Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalić has chosen 25 players for the EURO 2024 European qualifiers, where Croatia hopes to play in their seventh European championship.
Croatia is placed in group D with Wales, Armenia, Turkey, and Latvia, and the two best teams will directly qualify for the final tournament, which will be held in Germany in 2024.
The Vatreni open the qualifiers on March 25 at home against Wales in Split, and three days later they visit Bursa to face Turkey. After the Nations League final tournament in June, Croatia will continue qualifications with double programs in September (Latvia, Armenia), October (Turkey, Wales), and November (Latvia, Armenia).
Dalić invited 25 players and added four reserves (Grbić, Jakić, Beljo, Špikić).
“We have no reason to change much from the team that won the bronze medal at the World Cup a few months ago, so there are 22 players from Qatar on the list. We called up Luka Ivanušec, who is playing in very good shape with Dinamo, and we have been wanting to see Petar Musa in the national team environment,” said coach Dalić.
“Throughout January, it was evident that physically and mentally the World Cup left its mark on the national team members, but I am happy that most of them are getting in shape and I believe that everyone will be in good shape by the time of the gathering. It is extremely important for us to start well in the qualifications, especially because we start against probably the biggest rivals and we can immediately take important steps towards Germany. In this respect, it is good that we are playing the first game at home and I believe that Poljud will be filled to the last place to greet the bronze medalists,” Dalić points out.
“We accept the role of favorites in this group – we have the most powerful team and a huge desire to play the Euros in Germany because we know what kind of support we would have from our fans there, that championship is a dream for all of us. However, we have enough experience to know how the qualifications can be and that full concentration and maximum approach is needed in every game, and that’s how we will prepare the team, with respect for every opponent,” concludes the coach.
Croatia will gather on March 20 in Split, where they will stay until March 27, when they will travel to Bursa.
List of invited players for the matches against Wales and Turkey:
Goalkeepers: Dominik Livaković, Ivica Ivušić, Nediljko Labrović
Defenders: Domagoj Vida, Borna Barišić, Josip Juranović, Joško Gvardiol, Borna Sosa, Josip Stanišić, Martin Erlić, Josip Šutalo
Midfielders: Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Marcelo Brozović, Mario Pašalić, Nikola Vlašić, Lovro Majer, Luka Ivanušec, Luka Sučić
Attackers: Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Bruno Petković, Mislav Oršić, Marko Livaja, Petar Musa
Reserves: Ivo Grbić, Kristijan Jakić, Dion Drena Beljo, Dario Špikić
Source: HNS
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