March 9, 2020 - Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic has announced the list of players to compete in the Doha tournament against Portugal and Switzerland.
Three months before the upcoming Euro 2020, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic has announced the first player list this year. There are two strong friendly matches ahead of Croatia this month, against Switzerland (March 26) and Portugal (March 30) at the tournament in Doha, Qatar.
The tournament plans to go ahead, even though the spread of coronavirus around the world has already delayed many sporting events. While everything is going to plan, Croatian footballers playing in Italy may not be able to play in Qatar. Qatar, in fact, has introduced a two-week quarantine for all those coming from the countries most affected by the coronavirus alongside China.
Marcelo Brozovic, Mario Pasalic and Ante Rebic play in Lombardy, which has become a major quarantine, as well as Milan Badelj. Cristiano Ronaldo would not be allowed to play in Qatar either, and the real question is what the organizer will decide in the end.
"They are on the list, so they are going, but the situation is being monitored," HNS spokesman Tomislav Pacak said.
Dalic put the strongest forces on the roster and said that they were acting as if everyone would be able to play and that the tournament would go according to plan.
"I sincerely hope that this will happen, that there will be no cancellation, but we will follow the course of the situation and act accordingly. We put a lot of players on the callup list if something that we can't influence happens."
Dalic said he is not bothered by the coronavirus at the moment.
“I am not bothered and am acting like it's going to be OK. If it isn’t, then we'll react."
What does Dalic expect to see in these two games?
"I plan to give everyone a chance to play, to get minutes and to reunite, to see the players and in what condition they are. The agreement with Kalinic is that if he does not defend, we will replace him with Grbic. We'll try some systems and see what we can do. We don't have much time later and we have to make the most of it."
Croatian footballers have much better minutes this spring than in the fall.
"We have a better situation, and we cannot change it. The most important thing is that everyone is ready for the Euros.”
If the tournament in Qatar is delayed, does Dalic have a plan B?
"As far as I know, there is no decision. I cannot take a stand on this because I do not know and I am not competent. I repeat, we are working as if everything will be fine."
Lineup
?? #Croatia squad for Qatar Airways International Tournament in Doha! ??
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) March 9, 2020
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Goalkeepers: Dominik Livaković (Dinamo), Lovre Kalinić (Toulouse), Simon Sluga (Luton Town)
Defenders: Domagoj Vida (Bešiktaš), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Tin Jedvaj (Augsburg), Mile Škorić (Osijek), Duje Ćaleta-Car (Marseille), Borna Barišić (Rangers), Šime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Dario Melnjak (Rizespor)
Midfielders: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona), Mateo Kovačić (Chelsea), Marcelo Brozović (Inter), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Nikola Vlašić (CSKA Moskva), Mario Pašalić (Atalanta)
Attackers: Ivan Perišić (Bayern), Ante Rebić (Milan), Josip Brekalo (Wolfsburg), Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim), Bruno Petković (Dinamo)
Callups: Marko Rog (Cagliari), Filip Bradarić (Celta), Ivo Grbić (Lokomotiva), Josip Juranović (Hajduk), Domagoj Bradarić (Lille), Filip Benković (Bristol City), Mislav Oršić (Dinamo), Mirko Marić (Osijek) and Antonio Mirko Čolak (Rijeka)
Source: Gol.hr
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