On Monday, Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic unveiled a provisional 26-man roster for Euro 2024. Veteran captain Luka Modric will spearhead the team in what is expected to be his final major tournament before calling it quits on international football.
As he prepares to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, the 38-year-old midfielder guided Croatia to a historic second-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.
lead by Modric Last year, Croatia was defeated in the Nations League final by Spain, and in 2022, they placed third at the World Cup in Qatar.
Modric is eager to lead Croatia and play for the national team, Dalic said reporters in Zagreb as he unveiled the team.
The most successful coach in Croatia, who assumed the position in 2017, expressed his “awareness of great expectations” for the next June 14 championship in Germany.
аccоrding tо Dаlic, Crоаtiа hаd the mоst difficult grоup, аlthоugh he did sаy thаt severаl nаtiоnаl teаms still hаd а gооd shоt оf cоmpeting in the Eurо.On June 15, Croatia will face Spain in their first Group B match. Then, they will face Albania and Italy, the reigning European champions.
Pressure is not an issue. The only things that matter to me are that we have fun playing football, that Croatia does well again, and that the supporters are happy and proud,” Dalic stated.
Not long ago, the 3.8 million-person nation’s 57-year-old leader was reminded of its tremendous footballing achievements.
Our expectations were too high; in the last five years, we have won three medals… When the going got rough, Croatia always proved they were the greatest. As a team, we promise not to let you down.
In preparation for their June 3 friendly match against North Macedonia, the players will begin to congregate on Sunday in the northern port of Rijeka for training. In Lisbon, Portugal will be their opponent five days after that.
Dalic expressed optimism that injured Tottenham winger Ivan Perisic, who is currently on loan to First Division side Hajduk Split, would be able to return to the team at some point during the season.
We are not going to impose anything. The fact that he is returning to the national team is good news for us.
The team:
The goalkeepers for Fenerbahce (TUR), Pafos (GRE), and Rijeka are Dominik Livakovic, Ivica Ivusic, and Nediljko Labrovic, respectively.
This is the roster of the defensemen: Domagoj Vida (AEK Athens, Greece), Josip Juranovic (Union Berlin, Germany), Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City, England), Borna Sosa (Ajax, Netherlands), Josip Stanisic (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Josip Sutalo (Ajax, Netherlands), Martin Erlic (Sassuolo, Italy), Marin Pongracic (Lecce, Italy).
The following players line up as midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid/ESP), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City/ENG), Marcelo Brozovic (Al Nassr/KSA), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta/ITA), Nikola Vlasic (Torino/ITA), Lovro Majer (Wolsfburg/GER), Luka Ivanusec (Feyenoord/NED), Luka Sucic (RB Salzburg/AUT), and Martin Baturina (Dinamo Zagreb).
Ivan Perisic of Hajduk Split, Andrej Kramaric of Hoffenheim (GER), Bruno Petkovic of Dinamo Zagreb, Marko Pjaca of Rijeka, Ante Budimir of Osasuna (ESP), and Marco Pasalic of Rijeka are the forwards slated to play.
Player(s) on standby: Borna Barisic (Rangers/SCO), Duje Caleta-Car (Lyon/FRA), Kristijan Jakic (Augsburg/GER), Dominik Kotarski (PAOK/GRE), Toni Fruk (Rijeka), Marin Ljubicic (LASK/AUT), Igor Matanovic (Karlsruhe/GER), Niko Kristian Sigur (Hajduk Split), and Petar Sucic (Dinamo Zagreb).