The head coach of the Croatian national team, Ante Čačić, revealed on Monday the surnames of 27 players who are included in the preliminary squad for the 2016 European Championship.
By the end of May, four more footballers will be excluded from the list. The exclusion of "Liverpool" center-back Dejan Lovren raised the most questions. It is said that the relationship between the defender and the national team coach is very complicated.
The squad includes "Real Madrid" defenders - Luka Modrić and Mateo Kovačić. They will be supported in the midfield by "Barcelona" player Ivan Rakitić. Also included in the national team is Alen Halilović, who belongs to the Catalan club.
The Croatian national team will play their first match in the European Championship against Turkey on June 12th.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Danijel Subašić ("Monaco"), Lovre Kalinić ("Hajduk Split"), Ivan Vargic ("Rijeka"), Dominik Livaković ("NK Zagreb").
Defenders: Tin Jedvaj ("Bayer Leverkusen"), Darijo Srna ("Shakhtar Donetsk"), Šime Vrsaljko ("Sassuolo"), Gordon Schildenfeld ("Dinamo Zagreb"), Vedran Ćorluka ("Lokomotiv Moscow"), Domagoj Vida ("Dynamo Kiev"), Duje Ćaleta-Car ("Red Bull Salzburg"), Ivan Strinić ("Napoli").
Midfielders: Marko Rog ("Dinamo Zagreb"), Mateo Kovačić ("Real Madrid"), Luka Modrić ("Real Madrid"), Marcelo Brozović ("Inter"), Ivan Rakitić ("Barcelona"), Milan Badelj ("Fiorentina"), Domagoj Antolić ("Dinamo Zagreb"), Ante Ćorić ("Dinamo Zagreb"), Ivan Perišić ("Inter"), Alen Halilović ("Sporting Gijon").
Forwards: Marko Pjaca ("Dinamo Zagreb"), Mario Mandžukić ("Juventus"), Nikola Kalinić ("Fiorentina"), Duje Čop ("Malaga"), Andrej Kramarić ("Hoffenheim").
