Croatian national team coach Zlatko Dalić announced a preliminary list of 32 players who are in the running for the FIFA World Cup in Russia this summer.
According to the FIFA rules, Dalić could send a maximum of 35 names, including 23 players for Russia. The final list of players for the World Cup must be announced by June 4, after which it is possible to replace any injured players up to 24 hours before the first match played by Croatia on June 16 against Nigeria. The injured player can also be replaced by a football player who did not make the preliminary list of 32 players, announces HNS on May 14, 2018.
"It is a pleasure for me to see how many of our players participated in the trophy fight at the end of the club season, and I congratulate everyone who has become champions or Cup winners in their countries. We are proud that we will have a European champion for the sixth consecutive year, and I wish Luka, Mateo, and Dejan all of the sports luck in the Champions League final, as well as Šime in the Europa League final. All this shows that we have a great concentration of quality which fills us with optimism ahead of the World Cup,” Dalić said.
??Izbornik Zlatko Dalić objavio je širi popis kandidata za @FIFAWorldCup
— HNS | CFF (@HNS_CFF) May 14, 2018
3⃣2⃣igrača#BudiPonosan #Obitelj #Vatreni? pic.twitter.com/9oziUVpukY
“On this list are mostly players who we have called up so far, who have pulled their weight in the qualifications to take Croatia to Russia. There are also several new names, Sosa and Letica, who were not yet on the A team, and there are players who made it close like Brekalo, Vlašic, Livaja, Benković or Halilović - which is confirmation that we believe in their talent and recognize their work and that they are surely the future of our team with the young players already involved,” the coach added.
"I want everyone to remain healthy through their upcoming final club games and to be ready for the preparations. I know that all the players are pleased about getting together and the great challenge ahead of us. We are aware that Croatia will breathe with us and we will do everything to justify the love, trust and expectations of our fans,” concluded Dalić.
Coach Dalić has completed his World Cup staff after introducing fitness coach Milan Milanović. The Croatian national team will get together on May 26 in Zagreb, and the first part of the preparations will take place in Rovinj. On June 2, the national team will travel to Liverpool to meet with Brazil, after which they will take their preparations to Opatija and the HNK Rijeka stadium. On June 7, the team travels to Slavonia where they will be in Vukovar before the match with Senegal (June 8 in Osijek), and the team finally travels to Russia on June 11.
Coach Dalić will announce a shorter list of players for preparations on Monday, May 21 in Zagreb.
Goalkeepers: Danijel Subašić (Monaco), Lovre Kalinić (Gent), Dominik Livaković (Dinamo), Karlo Letica (Hajduk)
Defenders: Vedran Ćorluka (Lokomotiv), Domagoj Vida (Bešiktaš), Ivan Strinić (Sampdoria), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Šime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Josip Pivarić (Dynamo Kijev), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen), Matej Mitrović (Club Brugge), Borna Barišić (Osijek), Zoran Nižić (Hajduk), Duje Ćaleta-Car (Red Bull Salzburg), Borna Sosa (Dinamo)
Midfielders: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona), Mateo Kovačić (Real Madrid), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozović (Inter), Marko Rog (Napoli), Mario Pašalić (Spartak), Filip Bradarić (Rijeka)
Attackers: Mario Mandžukić (Juventus), Ivan Perišić (Inter), Nikola Kalinić (Milan), Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim), Marko Pjaca (Schalke), Ante Rebić (Eintracht), Duje Čop (Standard Liege), Ivan Santini (Caen)
