Croatia has lined up four international friendly games before they kick off their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign on 17th June in Arlington, Texas, at the AT&T Stadium against the Three Lions of England.
The highly rated European nation will face two opponents from South America in the upcoming March international break, and also face two from Europe in June as the final part of the preparations for the tournament.
Head coach Zlatko Dalic on Monday announced 27 man squad with a standby of nine to face Colombia and Brazil in Orlando, USA.
The squad is headlined by the evergreen Luka Modric, who, at the young age of forty, is still the heartbeat of the team. Centre-backs Duje Caleta-Car, Josip Sutalo and Josip Stanisic lead the team in defence. Mario Pasalic, Nikolo Vlasic and Lovro Majer are part of Dalic’s midfield. In the attack, the veteran Ivan Perisic will headline the squad. Ante Budimir and Andrej Kramaric will be expected to lead the side.
The full squad…
Dalic fires a warning to his World Cup opponents
“In recent weeks, we have managed to visit a large number of national team players, and I am pleased that several of them have managed to secure better club status, which I requested from them in November,” he revealed. The head coach in November 2025 discussed with his players to enjoy more minutes at their respective clubs to help brighten their chances for a place in the 2026 World Cup squad.
“I felt that the players live for the World Cup, that they have a huge motivation, and I want them to welcome the preparations in the best possible shape, mood and, above all, good health. These matches in America will serve as a great test for us to see where we are three months before the World Cup and what we need to work on the most during the preparations, but we will also use these ten days in Orlando to strengthen the unity that is always our trump card compared to other nations.”
“Therefore, we are a loyal team that has imposed itself in the past period, and we deeply believe that we will be stronger at the World Cup, also for Mateo and Joško, who are our core players, and I am pleased that they are recovering well from the surgery.”
The head coach expressed his optimism that his side will be stronger at the World Cup.
“With a larger number of pre-call-ups, we want to show that we are monitoring several serious candidates for the national team, with several of them also in the young national team that is waiting for a very important match with Turkey. There are still many matches until the WC and enough opportunities for all candidates to fight for their status with form, performance and energy, the door of the national team is not closed to anyone,” he concluded.
Croatia will face Belgium and Slovenia in June in their final preparation games for the tournament.
The Blazers are in Group L alongside England, Ghana and Panama. Croatia will participate in their 7th World Cup since becoming an independent nation after breaking away from Yugoslavia in June 1991. They have finished twice in third place and once as runners-up, making them a deadly side at this level.
