Modric tops Croatia 24-man final list

From the initial 30-man provisional list, Croatia has pruned the team to 24 in readiness for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Following last week’s presentation of the preliminary squad, Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalić has presented the 24-man squad to begin the final preparation stage.

Eight names have been cut from the preliminary list (Karlo Letica, Borna Barišić, Zoran Nižić, Borna Sosa, Marko Rog, Mario Pašalić, Duje Čop, and Ivan Santini), while the final 23-man squad has to be submitted to FIFA by 4 June.

Croatia national team meets on 26 June in Zagreb, with the practice sessions to be held in Rovinj and Opatija/Rijeka. On 3 June, Croatia plays Brazil in Liverpool, while on 8 June Croatia hosts Senegal in Osijek. The departure to Russia is scheduled for 11 June.

Goalkeepers: Danijel Subašić (Monaco), Lovre Kalinić (Gent), Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb)

Defenders: Vedran Ćorluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Domagoj Vida (Besiktas), Ivan Strinić (Sampdoria), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Šime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Josip Pivarić (Dynamo Kyiv), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen), Matej Mitrović (Club Brugge), Duje Ćaleta-Car (Red Bull Salzburg)

Midfielders: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona), Mateo Kovačić (Real Madrid), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozović (Internazionale), Filip Bradarić (Rijeka)

Forwards: Mario Mandžukić (Juventus), Ivan Perišić (Internazionale), Nikola Kalinić (Milan), Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim), Marko Pjaca (Schalke), Ante Rebić (Eintracht)