Although they have almost already secured a place in the World Cup, and in Podgorica on November 17th they will probably mathematically have secured a place in the World Cup, the Croatian national football team will have a great motive to beat Montenegro at the end of the qualifiers.
The "Fiery Ones" are fighting hard for the best possible position in the FIFA rankings, which could, at the last moment, earn them seed status in the draw for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held on December 5 in Washington.
So, Zlatko Dalić's team is betting all their cards on victories - against the Faroe Islands in Rijeka on November 14th, which would mathematically secure a place in the World Cup, and then in Podgorica three days later for the best possible ranking.
The "Fiery Ones" have played six matches in the qualifiers, have 16 points, three more than the Czech Republic, and are one point away from qualifying for the World Cup.
"We are aware that we are one point away from mathematically confirming our place in the World Cup and of course we want to secure that place and celebrate it with our fans in Rijeka. If the results of the Faroe Islands are not enough of a warning, then that difficult match in Torshavn is certainly proof that the Faroese are a tough, demanding and unpleasant opponent, and that only with a maximum approach can we expect our undoubtedly higher quality to come to the fore. The same applies to the match in Montenegro, because regardless of the likely place, we want to finish the qualifications in style, and we are also fighting for the first hat in the draw for the World Cup - it is up to us to do what we can, record two victories and thus end these qualifications as the best in history," Dalić concluded for the Federation's website.
On his list are - goalkeepers: Dominik Livaković, Ivica Ivušić, Dominik Kotarski;
defenders: Joško Gvardiol, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Josip Šutalo, Josip Stanišić, Marin Pongračić, Martin Erlić, Luka Vušković;
midfielder: Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic, Nikola Vlasic, Kristijan Jakic, Petar Sucic, Nikola Moro, Toni Fruk;
attackers: Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Ante Budimir, Marco Pašalić, Franjo Ivanović, Igor Matanović;
pre-calls: Lovro Majer, Mislav Oršić, Luka Sučić, Martin Baturina, Petar Musa, Domagoj Bradarić, Ivan Smolčić, Adriano Jagušić, Franko Kovačević, Karlo Letica, Ivor Pandur and Moris Valinčić.
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