Croatia name 26-man prelim squad

看板Eastern-Euro作者JariLitmanen (Breezy Valley Bandari)時間20年前 (2004/05/16 01:21)推噓0(0推 0噓 0→)

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ZAGREB, May 13 (Reuters) Croatia coach Otto Baric included uncapped 19-year-old Dinamo Zagreb captain Niko Kranjcar in a preliminary list of 26 players for Euro 2004 announced on Thursday. Kaiserslautern's 32-year-old midfielder Nenad Bjelica was called up although he played only 30 minutes of a friendly against Macedonia in April. His one previous international appearance was in the late 1990s. Australian-born goalkeeper Joey Didulica, who made a confident debut against Macedonia, also secured a place in the squad. Croatia are with England, France and Switzerland in Euro 2004 Group B, and Baric will name his final 23-man squad on June 2 after a home friendly against Slovakia on May 29. Croatia complete their preparations for the tournament in Portugal with a June 5 friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen. 'Objectively speaking, France and England are better teams than us, but I believe we can get through if we have all 23 players fully fit, physically and mentally,' Baric told Reuters. To reach the second round, Croatia must beat Switzerland and look for an extra two or three points from the games against France and England, Baric said. Croatia have lacked a creative playmaker since the retirement of the 'golden generation' of players who took their country to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals in France. Squad: Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (Shakhtar Donetsk), Tomislav Butina (Club Bruges), Joey Didulica (Austria Vienna) Defenders: Dario Simic (AC Milan), Robert Kovac (Bayern Munich), Igor Tudor (Juventus), Boris Zivkovic (VfB Stuttgart), Josip Simunic (Hertha Berlin), Stjepan Tomas (Fenerbahce), Mato Neretljak (Hajduk Split), Mario Tokic (GAK Graz) Midfielders: Niko Kovac (Hertha Berlin), Milan Rapaic (Ancona), Jerko Leko (Dynamo Kiev), Marko Babic (Bayer Leverkusen), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Nenad Bjelica (Kaiserslautern), Giovanni Rosso (Maccabi Haifa), Niko Kranjcar (Dinamo Zagreb), Jasmin Agic (Dinamo Zagreb) Forwards: Dado Prso (Monaco), Tomo Sokota (Benfica), Ivica Mornar (Portsmouth), Ivica Olic (CSKA Moscow), Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen), Marijo Maric (Kaerntern, Austria) -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 210.68.150.253