Ronaldo is Coming to Poljud: Nations League Match Between Croatia and Portugal in Split!
September 1, 2020 - The Executive Board of the Croatian Football Federation has decided that the Nations League match between Croatia and Portugal will be played in Split.
The last round match of the Nations League Group C between Croatia and Portugal will be played on November 17 at Poljud Stadium in Split, announced HNS.
The 2018 World Cup finalists thus return to Split after a spectacular match against Hungary in the European qualifications for EURO 2020, which was played on October 10 last year.
HNS Executive Director Marijan Kustic and Executive Board member Ile Topuzovic held a meeting today with representatives of the City of Split, led by Mayor Andro Krstulovic-Opara, who gave their consent for the match in Split.
We remind you that in Group C of the Nations League, Croatia will compete against Portugal, France and Sweden. After the September opening in Porto and Paris, Croatia will host Sweden and France in October in Zagreb, while in November they will play against Sweden and then finish the group competition in Split against Portugal.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
HNS Releases New Croatia Uniforms for Nations League and Euros
September 1, 2020 - The Croatian Football Federation has released the new Croatia uniforms to be worn at the upcoming Nations League matches and the Euros next summer.
"Croatian football is a term for pride, passion, skill and those irresistible checkers, all of which can be seen in the new, dynamic Nike collection that the Croatia national team will wear in the upcoming cycle, which includes the European Championship next summer," announced HNS on Tuesday.
In the new collection, the traditional home jersey features the large and striking world-famous Croatian checkers. The traditional red and white jersey again has checkers on the sleeve of the jersey. The logos of HNS and technical partner Nike adorn the front of the jersey, with the number located in the center, while a blue line runs down along the torso side.
The words "Croatia" and "Vatreni" are printed inside the jersey as a symbol of pride, and white shorts and red socks complete look. The same words can be found on the new pre-match warm-up shirt with a modern design with two shades of blue and an unusual square pattern.
"Croatia is always a great inspiration to Nike because of the strength of its identity," said Scott Munson, vice president of Nike's football department. "The new home jersey is faithful to Croatian football heritage, while the reserve jersey is another great interpretation of Croatian design for players and fans."
HNS
The 2018 World Cup finalists get a fresh look on the reserve jersey, which has abstract black and gray checkers extending throughout the jersey and also appear on the socks. The Federation's coat of arms, the red line, and other red details give this jersey a special look.
"I like the new jerseys, I think they will suit us very well," said captain Luka Modric. "The first jersey is a classic design with a modern touch - and those striking checkers I remember from the time I watched the national team as a boy. The reserve jersey is new, different, and exciting, something we haven't had before."
The new jerseys are available on nike.com from September 1, and the entire collection is available from September 4 in all Nike stores and its partners.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
Croatia Team Manager Iva Olivari Named UEFA Delegate in Women's Champions League Final
August 29, 2020 - The team manager of the Croatia men's national team, Iva Olivari, was named the UEFA delegate in the women's Champions League final match.
After performing the same duty at the quarter-final match between Arsenal and PSG on August 22 and the semi-final match between Wolfsburg and Barcelona on August 25, Iva Olivari will be a delegate to the grand final, the clash of Wolfsburg and Lyon at the Anoeti Stadium in San Sebastian, HNS announced.
It is the highest official position in UEFA competitions, and the role includes controlling and supervising all aspects of the organization of the match.
"It is my great pleasure and exceptional honor to be a delegate in the final match of the Champions League. I thank UEFA and the Croatian Football Federation, led by President Davor Suker, who recognized my work and decided to nominate me for this position after many years in the Federation," said the Vatreni team manager.
“There will be two big rivals in the final, teams that are always at the top of women’s football, and I am eager to attend such an exciting match,” Olivari added.
In addition to Olivari, Croatia will have another representative in the grand final - the assistant referee of the final match of the Champions League will be Sanja Rodak-Karsic. The Croatian representative was in the same role in the Champions League final two years ago in Kyiv when the teams of Wolfsburg and Lyon also met, and the French side celebrated 4-1 after extra time.
Rodak-Karsic has already reffed at both the World and European Championships, including the final of the 2017 European Champs in the Netherlands.
Ivana Martincic was chosen as one of the ten main referees at the final tournament of the Champions League in Spain. However, she did not get a chance in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.
The lead official will be Switzerland's Esther Staubli, while Sanja Rodjak-Karsic and Ukrainian Oleksandra Ardasheva have been appointed assistants. The fourth official will be Czech Jan Adamkova.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
City of Split and HNS to Discuss Organization of Croatia v. Portugal Match at Poljud
August 28, 2020 - After the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) expressed interest in bringing the Croatia national team back to Split, City of Split has agreed to discuss hosting the national team of Portugal on November 17 at Poljud.
Slobodna Dalmacija reports that following the example of last year's model and the sellout match between Croatia and Hungary, HNS is looking to bring the Croatia national team back to Split.
On Thursday, the mayor of Split, Andro Krstulovic Opara, responded to the urgency sent by the executive director Marijan Kustic on behalf of HNS, asking for an answer by noon on Thursday.
Kustic received an answer:
"The City of Split accepts your initiative to hold a meeting to discuss the possible organization of the Croatia - Portugal match on November 17, 2020, in Split at Poljud Stadium, in the presence of spectators," responded Opara.
Recall, UEFA announced its intention to return spectators to stadiums by September 24, although not at full capacity. Nevertheless, it would be a step towards normalization.
If all goes to plan, Cristiano Ronaldo's national team, which is still the current European champion, will come to Split in the last round of Group 3 as part of the A-League of this UEFA competition. Apart from Croatia and Portugal, Sweden and France are also in that group.
The famous Hajduk stadium would thus host the Croatia national team for the 14th time. However, just like last year, Hajduk should not participate in the organization of the match, as HNS has yet to meet the club's demands.
Croatia kicks off their Nations League campaign on September 5 in Porto against Portugal. Three days later, they will play in St. Denis against France. The first home game in this competition will be played on October 11 against Sweden, which should, for now, be played at Maksimir.
Three days later, France should play at the same stadium, and before the potential spectacle at Poljud, Dalic's team will visit Sweden. That match will be played on November 14, three days before Croatia meets Portugal.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
Modric and Rakitic Drop Out of Croatia Squad Ahead of Portugal and France Matches
August 27, 2020 - Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic will miss the opening of the Nations League, which awaits the Croatia national team in early September. Coach Zlatko Dalic has invited Antonio Colak, Ante Budimir and Milo Skoric in their place.
HNS announced that in agreement with coach Dalic, the September gathering of the Croatia national team will be missed by captain Luka Modric and vice-captain Ivan Rakitic, while Wolfsburg stopper Marin Pongracic dropped out of the lineup due to illness.
Coach Dalic will replace these three players by activating three call-ups - attackers Antonio Colak and Ante Budimir and stopper Milo Skoric.
Osijek captain and stopper Skoric (29) has already made three appearances for Croatia. He made his debut on May 28, 2017, in a 2-1 win over Mexico in a friendly match. He made his last appearance on November 19 last year against Georgia, also in a friendly match when Croatia celebrated 2-1. Rijeka striker Colak (26) and Mallorca striker Budimir (29) have not yet made their debut for the strongest Croatia squad.
In addition, coach Dalic gave two additional days off to Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic, who played in the finals of the Champions League and Europa League, respectively. They will join the national team on Wednesday, September 2.
Recall that the national team gathers on August 31 in Zagreb, which is followed by two initial exams in the new edition of the Nations League. Namely, on September 5, Croatia will play in Porto against Portugal, and three days later, the World Cup finalists will play in St. Denis in a rematch against the 2018 World Champions, France.
The first home game in this competition will be played on October 11 against Sweden, and that game should, for now, be played at Maksimir. Three days later, France should play at the same stadium.
Croatia will play against Sweden away on November 14, three days before Portugal visits Croatia, potentially at Poljud Stadium in Split.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
Mateo Kovacic Named Player of Season by Chelsea Fans
August 26, 2020 - Mateo Kovacic thus joins the prestigious company of Ruud Gullit, Gianfranco Zola, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petar Cech, Didier Drogba and Eden Hazard.
There was no dilemma for Chelsea fans who voted Mateo Kovacic the best player of the London club in the 2019/2020 season!
A nice and, certainly, encouraging recognition for the Croatia national team member who has recorded several impressive matches in the last 12 months, but also consistently played at a high level, which was also recognized by the Chelsea fan club.
Chelsea awarded the Croatian on their website with the following message:
"Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the club's annual awards are being unveiled exclusively online rather than at the usual ceremony dinner. Following the conclusion of the season, supporters cast their votes and today's series of announcements culminates with Kovacic revealed as our men’s winner.
He will be presented with the trophy at Cobham having topped the voting after an outstanding 2019/20. He was a key member of our midfield in his first season as a fully-fledged Blue, having made his loan move from Real Madrid a permanent switch to Stamford Bridge last summer.
Only two players made more than Kovacic’s 47 appearances over the course of the season, a fact made even more impressive by the fierce competition for places and frequent rotation in midfield. He also scored his first two goals for the club, both low drives from the edge of the box, in consecutive weeks in November against Valencia and Everton.
Over the course of the campaign the Austrian-born Croatia international seemed to have a telepathic understanding with his team-mates, whoever he was playing alongside in midfield, whether as part of a central three or a deep-lying pair.
He began the season in fine form, starting seven of our first eight matches, and even when left out of the line-up as part of Frank Lampard’s rotation, he still managed to make his mark, with his impact from the bench key in helping us break down a stubborn Newcastle side at Stamford Bridge in October.
It was as we entered the winter that it really became clear how important a player Kovacic was going to be for our season, though, as his precise passing, reading of the game and strong pressing allowed him to dictate the tempo of matches, while his bursts forward carrying the ball from midfield launched countless attacks.
As well as beginning moves, Kovacic has also been helping to finish them, addressing one of the criticisms he faced in his first season in England. In addition to his first two goals he also provided three assists, including one delightful pass to tee-up N’Golo Kante against Manchester City in late November, and he was high up the list in terms of chances created, only behind Willian and Mason Mount for Chelsea when the season was paused during lockdown.
The man wearing our number 17 shirt did his popularity no harm with two stand-out performances against London rivals Tottenham in the Premier League either side of Christmas, and looked likely to be a big miss for Lampard when he limped off with an injury during our FA Cup win over Liverpool in March.
However, the timing of lockdown meant Kovacic was unavailable for just one match, returning from his Achilles problem in time to be named in the starting line-up for our first game when football resumed in June, helping us to make it a winning restart against Aston Villa.
Another injury suffered at the start of July forced him to sit out a couple of games, but when he returned it was in arguably his best form yet for Chelsea.
He started all of our last six games in all competitions, and his performances helped us secure a top-four finish in the Premier League and reach the FA Cup final." A deserved winner of the 2019/20 Player of the Season award! Bravo, Kova! For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
Congratulations, Kova! ? #CFCAwards20
HNS Planning Croatia v. Portugal Spectacle at Poljud
August 25, 2020 - Numerous Croatian media outlets revealed on Tuesday that sources close to HNS have said Croatia and Portugal will meet at Poljud this November. Here's what we know so far.
As 24 Sata and Index.hr reported on Tuesday, the Croatian Football Federation is in talks to hold the Nations League match between Croatia and Portugal on November 17, 2020, at Poljud stadium in Split.
If all goes to plan, the famous Hajduk stadium will host the Croatia national team for the 14th time. After the match against Hungary passed without incident last year, and after absolutely everyone praised the organization, HNS allegedly decided that Modric and company would play at Poljud once they had the next big opportunity. We'd say bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to Poljud warrants just that.
24 Sata reported that UEFA might allow a certain number of spectators for the November match. However, UEFA initially reported that the upcoming Nations League games would be played without the presence of spectators. We will have to wait and see what the umbrella organization decides given the current epidemiological situation.
Cristiano Ronaldo's national team, which is still the current European champion, should come to Split in the last round of Group 3 as part of the A League of this UEFA competition. Apart from Croatia and Portugal, Sweden and France are in that group.
Croatia kicks off their Nations League campaign on September 5 in Porto against Portugal, and three days later, they will play in Paris against France. The first home game in this competition will be played on October 11 against Sweden, and that game should, for now, be played at Maksimir.
Three days later, France should play at the same stadium, and before the spectacle at Poljud, Dalic's team will visit Sweden. That match will be played on November 14, three days before Portugal's visit to Split.
24 Sata concludes that the Croatian Football Federation has sent a letter to Split, in line with what they said after Hungary - and that is that the national team will play at Poljud very soon. Now, we await an answer from Split, though we foresee no issues. After all, who wouldn’t want to host Ronaldo?
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.
Croatia National Team to Meet Turkey in November Friendly at Atatürk Stadium
August 25, 2020 - During his visit to Riva, the president of the Croatian Football Federation, Davor Suker, signed a contract for a friendly match with Croatia and the national team of Turkey in November this year.
HNS announced that the national teams of Turkey and Croatia would meet on November 11, 2020, at Istanbul's Atatürk Stadium, after a match between the same rivals scheduled for June had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After a several-month break, Croatia will return to the pitch as part of the Nations League, away against Portugal (September 5 in Porto) and France (September 8 in Paris). In October, they will play a friendly match against Switzerland (October 7) and home matches in the Nations League against Sweden (October 11) and France (October 14).
The match against Turkey will be played before the two final Croatia matches in the Nations League, in Sweden (November 14) and at home against Portugal (November 17).
Turkey will also participate in the postponed European Championships. They have been drawn in Group A with Italy, Wales and Switzerland and is currently the 29th best national team in the world, according to the FIFA rankings. In the Nations League, they will play with Russia, Serbia and Hungary.
The friendly clash in November will be the jubilee tenth meeting between Croatia and Turkey, and several meetings are very memorable. Turkeywas Croatia's historic first opponent at major competitions, at the Euros in 1996, and thanks to a goal by Goran Vlaovic, it also became the first victory of the Vatreni.
Croatia also defeated Turkey 1-0 at Euro 2016 with a great goal by Luka Modric, and we certainly remember passing Turkey in the qualifiers for EURO 2012, with a brilliant 3-0 victory in Istanbul. On the other hand, the match at Euro 2008 is also unforgettable, when Turkey celebrated after a dramatic finish which ended in penalties, and thus reached the semifinal of the tournament.
For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily.
Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages
Zlatko Dalic Announces Croatia List for September Games Against Portugal, France
August 17, 2020 - The coach of the Croatia national team, Zlatko Dalic, has published a list of 23 players he is counting on for the upcoming Croatia matches against Portugal and France.
HNS announced that after a break of almost 10 months caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Croatia national football team would gather in Zagreb again on August 31, with two appearances at the opening of the new edition of the Nations League in September.
The 2018 World Cup runners-up will play in Porto on September 5, where the European champions Portugal await them, and three days later in Paris (St. Denis), at the Stade de France, they will once again face France in the rematch of the 2018 FIFA World Cup final.
Dalic invited 23 players for this international round, with six reserves and two new names on the list - goalkeeper Ivo Grbic and defender Marin Pongracic.
"Although the circumstances are not great given the coronavirus epidemic, it is certain that we are all very much looking forward to reuniting after such a long break. The term is not ideal because many players will practically come from their breaks to reunite, but we are all in the same situation on that issue. It is important for the players to rest as well as possible, because they have a tough competition season ahead of them, at the end of which the EURO is waiting for us, and that is our primary goal," said coach Dalic.
"Our opponents can't be harder - suffice it to say that in three days we will play away against European and world champions. We respect Portugal and France to the maximum, but we have a lot of trump cards and we will certainly try to break the negative tradition we have against both teams. We will see in what condition the players will come to the gathering and we will act accordingly, because although the result in the Nations League is important to us, our priority is the health of players and preparation for World Cup qualifiers and then EURO 2020," concludes coach Dalic.
You can see the full list of players below.
?⬇️ The Croatia squad list for the September UNL matches is out now
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) August 17, 2020
Just 2️⃣ weeks left until the Vatreni are finally back in action and we are EXCITED ??? pic.twitter.com/ymnlNaRlao
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
Tragedy in Germany: Young Croatia National Team Member Dies in Terrible Accident
August 12, 2020 - Young Croatia national team player Luka Lucic, who played for Stuttgarter Kickers, has died in a tragic accident in Germany.
Vecernji List reports that a 16-year-old was seriously injured in a collision with a train on the U8 line in Ostfildern (Esslingen district in Baden-Württemberg) on Tuesday afternoon at Stuttgarter Straße between Ruit and Heumaden, and later died from the accident.
As Fenix-magazine reveals, the victim was young Croatia national team player Luka Lucic, who played for Stuttgarter Kickers. Lucic made three appearances for the U-17 Croatia national team. According to the German police, Lucic was walking from the direction of Ruit on the bike path on the right side of Stuttgarter Straße. Lucic then wanted to cross the railway line at a crossing equipped with a flashing light.
According to current information, he overlooked the train going in the direction of Ruit.
Despite an emergency stop and a warning signal, the 56-year-old train driver failed to prevent the collision with Lucic. The 16-year-old suffered serious injuries and had to be flown to the clinic by helicopter after receiving first aid from a doctor.
According to the latest police findings, the young man died on Tuesday night. The train driver and passengers were unharmed. The railway, and part of both the Stuttgarter Straße and the transition area were closed until 5:45 am. A fire brigade with six vehicles and 20 firefighters was on duty at the scene of the accident.
Rescue services and an ambulance doctor were at the scene with eleven ambulance services and an ambulance helicopter. The police were on duty with a total of four patrol cars. An expert witness was summoned by the order of the Stuttgart State Attorney's Office. Traffic police have launched an investigation and are asking witnesses who saw the course of the accident to call 0711/39900.
Luka Lucic was born in 2003 in Germany and has participated in several activities of Croatia's youth teams. At the end of 2019, he was invited to a winter camp, and in February 2020, at a friendly tournament in Spain, he made his first appearances for the Croatia U-17 national team.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
