May 25, 2022 - 19-year-old German-born Igor Matanović will play for the Croatia national team!

Igor Matanović, the Eintracht Frankfurt striker currently on loan to St. Pauli, born on March 31, 2003, in Hamburg, played in the younger ranks of the German national team. However, his Croatian roots pulled him toward the homeland and representing Croatia. Therefore, the Croatian Football Federation initiated proceedings with FIFA to change his football citizenship and acquire the right to play for Croatia, reports HNS.

FIFA approved the change on Tuesday and confirmed that Matanović could immediately defend the colors of Croatia. Furthermore, Croatia U-21 coach Igor Bišćan invited him to the national team for the upcoming qualifying matches in Norway and Estonia at the end of the fight for a spot at the European Championships.

"I am thrilled that the procedure with FIFA has been completed and that Croatia will be stronger in the future thanks to another talented player who looks forward to wearing the Croatia jersey. I want to thank all the Croatian Football Federation services for excellent work - Pletikosa and U-21 coach Igor Bišćan. With the secretary of the younger teams, Josip Tomašek, they actively participated in this process from the very beginning. It is also worth mentioning Ivica Olić, who made quality contact with Igor and his family, and I am sure that the inclusion of coach Zlatko Dalić also played a significant role. We showed great unity, everyone got involved, and obviously, Igor and his family recognized that," said the president of the Croatian Football Federation, Marijan Kustić.

"Of course, we are extremely pleased that FIFA made this decision in Matanović's case. I am sure that with his football knowledge and skills, he can immediately make a great contribution to the further success of the Croatia national teams, and his right to play for Croatia is a successful continuation of the Croatian Football Federation's efforts to put many quality players from the diaspora in our jersey. Stanišić, Sučić, Vidović, and Pašalić have already made great gains, and we will continue to work in that direction. With all deserving individuals in the Federation, from the coaches Dalić and Bišćan through Ivica Olić to President Kustić, who gave us great support in these activities, it is also worth thanking the lawyers who prepared the extensive documentation very well and presented the whole case to Fifa's body and enabled this decision to be made," said Technical Director Stipe Pletikosa.

You can read more about Igor here.

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February 26, 2022 - Zlatko Dalić and the Croatia coaching staff are preparing for the upcoming national team gathering in March, when Croatia will play a friendly tournament in Doha against Slovenia and Bulgaria. 

Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalić held a meeting with members of his professional staff on Thursday at the HNS headquarters, reports HNS.

In addition to coach Dalić, the meeting was attended by technical director Stipe Pletikosa, assistants Ivica Olić, Mario Mandžukić, and Dražen Ladić, goalkeeper coach Marjan Mrmić, fitness coach Luka Milanović and team manager Iva Olivari, while Vedran Ćorluka and Marc Rochon were justifiably absent.

Dalić spoke with his associates about the upcoming national team gathering in March, the first after November 2021 when Croatia successfully qualified for the World Cup in Qatar. In March, Croatia will travel to Doha to play friendly matches against Slovenia and Bulgaria.

"Although we are in constant contact, it is good when we manage to gather live and talk about what awaits us. I am glad to see all staff members full of energy, enthusiasm, and optimism ahead of the March gathering, which everyone is very excited about. We are following our players in detail, we are thinking about how to make the most of this gathering in Doha both on and off the pitch, and I believe that we will lay a good foundation there for everything that awaits us later in the year," said coach Dalić.

Recall, the Croatian Football Federation management agreed that the Croatia national team would play a friendly tournament in Qatar in March, with two matches in Doha.

Croatia will face Slovenia on March 26 and play Bulgaria three days later. The national team of Qatar will also play in the tournament against Bulgaria (March 26) and Slovenia (March 29). The matches will be played at the stadiums in Doha, where the FIFA World Cup matches will be played. The exact timetables and stadiums will be defined later, and HNS will inform fans promptly about the possibilities of buying tickets.

The Croatia coach and the staff members also watched the Europa League match between Dinamo and Sevilla. The Croatian champion was eliminated after a 3:2 aggregate for the Spanish side.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

February 1, 2022 - As part of the presentation of Croatia at the world exhibition in Dubai, an interactive event called 'Croatia inspiring Champions' was held with the presence of famous Croatian athletes such as Sandra Perković, Blanka Vlašić, and the Sinković brothers.

In order to promote the Republic of Croatia as a country of sports and a small country of great world success, this event was attended by famous Croatian athletes and medal winners at major world competitions, such as rowers Martin and Valent Sinković, athletes Sandra Perković and Blanka Vlašić, handball player Mirza Džomba, football player Stipe Pletikosa, and basketball player Gordan Giriček, reports tportal.hr.

Athletes opened the EXPO Sustainability portal and participated in a number of outdoor sports challenges together with visitors at the Sport, Fitness & Wellbeing Hub location.

''I am honored by the invitation and it is a great honor for me as a professional athlete to represent ''Our Beautiful'' at the EXPO 2020 Dubai. This is a great opportunity to show the world who we are and that we Croats are born winners, not only in sports but also in other jobs we do. There are sports legends here, but Croatia has many of them. Also, I would like to wish good luck to our Olympians who will defend the Croatian colors at the Winter Olympics'', said Sandra Perković, two-time Olympic, two-time world, and five-time European discus throw champion.

It was a fantastic socializing event with champions and sports legends attended by guests from all over the world who, regardless of their age, tried their best at sports activities with our celebrated athletes and brought home unforgettable memories in addition to the official T-shirts of the event.

''I feel special when I represent my country at such a big event, especially because I am an active athlete. Fortunately, we are currently out of competition, so we managed to come to Dubai and present Croatia to everyone as the best country in the world. We all know that it is, and now all those who were here were able to share it'', said Martin Sinković.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

August 4, 2021 - The newly elected HNS president Marijan Kustić held a meeting with the head coach of the national team, Zlatko Dalić, and the new technical director to discuss the upcoming September 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign. 

A working meeting of the newly elected HNS president Marijan Kustić with the Croatia national team coach, Zlatko Dalić, technical director of the A and U-21 national team, Stipe Pletikosa, Dalić's assistants Vedran Ćorluka and Ivica Olić, and team manager Iva Olivari was held at the Croatian Football Federation, reports HNS.

After the official meeting with technical director Stipe Pletikosa, the main topics of conversation were the upcoming September activities of the A national team, which is expected to continue the qualifying cycle for the World Cup in Qatar with important matches against Russia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

"Once again, I congratulate Stipe on his new position; he has our full support, just like the national team before the important September matches. The Croatian Football Federation will, as always, provide the national team with maximum conditions, and I am convinced that the team will also provide the maximum on the field and do everything to be even one step closer to Qatar," said the new president of HNS, Marijan Kustić.

"It is a great honor and pleasure to be part of the Croatian A national team again. I thank the leaders of HNS led by Marijan Kustić for their trust; I will try to help the team maintain high standards with my knowledge and experience. I am looking forward to new challenges, cooperation with coaches Zlatko Dalić and Igor Bišćan; I believe that together we will achieve the set goals," said Stipe Pletikosa.

The Croatia national team continues its qualifications for the 2022 World Cup by visiting Russia on September 1. Croatia will visit Slovakia three days later, and the September mini-cycle will end on September 7 in Split against Slovenia.

After three rounds, Croatia leads in Group H with six points, as does Russia. Slovakia has five, Cyprus four, Slovenia three, and Malta one point.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

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