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Croatia brings stars of top national league to China Cup

Xinhua, December 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

The stars of Croatian top football division head the list of 18 players that national team head coach Ante Cacic called up for the inaugural China Cup which will be held in Nanning from January 11 to January 15 next year.

Chinese football fans who hope to see Luka Modric, Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Perisic and other big names in Croatian team will probably feel dissapointed because none of them will take part in the tournament in Nanning. However, they will have a chance to see a string of players that will try to prove worthy of the red and white checkered jersey.

For most of the players on the list this will be a debut for the A national team but there are also some of them who are familiar with national duties like 27-year old left back Josip Pivaric of Dinamo Zagreb and 24-year old Rijeka defender Matej Mitrovic who scored his first goal for Croatia in the recent World Cup qualifying match versus Kosovo. Pivaric was a favorite to take the place in the Croatia starting 11 at this year EURO in France but he torn the cruciate ligament in his knee during the last winter break and was held off the field for six months.

Croatian first division leader Rijeka heads the list with five of its players included. The one player to watch is Franko Andrijasevic, 25-year old ofensive midfielder, who got his second national call on the same day when he was presented with the trophy as the best player in Croatia, voted by the captains of the 10 best Croatian clubs. Andrijasevic scored eight goals in 13 appearances for Rijeka this season in the Croatian first division.

Cacic's list also includes present and former members of Croatia U-21 team, like Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, Rijeka midfielder Josip Misic, Lokomotiva Zagreb forward Mirko Maric and the most known of them all, 19-year old Hajduk Split midfielder Nikola Vlasic.

Those familiar with track and field athletes will remember Nikola's older sister Blanka Vlasic as one of the most famous high jumpers in the world. She won a silver medal at Beijing Olympics in 2008 and a bronze medal at this year's Games in Rio de Janeiro. Nikola is trying to follow her footsteps to sports stardom and prove his talent that has been recognized two years ago when he was included on "The Guardian" list of the world's 40 most prominent players born in 1997.

Croatian national team will fly to China on January 7 from Zagreb. In the first match of the tournament Croatia will play against Chile. In the second semi-final China will battle with Iceland for a place in the final. Losing teams will play for the third place on January 14 and the first winner of China Cup will be decided on January 15.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Andrej Prskalo (Rijeka), Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb)

Defensemen: Matej Mitrovic (Rijeka), Josip Pivaric (Dinamo Zagreb), Borna Barisic (Osijek), Mateo Barac (Osijek), Josip Juranovic (Hajduk Split), Jakov Filipovic (Inter Zapresic), Toni Datkovic (Koper).

Midfielders: Josip Misic (Rijeka), Mate Males (Rijeka), Franko Andrijasevic (Rijeka), Mario Situm (Dinamo Zagreb), Domagoj Antolic (Dinamo Zagreb), Nikola Vlasic (Hajduk), Filip Ozobic (FC Gabala)

Forwards: Antonio Perosevic (Osijek), Mirko Maric (Lokomotiva Zagreb). Endit