March 8, 2021 - Coach Zlatko Dalic has announced the Croatia squad for the upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifiers later this month. 

HNS reports that Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalić has announced the list of players for the start of the FIFA World Cup European qualifiers. Recall, the final tournament will be held in Qatar at the end of 2022.

The 2018 World Cup finalists will try to win a spot in Qatar through Group H of the European Qualifiers against Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta. Only the winners of the ten qualifying groups will qualify directly for Qatar, while the second-placed national teams - with two more national teams from the Nations League - will play in the playoffs.

The Croatia national team opens the qualification away in Ljubljana against Slovenia on March 24, followed by a double program in Rijeka - on March 27 against Cyprus and three days later against Malta.

Dalić invited 24 players and sent preliminary invitations to Ivo Grbić, Milo Škorić, Marin Pongračić, Tomo Bašić, and Kristijan Lovrić.

"There are no surprises on the list; this is a team we built through the qualifications for EURO and last year's Nations League. Although a demanding group awaits us, I have a lot of faith in this team, and we are very optimistic about the new cycle because I am deeply convinced we have the quality to win - and that is, of course, our main goal in these qualifications," said Dalić. 

Dalić wished good luck to the U-21 national team at the European Championship:

"In agreement with the U-21 coach, Igor Bišćan, Domagoj Bradarić will be a member of the young national team in this term, as he cannot count on the suspended Sosa in that position. Domagoj can certainly make a significant contribution during the European Championship, which, as a competition, is a precious experience for a young player. I wish Igor and his team a lot of sports luck in Slovenia!"

"I am glad that at the moment we do not have serious problems with injuries, and I hope that it will remain so until the reunion. We want a good start because of the qualifications, but also as an introduction to the EURO, and for that, we will have to approach this with maximum concentration and togetherness. The schedule is tight; we will not have time for serious training, so the focus will be on good mental and tactical preparation to be at the best possible level given these circumstances. I am an optimist and look forward to the gathering, as well as our team," concluded the coach.

Croatia will gather on March 22 in Zagreb, from where they will leave for Ljubljana a day later. Immediately after the match against Slovenia, they will travel to Opatija, where they will stay until the end of the gathering.

Goalkeepers Lovre Kalinić, Dominik Livaković, Simon Sluga

Defenders: Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Šime Vrsaljko, Borna Barišić, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Dario Melnjak, Filip Uremović, Josip Juranović

Midfielders: Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Marcelo Brozović, Milan Badelj, Mario Pašalić, Nikola Vlašić

Attackers: Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Ante Rebić, Josip Brekalo, Bruno Petković, Mislav Oršić, Ante Budimir

Callups: Mile Škorić, Toma Bašić, Marin Pongračić, Ivo Grbić, Kristijan Lovrić

What do you think of the Croatia squad for the upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifiers?

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

January 2021 - A look at what we can expect from the Croatia national team in 2021.

Gol.hr reports that 2020 was a challenging year for all European national teams, including Croatia. Namely, our 'Vatreni' played six games in the Nations League in two months alone, and that's not to mention the friendly matches. Overall, Croatia recorded two wins, one draw, and five defeats.

Because of these results, it is only logical to expect that Croatia would experience a drop in the official FIFA rankings. At about this time last year, Croatia was the 6th national team in the world, and little by little, they finished 2020 outside the top 10, in 11th.

However, it should be emphasized again that Croatia played in the most challenging group of the Nations League, which included the world champions France, the European champion Portugal, the 5th team in the world in terms of value, and the quality Sweden.

Croatia introduced many new and promising players last year, which we should expect to make a difference in 2021.

Filip Uremović confirmed himself in a short time as a good solution on the right back and an even better future opportunity - in the stopper position.

Duje Ćaleta-Car is not a new name, but in 2020 he confirmed himself as the central defender of the future and the present.

Many had been waiting for Domagoj Bradarić to be seen in the A national team. When he finally got his chance, he showed massive potential in the attack, and when he plays in the left-back position, there is no doubt he will confirm how well he does defensively. 

In the offense, Ante Budimir certainly stands out and should continue in the national team.

It should be clearly emphasized that the leaders of the young talents, Nikola Vlašić, Josip Brekalo, and Mario Pašalić, have additionally confirmed their quality this year.

Nikola Vlašić, after a fantastic job in the Euro qualifiers, was brilliant this year. A new step forward was made by the great dribbler Josip Brekalo. Mario Pašalić, with goals in friendly matches against Switzerland and Turkey, also strengthened his national team status.

We can only hope that the goals and excellent overall game of Mate Kovačić in the last match against Portugal are a precursor to what we can expect this year. 

In addition to these young stars, the seniors of the national team were also quality. This refers primarily to the inimitable captain Modrić, who plays for both Real and Croatia at 35 years old.

Next to him is Marcelo Brozović, whose physical and playing qualities are almost as crucial for the national team as Modrić's.

Furthermore, Dejan Lovren is in much better form, thanks to his move to Zenit, where he has maximum minutes.

In the end, Ivan Perišić should be singled out, who, despite his minutes at Inter, is again playing well for the national team. The fourth-best scorer in the national team's history may not always be in top form, but when Croatia needs him the most, he always comes through. 

Croatia's biggest problem was... injuries. Kramarić was off the pitch for much of 2020, and we can only hope he stays healthy in 2021. The situation was even worse with the nation's favorite Šime Vrsaljko. 

Dinamo's Bruno Petković is a footballer whose physical readiness, or rather unpreparedness, was negatively commented on by coach Zlatko Dalić this year. In eight games, he collected only 18 minutes and scored one goal.

Let's not forget that in 2020, national team legend Ivan Rakitic said goodbye to Croatia. With his departure, Croatia was left without a real alternative in the delicate position of the last midfielder when there is no Marcelo Brozović. Perhaps Toma Basic is the solution?

In 2021, Croatia is expected to play their World Cup qualifiers, which begin already in March. They will also try to get a good result at the European Championships this summer. 

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

December 23, 2020 - As 2020 comes to a close, Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic interviews with FIFA about a hopefully bright year ahead. 

Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic interviewed for the official website of the International Football Federation, FIFA, in which he commented on the turbulent world of football in 2020 and announced the challenging 2021 for the 'Vatreni,' which is just around the corner.

FIFA introduced Dalic by remembering Croatia's fairy tale at the 2018 World Cup, where they lost in the final to France.

A lot has changed since then. 

With Mario Mandzukic, Danijel Subasic, and Vedran Corluka retiring shortly after the World Cup silver, Dalic was forced to bring in promising young stars to the squad, hoping they could fill their shoes. 

With talented youngsters, Dalic's Croatia qualified for the Euros, but that is nothing compared to the grueling 2021 ahead, with World Cup qualifiers beginning in March and the European Championship next summer. 

Dalic was first asked about Croatia's World Cup qualifying group, including Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta.

"There are no easy groups because qualifying for the World Cup is a dream for every nation. We have a tough group, but we accept our position as a favourite in the group - we're the best-seeded team, and we are current World Cup silver medallists. We truly respect all opponents in the group," Dalic began. 

"Obviously, the schedule will be very tight in March and September with three games in one week. It leaves almost no time for training, and with the long travels, it's very challenging for the players to play three so important games, especially with their club schedule also being quite exhausting. It will be important to plan very well and try to manage our resources the best that we can, to protect the players while going for the best results. However, it's the same for everybody, so we won't use that as an excuse.

The other issue is the fact that we have the EURO in the middle of the qualifiers, which is unusual, and it will also present a problem for all EURO participants. For instance, you are starting the qualifiers with one team, but it's possible that after EURO, some players retire from the national team, so you have to make important changes in the middle of the cycle," he continued for FIFA.

Asked about if he feels even more pressure because Croatia reached the World Cup final in 2018, Dalic replied:

"I think people understand that 2018 was special and that you can't repeat that every two or four years. I think we had more pressure in 2018 when we knew it was probably a last chance for some of our senior players. Now, our pressure is to qualify - we want to be there, among the best.

Once we're there, we know that we have the quality, talent, and self-belief to beat anyone on a given night, but we also understand that Croatia is not in the first row of favourites - that's reserved for the biggest teams, such as France, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, England, Italy, Belgium or Portugal. Of course, as we showed in 1998 and 2018, that doesn't mean Croatia can't make a historic run, but I don't think we have pressure to do that."

Dalic spoke about how much the Croatia squad has changed since that final:

"Players such as Rakitic, Mandzukic, Subasic, and Corluka are no longer with us, and we have talented youngsters coming in and taking on bigger roles. We used the UEFA Nations League in 2018 and 2020 to give a chance to several new players, and we got through the EURO 2020 qualifying cycle quite well.

Luka Modric is still our leader, and with Brozovic and Kovacic alongside him, we still have one of the best midfields in the world. Senior players such as Perisic, Vida, and Lovren give us much-needed experience, and we also have young guns, such as Brekalo and Vlasic, who proved their potential, so we feel pretty good ahead when it comes to our future."

And what can Croatia achieve at the Euros next summer?

"We fulfilled our dreams in Russia - that was unforgettable for everybody involved, and for our fans as well. But it also gives us an extra motivation because we know how special it is to make the whole nation so joyful and proud. With the current pandemic going on, and so many lives lost, we understand that the whole nation will look at us to make them happy once again, and it's our obligation to do our very best to try to replicate that magic from Russia.

As I mentioned before - there are a few teams that are, objectively, ahead of us at the moment. But, we're pretty confident in our quality, and we surely won't admit to anyone they're better than us until they prove that on the pitch. And that's very difficult to do, because not only do we have the quality, but we also play with so much passion and togetherness for Croatia," Dalic said.

You can read the full interview on the FIFA website HERE.

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December 8, 2020 - The schedule for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers is here. Croatia opens against Slovenia in March 2021.

HNS announced that the Croatia national football team will open the qualification cycle for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a visit to Slovenia on March 24, 2021 (20:45).

In March, Croatia will play two more home games, against Cyprus (March 27, 18:00) and Malta (March 30, 20:45).

Croatia's qualifying cycle for the World Cup in Qatar will continue with three September matches, against Russia (September 1, 20:45) and Slovakia (September 4, 20:45) away, and against Slovenia (September 7, 20:45) at home. Zlatko Dalić's team will play two matches in October next year, against Cyprus (October 8, 20:45) away, and Slovakia (October 11, 20:45) at home.

In the final part of the qualifications in November 2021, Croatia will play in Malta (November 11, 20:45), and in the last qualification round at home, they will meet Russia (November 14, 15:00).

As a reminder, the ten group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, and the ten second-placed teams will try to win the same in the playoffs, which will be played from March 24 to 29, 2022.

In addition to the ten runners-up from the group stage, the playoffs will also include the two best national teams in the overall standings of the UEFA Nations League for the 2020/2021 season, which will not directly qualify for the World Cup, nor will they win the playoffs as the second-placed teams in the group. Twelve teams in the playoffs will be divided into three "pots" and will fight for the three remaining European places at the World Cup in March 2022. 

The 2022 World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022, in five Qatari cities (Doha, Lusail, Al Khor, Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan).

Schedule:

24.3. 20:45: Slovenia - Croatia

27.3. 18:00: Croatia - Cyprus

30.3. 20:45: Croatia - Malta

1.9. 20:45: Russia - Croatia

4.9. 20:45: Slovakia - Croatia

7.9. 20:45: Croatia - Slovenia

8.10. 20:45: Cyprus - Croatia

11.10. 20:45: Croatia - Slovakia

11.11. 20:45: Malta - Croatia

14.11. 15:00: Croatia - Russia

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

December 8, 2020 - Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic comments on the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and Croatia in the 'respectable' Group H. The next World Cup will be held in Qatar in 2022.

The European qualifying draw for the 2022 World Cup was held on Monday in Zurich. Croatia was one of the top-seeded national teams in the draw and was thus placed in Group H with Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta.

"As is mostly the case, the draw could have been better and worse, but Croatia was among the top seeds for a reason, and we should not run away from the role of favorites. Our goal is to qualify for the World Cup, and this is the group in which we can accomplish this. Strong matches from the past two years have come in handy as preparation for these matches," said coach Zlatko Dalic after the draw.

"We got Slovakia and Russia from the second and third strongest groups, opponents with whom we have a relatively fresh experience, and they will be our biggest competitors for first place. However, other games are not easy because we got the best national teams from each group. I repeat, Croatia is the favorite, and that is how we will position ourselves from the beginning," added the 2018 World Cup finalist coach.

Croatia has recent experiences with Slovakia and Russia:

"Slovakia proved to be a quality team; they deservedly qualified for the EURO. We played a great game in Trnava, but let's remember that they led and showed quality in Rijeka. They have experience playing with Croatia, and it will come in handy. The Russians are good; they showed it against us at the World Cup, after they knocked out Spain. Slovenia has risen and is advancing under the leadership of Matjaž Kek, who knows us very well, and as our neighbors will surely have a special motive to show their quality. We must not underestimate Cyprus and Malta either, because they are national teams that show from cycle to cycle that they are a tough nut to crack even for the best national teams, and certainly not easy opponents to score against."

Croatia, as well as other national teams, will have a very tough time with three qualifying matches in March and September:

"We are used to such a schedule in the past two months; we saw that it is not easy because there is no time for training. We do not have much time to make mistakes, but the stakes are the World Cup, and that's how we must approach it from the first minute of the first game. I want us all to be healthy because when we have all the players available, then we are real and quality, and I deeply believe, the best in this group."

"The group is demanding, with strong opponents that we respect. But Croatia wants to defend its World Cup silver medal in Qatar, and we will do everything to achieve that," Dalic concluded.

Source: HNS

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December 7, 2020 - Croatia draws Slovenia, Slovakia, Russia, Cyprus, and Malta in Group H of the European qualifications for the 2022 World Cup.

Croatia took part in the European qualification draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at 6 pm tonight in Zurich. Fifty-five national teams will participate in the European qualifiers, divided into 10 groups - five groups with five national teams and five groups with six teams each. 

The winners of each group will go directly to the World Cup, and the ten runners-up and the two teams from the Nations League will play additional qualifications.

The 2018 World Cup finalists were placed into the pot of the strongest national teams. Thus, Croatia had no chance of being drawn into a group with Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

The qualifying cycle for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will run from March to November 2021, and the teams will play each team in their group at home and away. The ten group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, and the ten runners-up will try to do the same in the playoffs, which will be played from March 24 to 29, 2022.

In addition to the ten runners-up from the group stage, the playoffs will also include the two best national teams in the overall standings of the UEFA Nations League for the 2020/2021 season, which will not directly qualify for the World Cup, nor will they win the playoffs as the second-placed teams in the group. Twelve teams in the playoffs will be divided into three "pots" and will fight for the three remaining European places at the World Cup in March 2022. 

The 2022 World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022, in five Qatari cities (Doha, Lusail, Al Khor, Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan).

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

November 16, 2020 - Croatia and Portugal meet in Split on Tuesday for their final Nations League match this season. A look at the latest Croatia news ahead of Poljud. 

After losing 2:1 to Sweden on Saturday evening in Solna, the Croatia national team traveled to Split, after which they held their first training in Omis on Sunday. The training included Dejan Lovren, who joined the Croatia squad in Stockholm after his yellow card suspension.

The Croatia players that recorded the most minutes against Sweden (Modrić, Vlašić, Perišić, Livaković, Kovačić, Brekalo, Barišić, Ćaleta-Car, Pongračić) took part in a regeneration training at the hotel. Uremović is currently out of the lineup after an injury he sustained during the Sweden match. 

HNS

Although training in Omis was held without the presence of spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic, locals hung a large jersey with the last name of their fellow citizen, Ivan Perišić, and did their best to ensure that Croatia had everything they needed in the small coastal town.

HNS

On Sunday evening, the Croatia national team medical service received the team's latest COVID-19 test results. Croatia was tested after arriving from Stockholm to Split, before the match against Portugal.

After a week of worrying results, we finally have some good news, as all members of the national team and members of the national team staff are negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Coach Zlatko Dalić can count on all remaining players in the national team.

Recall, Domagoj Vida tested positive in Istanbul on Wednesday, and Marcelo Brozović tested positive in Stockholm on Friday. In compliance with the epidemiological rules and UEFA's Return to Play protocol, the Turkish and Swedish epidemiological services decided that the isolation of other national team members was not necessary.

But even though everyone corona-free, Dalić still struggled to fill certain positions in the defense ahead of the crucial Portugal meeting on Tuesday. He has thus decided to call-up Osijek stopper Milo Škorić in the absence of Duja Ćaleta-Car (yellow cards) and Filip Uremović (injury).

HNS

The Osijek captain will join Croatia during the day on Monday and is expected to play against Portugal in Split on Tuesday.

Škorić has three appearances for the Croatia national team, and interestingly, in all three Škorić appearances, Croatia won 2:1 (Mexico, Wales, and Georgia).

Source: HNS

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November 15, 2020 - Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic addressed the press after Croatia's defeat to Sweden on Saturday evening in Solna. 

Zlatko Dalic, the Croatia national team coach, held a press conference after the UEFA Nations League match between Sweden and Croatia in Solna (2:1).

Sweden was the better opponent

"Congratulations to Sweden on the win; they were better than us, especially in the first half, when we didn't respond to their aggressiveness, speed, and mobility. That was our problem. In the second half, we were better, more aggressive, and more compact, but that wasn't enough. Then we showed will and energy; that's the positive thing about this game."

No surprises

"Sweden didn't surprise me, they showed us a good game in Zagreb, and they lacked a bit of luck against Portugal and France. They have good individuals, and they played well as a team."

We need to fix the impression of Croatia

"Portugal and France already know their positions, but they are great teams and will not relax in the last round. We must try to improve the impression of us and the result and try to beat Portugal. Our goal is to stay in the elite group, it is vital to us as World Cup finalists, and we will do everything to stay."

Dejan Kulusevski

"He was justifiably named the player of the match; he showed great quality. Sweden has a great individual who can play in several positions, and he is also good at Juventus. He is young and will play at a high level for years; he impressed me."

Problems for Croatia

"We're slowly going into a generational shift; we're having problems. It's not an easy time for us, we've been missing seven or eight first-teamers, and we can't wait for all this to end."

Source: HNS

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November 9, 2020 - The Croatia national team gathered on Monday ahead of its upcoming matches against Turkey, Sweden, and Portugal. Coach Zlatko Dalic announced an updated Croatia lineup and game plan.

The Croatia national football team is expected to play three matches in just six days. The 2018 World Cup finalists will play against Turkey in a friendly match on November 11, followed by their final Nations League campaign against Sweden on November 14 and in Split against Portugal on November 17.

Dejan Lovren was dropped from the squad at the last minute for the friendly match, and the Zenit stopper cannot play against Sweden due to cards. Lovren will thus join the national team in Split.

"I expect all invited players to come throughout the day and everyone to attend training. I know there were some problems, but we don't have any new announcements regarding absences. The only one who will be absent is Lovren, in agreement with me. He will stay in Russia and join the national team when we come to Split. He has a minor tendon injury and two yellow cards, so we don't have him against Sweden. We know that Kramaric will not attend due to injury, and the others on the list are all there," said Dalic.

The national team includes debutants Tomo Basic of Bordeaux and Marin Pongracic of Wolfsburg.

"Basic deserved an invitation based on his games for his club, and we want to try Pongracic, who has already received an invitation several times but could not come due to injuries. This time he is healthy, but I know he has been absent for a long time. I want him to be in the national team and feel the atmosphere," said Dalic.

Livakovic was also dropped from the lineup. Dalic thus has Kalinic, Grbic, and Sluga at his disposal, who will probably get a chance ahead of the others.

"Lovre Kalinic has been with us for a long time, but he hasn't been goalkeeping lately. There aren't many dilemmas because Sluga is the only one regularly in goal; he has rhythm and form. We will try to give a chance to two goalkeepers depending on the situation. I hope that Livakovic will be ready soon, he could join us already during these matches, but we will not rush with him. I trust the goalkeepers who are there," concluded Dalic.

Source: HNS

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October 26, 2020 - National team coach Zlatko Dalic announces the Croatia player list for the upcoming Nations League matches in November, when the 2018 World Cup finalists will again have a tight schedule.

As in October, the national team will play three games during the upcoming gathering in November. Namely, Croatia will play a friendly match against Turkey on November 11 in Istanbul, followed by their two final matches in the Nations League - on November 14, they will play against Sweden (Solna / Stockholm), and three days later, they will host Portugal in Split.

Croatia currently sits in 3rd place in Nations League Group 3 with 3 points. Portugal and France are in first and second place with 10 points each. Croatia has only won one game in this Nations League campaign against Sweden earlier this month in Zagreb. 

Coach Dalic invited 23 players and eight call-ups, among which is Bordeaux midfielder Toma Basic for the first time.

"We will monitor the condition of all players in the next two weeks and react on time, depending on the situation. I wish all invited players to be healthy so that we can welcome the last matches of this year and finish the competition in the Nations League in a satisfactory position," said Dalic.

The national team will gather on November 9 in Istanbul, and the day after the match against Turkey, they will travel to Stockholm. Croatia will travel to Split immediately after the match against Sweden.

Goalkeepers: Dominik Livaković, Simon Sluga, Ivo Grbić

Defenders: Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Borna Barišić, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Dario Melnjak, Filip Uremović, Domagoj Bradarić

Midfielders: Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Marcelo Brozović, Milan Badelj, Marko Rog, Mario Pašalić, Nikola Vlašić

Attackers: Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Josip Brekalo, Bruno Petković, Mislav Oršić, Ante Budimir

Callups: Ante Rebić, Tin Jedvaj, Lovre Kalinić, Mile Škorić, Josip Juranović, Toma Bašić, Antonio Mirko Čolak, Marin Pongračić

Source: HNS

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