Olić presents U-21 squad for the European qualifiers

The young national team continues with the qualifications for the European Championship in 2025, which will be played in Slovakia. Croatia plays both games at home with Faroe Islands (5 September, Zagreb) and Portugal (10 September, Karlovac).

The new head coach of the Croatia U-21 national team, Ivica Olić, sent 23 calls and 8 pre-calls, and the national team will gather on Monday, September 2 at 12:00 in Zagreb.

"As far as the roster is concerned, in the work of the U-21 national team I would like to include guys who are younger, but are great talents, so we have two 17-year-olds - Luka Vušković, who is already proving himself in senior football, and Noa Mikić, for whom all the national team coaches and the club coaches have nothing but praise. There are also Matković (2006), Zvonarek and Buljan (both born in 2005). I want such talents to feel this level and show that they already belong to the young national team. We have a very good competition and the young national team is an opportunity for all the players to improve further and show that with their knowledge, but more importantly, character, work and mentality, they can be candidates for the A national team one day", Olić concluded.

Niko Kranjčar and Marko Krnjić will be assistant coaches in the U-21 national team's coaching staff, while Vladimir Vasilj will play the role of goalkeeper coach.

"I believe that we have assembled an excellent staff. We thank the Croatian Football Federation for their support and the assistants who accepted this challenge, which we are very much looking forward to because we believe that we have a great young team with a lot of potential. We have two completely different games waiting for us - against the Faroe Islands, we are big favorites, and then against Portugal we want to show that we only had one bad day with them and that we can match them. These are young guys where oscillations and mistakes are normal and acceptable, but what I will insist on is hard work, maximum engagement and strong togetherness. This must adorn every Croatian national team", coach Olić emphasized.

List of players for the matches against the Faroe Islands and Portugal:

Goalkeepers: Nikola Čavlina (Osijek), Franko Kolić (Osijek), Borna Buljan (Hajduk)

Defenders: Luka Vušković (K.V.C. Westerlo), Moreno Živković (Lokomotiva), Dominik Prpić (Hajduk), Ivan Cvijanović (Osijek), Noa Mikić (Dinamo), Domagoj Bukvić (Osijek), Šimun Hrgović (Hajduk).

Midfielders: Veldin Hodža (Rijeka), Lukas Kačavenda (Dinamo), Marin Šoticek (FC Basel 1893), Lovro Zvonarek (SK Sturm Graz), Marko Soldo (Osijek), Leon Belcar (Varaždin), Marko Capan (Hajduk).

Forwards: Marin Ljubičić (LASK), Gabriel Vidović (Bayern Munich), Dion Drena Beljo (Rapid Vienna), Ante Crnac (Raków Częstochowa), Franjo Ivanović (Rijeka), Anton Matković (Osijek)

Stand-by: Maro Katinić (Sharjah), Mateo Lisica (Istra 1961), Ivan Mandić (Vukovar 1991), Marin Prekodravac (Šibenik), Gabriel Rukavina (Rijeka), Mirko Sušak (Lokomotiva), Fran Žilinski (Lokomotiva), Phil Noah Pesch ( Borussia Mönchengladbach).

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