Mijo Caktaš and Mile Škorić to join the Vatreni for the friendly against Tunisia:
“I spoke with the players, and we arranged a time when they would join the preparations. The young players of the team will leave with coach Gračan immediately after June 8th to prepare for the U-21 European Championship. For the friendly against Tunisia, Caktaš and Škorić will join us, who are on the call-up list.”
You can find the full list of players below.
Goalkeepers: Lovre Kalinić, Dominik Livaković, Simon Sluga
Defenders: Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Tin Jedvaj, Borna Barišić, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Karlo Bartolec, Filip Benković, Dario Melnjak
Midfielders: Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Mateo Kovačić, Milan Badelj, Marcelo Brozović, Marko Rog, Mario Pašalić, Filip Bradarić
Attackers: Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Ante Rebić, Nikola Vlašić, Josip Brekalo, Bruno Petković
Call ups: Mile Škorić, Mijo Caktaš, Josip Posavec
?⬇ Croatia ?? squad list for June matches
1⃣ June 8 ➡ @EuropeanQualifiers match against @FAWales 2⃣ June 11 ➡ friendly match against Tunis#BeProud #Family pic.twitter.com/88bFHkAVwC— HNS (@HNS_CFF) May 20, 2019
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