Photo by Slobodan Kadic
March 4, 2024 – Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalić announced the list of players for the W Cup international friendly tournament held in the United Arab Emirates from March 22 to 26.
Tunisia, Egypt and New Zealand will compete alongside Croatia in Abu Dhabi. Croatia will face Tunisia in the semi-final at the Al Jazira Stadium (March 22 at 22:00 local time), while Egypt and New Zealand will play in the second semi-final on the same day at the Al Wahda Stadium, reports HNS.
The 3rd place match will be played on March 25 at Al Wahda Stadium (22:00 local time) and the final will be played at Al Jazira Stadium on March 26 (also at 22:00 local time).
Dalić invited 25 players and sent six potential call-ups (Barišić, Ćaleta-Car, Moro, Sučić, Marco Pašalić and Sigur).
“We are looking forward to the new gathering after a long break since we secured our spot at the Euros. There was no reason for any major changes. We remain loyal to the players who helped us qualify for the European Championship. We invited Dominik Kotarski for the first time, whom we want to see in the national team environment, considering his continuity of good games,” coach Dalić said.
“The tournament in Abu Dhabi is very important for us to prepare for the Euros, with a special emphasis on strengthening the good atmosphere and togetherness. That’s why Ivan Perišić is with us, who is in the last phase of recovery. Regardless of whether he will be able to play, it is important that as the vice-captain and one of the leaders of the team, he is part of this gathering, which we see as an opportunity for team-building. I am happy that Ivan expressed a great desire to be with us in the Emirates,” Dalić added.
“We still have two weeks until we gather, and we will closely monitor the performances of all players and decide if we will bring one or two more players as long as we still have space,” concluded the coach.
Croatia will gather on March 18 in Zagreb, and a day later they will travel to Abu Dhabi.
At the Euros, Croatia is placed in group B with Spain, Italy and Albania. Before the competition, they will play friendly matches against North Macedonia (June 3 in Rijeka) and Portugal (June 8 in Lisbon).
Player list:
Goalkeepers: Dominik Livaković, Ivica Ivušić, Dominik Kotarski, Nediljko Labrović
Defenders: Domagoj Vida, Josip Juranović, Joško Gvardiol, Borna Sosa, Josip Stanišić, Josip Šutalo, Martin Erlić, Marin Pongračić
Midfielders: Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Marcelo Brozović, Mario Pašalić, Nikola Vlašić, Lovro Majer, Luka Ivanušec, Martin Baturina
Attackers: Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Bruno Petković, Marko Pjaca, Ante Budimir
Standby: Borna Barišić, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Luka Sučić, Marco Pašalić, Nikola Moro, Niko Kristian Sigur
