Coach Zlatko Dalic announced the 26 players who will represent the Croatian national team in the sport’s most important national team tournament. Confirmation occurred this Monday morning at Zagreb. The main highlight of the relationship is the experienced midfielder Luka Modric, who will compete for another Mundial in his career. The Croatians are part of the Grupo L of the international competition. Eles will face Gana, Inglaterra and Panamá in the initial bracket of the sporting event organized at América by Norte. The European team’s journey in North American territory begins against the English, in a match scheduled for 5 pm, at Brasília time. The inaugural duel is scheduled for June 17th, in the Texan city of Dallas.
The local federation made the complete squad official after completing the preparation and technical analysis period. The coaching staff chose to maintain an experienced base in midfield, mixing established names with young defenders who play in European football. The team’s goal is to repeat the competitive performance of previous editions, when the country reached the decisive stages. Fans were waiting for confirmation of athletes who faced physical problems in recent months, but the medical department released all the main names.
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Croatian Caminho in the first phase of the world tournament
The European delegation’s logistical planning has already been defined for the three initial commitments of the competition. Após debuts against Inglaterra in Dallas, the team travels to Canadá. Croácia’s second challenge at Copa will be against Panamá, at 8 pm, at Brasília time, on June 23, at Toronto. The end of the group stage takes place on North American soil, in the city of Filadélfia. The team faces Gana at 6pm on June 27th. The round of 16 crossing will depend on the team’s final position in this group.
The technical committee divided the calls into four specific sectors to balance the squad. Zlatko Dalic called up three goalkeepers, seven defenders, ten midfielders and six attackers.
- Goleiros: Dominik Livakovic, Dominik Kotarski and Ivor Pandur
- Defensores: Josko Gvardiol, Duje Caleta-Car, Josip Sutalo, Josip Stanisic, Marin Pongracic, Martin Erlic and Luka Vuskovic
- Meio-campers: Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic, Nikola Vlasic, Luka Sucic, Martin Baturina, Kristijan Jakic, Petar Sucic, Nikola Moro and Toni Fruk
- Atacantes: Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, Ante Budimir, Marco Pasalic, Peter Musa and Igor Matanovic
The country’s recent Histórico in international competitions
Essa will be the seventh Copa of Mundo contested by Croácia since the territory gained its political independence in the 1990s. The team’s best campaign in Mundiais was in the 2018 edition, in Rússia, when the group was runner-up after losing the final to França by 4 to 2. In the last edition, held in 2022 at Catar, the Croatians also reached the podium, finishing in third place overall after beating the Marrocos team in the dispute for bronze. Consistency in short shot tournaments transformed the team into one of the forces on the European continent.
The place for the 2026 tournament was won directly in Eliminatórias from Europa. The Croácia team confirmed its place in the Copa in November last year, showing tactical superiority. The team said goodbye to Eliminatórias with the best performance of the European Grupo L, accumulating seven wins and only one draw in eight games played. The attack produced goals in all rounds of the selection.
Detalhes of the competition organization in América of Norte
Copa of Mundo 2026 will be performed by Estados Unidos, Canadá and México jointly. The infrastructure set up in the three countries will receive the largest contingent of teams in the history of football, increasing the number of matches on the international calendar. With 104 games in total, the competition’s debut is scheduled for June 11th, in the duel between México and África of Sul, at Estádio Azteca. The knockout stage will begin on June 28th. The final will be on July 19th, at MetLife Stadium, in the Nova York region.
The players called up who play in European leagues will report in the coming days to begin their final tactical training. Coach Zlatko Dalic scheduled activities in two periods before the official trip to the tournament headquarters. The physical preparation of older athletes will receive special attention from the Croatian federation’s health professionals.