DALIĆ ANNOUNCES PLAYER LIST FOR GAMES WITH FRANCE

Leave a Comment / FOOTBALL / By

Croatian national team coach Zlatko Dalić has called up 24 players and sent five preliminary calls for the UEFA Nations League quarter-final matches against France.

After a successful group stage of the competition, Vatreni will face France in the quarterfinals of the League of Nations in March. The first match between the current world bronze and the current world silver will be played in Split on March 20 at 20:45, and the return match will be played three days later at the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis.

In addition to well-known names, Toni Fruk and Franjo Ivanović are on Dalić’s list for the first time.

With minor corrections, we remained loyal to the staff that won this competition stage, and I am happy that many players are in a good rhythm and perfect shape. I am delighted that Juranović and Stanišić, who missed the whole autumn due to injuries, are back with us. Ivanović and Fruk are continuously playing well, which earned them their chance in the A national team, and we believe that they can strengthen the already fierce competition in the team – Zlatko Dalić, Croatia Head Coach

We achieved success by reaching the quarter-finals. Croatia is once again among the best teams in Europe, but only the selected teams remain at this competition stage. On the other side is France, about whom we know everything – gold and silver from the last two world championships, one of the best teams in the world, I have the utmost respect for them, as well as the manager Deschamps. However, we also showed in the last League of Nations that we can play with France, I believe in our quality and togetherness, and we are going in front of a full crowd for a positive result that would give us a good chance ahead of the return match in Paris. There won’t be much time to prepare, but we look forward to getting together after a long break and enjoying these great matches we won through the group stage – concluded the coach

The national team will gather on Monday, March 17, in Split and travel to Paris the day before the second leg. The final tournament of the League of Nations will be played in June, and the winner of the match between Croatia and France will play against the winner of the match between Spain and the Netherlands.

Croatia is defending its silver medal from the previous edition of the League of Nations, when it won the final tournament over France, Denmark, and Austria. Croatia defeated the Netherlands in the semi-finals before the final match with Spain, which was more successful after penalty kicks.

List of players for matches with France:
Goalkeepers: Dominik Livaković, Ivica Ivušić, Dominik Kotarski
Defensive: Joško Gvardiol, Josip Juranović, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Borna Sosa, Josip Šutalo, Josip Stanišić, Marin Pongracić
Midfielders: Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Mario Pašalić, Nikola Vlašić, Luka Sučić, Martin Baturina, Kristijan Jakić, Petar Sučić, Nikola Moro, Toni Fruk
Forwards: Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Ante Budimir, Franjo Ivanović
Pre-invited: Marko Pjaca, Mislav Oršić, Martin Erlić, Marco Pašalić, Nediljko Labrović

SOURCE: Croatian Football Federation

Must Read

Leave a Comment