Croatia World Cup 2014 Squad: Player-by-Player Guide
Sasa Ibrulj@sasaibrulj
Correspondent IMay 14, 2014Croatia World Cup 2014 Squad: Player-by-Player Guide
Niko Kovac finally announced his selection of Croatia's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Of course, seven of them will not make the final cut.
It seems that Kovac waited until the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision on Josip Simunic's 10-match ban was announced, which confirmed that the Dinamo Zagreb defender will have to miss the World Cup. The veteran was originally penalised by FIFA for shouting one of the slogans of Croatia's Nazi-backed puppet regime from World War II.
However, Kovac offered no big surprises. He added a couple of new names, mostly young prospects like Oliver Zelenika, Mario Pasalic and Marcelo Brozovic. The newcomer is Dinamo's striker Duje Cop, while Kovac also decided to recall naturalised Brazilian Sammir.
The Croats will have another Brazilian in the form of ex-Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva. However, Kovac omitted one of the biggest homegrown talents—midfielder Alen Halilovic, who moves to Barcelona this summer.
Bleacher Report brings you the World Cup player-by-player guide for Croatia.
Goalkeepers
Name: Stipe Pletikosa
Date of Birth: January 8th, 1979
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 109
Club: Rostov (Russia)
Name: Danijel Subasic
Date of birth: October 27th, 1984
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 6
Club: Monaco (France)
Name: Oliver Zelenika
Date of Birth: May 14th, 1993
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 0
Club: Lokomotiva Zagreb (Croatia)
Defenders
Name: Vedran Corluka
Date of birth: February 5th, 1986
Position: Defender
Caps: 71
Club: Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia)
Name: Dejan Lovren
Date of birth: July 5th, 1989
Position: Defender
Caps: 24
Club: Southampton (England)
Name: Danijel Pranjic
Date of Birth: December 2nd, 1981
Position: Defender
Caps: 47
Club: Panathinaikos (Greece)
Name: Gordon Schildenfeld
Date of Birth: March 18th, 1985
Position: Defender
Caps: 20
Club: Panathinaikos (Greece)
Name: Darijo Srna
Date of Birth: May 1st, 1982
Position: Defender
Caps: 111
Club: Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Name: Ivan Strinic
Date of birth: July 17th, 1987
Position: Defender
Caps: 32
Club: Dnipro (Ukraine)
Name: Domagoj Vida
Date of birth: April 29th, 1989
Position: Defender
Caps: 21
Club: Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
Name: Sime Vrsaljko
Date of Birth: January 10th, 1992
Position: Defender
Caps: 5
Club: Genoa (Italy)
Midfielders
Name: Marcelo Brozovic
Date of Birth: November 16th, 1992
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 0
Club: Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
Name: Milan Badelj
Date of Birth: February 25th, 1989
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 9
Club: HSV (Germany)
Name: Niko Kranjcar
Date of Birth: August 13th, 1984
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 81
Club: QPR (England)
Name: Ivan Mocinic
Date of Birth: April 30th, 1993
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 0
Club: Rijeka (Croatia)
Name: Mateo Kovacic
Date of birth: May 6th, 1994
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 8
Club: FC Internazionale (Italy)
Name: Luka Modric
Date of Birth: May 9th, 1985
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 73
Club: Real Madrid (Spain)
Name: Mario Pasalic
Date of Birth: February 9th, 1995
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 0
Club: Hajduk Split (Croatia)
Name: Ivan Rakitic
Date of birth: March 10th, 1988
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 60
Club: Sevilla (Spain)
Name: Jorge Sammir Cruz Campos
Date of Birth: April 23rd, 1987
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 4
Club: Getafe (Spain)
Name: Ognjen Vukojevic
Date of Birth: December 20th, 1983
Position: Midfielder
Caps: 54
Club: Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
Forwards
Name: Eduardo Alves da Silva
Date of birth: February 25th, 1983
Position: Attacker
Caps: 61
Club: Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Name: Nikica Jelavic
Date of birth: August 27th, 1985
Position: Attacker
Caps: 31
Club: Hull City (England)
Name: Mario Mandzukic
Date of Birth: May 26th, 1986
Position: Attacker
Caps: 48
Club: Bayern Munich (Germany)
Name: Duje Cop
Date of Birth: February 1st, 1990
Position: Attacker
Caps: 0
Club: Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
Name: Ivo Ilicevic
Date of Birth: November 14th, 1983
Position: Attacker
Caps: 8
Club: HSV (Germany)
Name: Ivica Olic
Date of Birth: September 9th, 1979
Position: Attacker
Caps: 90
Club: Wolfsburg (Germany)
Name: Ivan Perisic
Date of Birth: February 2nd, 1989
Position: Attacker
Caps: 27
Club: Wolfsburg (Germany)
Name: Ante Rebic
Date of Birth: September 21st, 1993
Position: Attacker
Caps: 3
Club: Fiorentina (Italy)