No Surprises in Croatia Squad for Important World Cup Qualifiers

There are no surprises in Igor Štimac’s Croatia squad named on Monday for two important upcoming World Cup qualifiers later this month.

Štimac has named a 26-man squad for matches against Belgium at Zagreb’s Maksimir Stadium on 11 October, and Scotland at Hampden Park on 15 October and will be without the services of suspended defender Joe Šimunić for both matches, and captain Darijo Srna for the Belgium fixture. There have been call ups for Queens Park Rangers Niko Kranjčar, Hrvoje Milić and Rijeka’s Leon Benko.

Squad:

Keepers: Stipe Pletikosa, Danijel Subašić, Dario Krešić
Defenders: Darijo Srna, Domagoj Vida, Vedran Ćorluka, Dejan Lovren, Josip Pivarić, Ivan Strinić, Gordon Schildenfeld, Šime Vrsaljko, Igor Bubnjić
Midfielders: Ivan Rakitić, Luka Modrić, Ivan Perišić, Mateo Kovačić, Ognjen Vukojević, Niko Kranjčar, Arijan Ademi, Alen Halilović
Strikers: Mario Mandžukić, Ivica Olić, Eduardo Alves Da Silva, Nikica Jelavić, Nikola Kalinić, Ante Rebić
Standby: Hrvoje Milić, Leon Benko, Milan Badelj