Croatia to play in attractive Qatar tournament in March

(Photo: HNS)

ZAGREB, 14 February 2020 – The Croatian national team will take part in the Qatar Airways International Tournament in Doha in March, the Croatian Football Federation confirmed on Friday. 

The Qatar capital will host the 4-team international tournament which features teams which are all ranked inside the Top 12 in the world. 

Along with World Cup runners-up Croatia, the tournament features world No. 1 Belgium, current Euro champions Portugal (ranked 7th) and Switzerland (ranked 12th). All four teams are also taking part in Euro 2020 in the summer.  

Croatia will face Switzerland in the first match of the tournament on 26 March (7:30 pm local time). The next match for Zlatko Dalic’s side will be on 30 March when they take on Portugal (8:30 pm local time). 

It will be the first time Croatia has played in Qatar, the country that will host the FIFA World Cup at the end of 2022, and both matches will be played at the spectacular Education City Stadium.

“I am proud that we were able to reach an agreement for Croatia’s participation in such a prestigious tournament. On the sports side, we assured top opponents for the national team which was the desire of coach Dalic and the professional staff, and on the other hand, we negotiated significant financial resources that can be invested in further development of Croatian football,” said HNS president Davor Suker.

(Photo: HNS)

“It is a well-known wish for Croatia to play strong friendly matches before the big competition, to see where we are and what we need to work on, so I am very pleased that Croatia’s participation in such a strong tournament has been confirmed. Switzerland and Portugal are great teams that we respect very much. The trip to Doha will also be a great opportunity to further bond and to have a good time after almost five months away from national team gatherings, which we certainly are all very much looking forward to,” said Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic.

(HNS)