Croatian coach Niko Kovac announced which 30 players will be competing for the World Cup in Brazil this summer.
Kovac announced the preliminary roster for the World Cup in Brazil which maintains a list of 30 players, and the final list of 23 players that will travel to South America will be known after the friendly match against Mali on May 31.
” For half a year we intensively monitored all of our players, watched them from a week to week, analyze their form and then we decided.” Kovac brought some fresh faces in like Dinamo Zagreb striker Duje Čop, Hajduk Split’s Mario Pasalic, new player of Chelsea FC, and a little surprise was not calling the best defender in Croatian league, Mario Maloca. Another surprise was a call to Dinamo’s goalkeeper on a loan at Lokomotiva Zagreb, Zelenika.
A list of 30 candidates :
Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer (Rostov), Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Oliver Zelenika (Locomotive)
Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Dario Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Dejan Lovren (Southampton), Gordon Schildenfeld (Panathinaikos), John Strinić (Dnipro), Danijel Pranjic (Panathinaikos), Sime Vrsaljko (Genoa), Domagoj Vida (Dinamo Kiev) Igor eardrum (Udinese)
Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla), Mateo Kovacic (Inter Milan), Niko Kranjcar (QPR), Sean Lynch (HSV), Marcelo Brozovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dinamo Kiev), Sammir (Getafe ), John Močinić (River), Mario Pasalic (Hajduk)
Forwards: Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich), Ivica Olic (Wolfsburg), Nikica Jelavic (Hull City), Eduardo da Silva (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ante Rebic (Fiorentina), Duje Cop (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivan Perisic (Wolfsburg), Ivo Ilicevic (HSV )
Croatia head coach Niko Kovač announces 30-man World Cup squad. #BeProud pic.twitter.com/txMxjBGSBg
— HNS | CFF (@HNS_CFF) May 14, 2014