Croatia Reveal FIFA World Cup 2026 Squad With Luka Modric in Charge

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has revealed his preliminary 26-man squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Experienced midfielder Luka Modric will captain the side as Croatia prepare for another major tournament.

The 40-year-old Inter Milan star was injured after colliding heads with a Juventus player during a match in late April.

Although Modric later had surgery, Dalic still selected the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner in the squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Speaking about Modric, Zlatko Dalic said that he is currently training while wearing a face mask, but the team is confident that he will get better before the start of the mega event.

“He’s training with a (facial) mask and doing well. Maybe this break helped him. We’ll see his condition, but I don’t doubt him, he’ll be in good form.” said Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic.

Meanwhile, Croatia's defence also has some problems, as their key midfielder Josko Gvardiol got injured while playing for Manchester City last January. Zlatko Dalic hopes he will be ready for the tournament, as the team is looking to test him in the World Cup warm-up matches.

“We hope he’ll be ready to play. We expect him to be a major boost for us in the US.” said Zlatko Dalic.

Reflecting on his team’s chances in the FIFA World Cup 2026, Dalic said the first priority of the team is to get through the group, and then they will try to dominate the next phase of the tournament.

"The main goal is to get through the group. I'm optimistic as always, we have a good national team. We have quality, youth and experience," said Zlatko Dalic.

"We will certainly be tougher and more defensive against England, playing with more midfielders. England want to be world champions. Against Ghana and Panama, it will be different, much more attack-oriented but neither are any less challenging." added Zlatko Dalic.

Croatia Squad for FIFA World Cup 2026

Goalkeepers: Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Dominik Kotarski (Copenhagen), Ivor Pandur (Hull City).

Defenders: Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City), Duje Caleta-Car (Real Sociedad), Josip Sutalo (Ajax Amsterdam), Josip Stanisic (Bayern Munich), Marin Pongracic (Fiorentina), Martin Erlic (Midtjylland), Luka Vuskovic (Hamburg).

Midfielders: Luka Modric (AC Milan), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Nikola Vlasic (Torino), Luka Sucic (Real Sociedad), Martin Baturina (Como), Kristijan Jakic (Augsburg), Petar Sucic (Inter Milan), Nikola Moro (Bologna), Toni Fruk (Rijeka).

Forwards: Ivan Perisic (PSV Eindhoven), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Marco Pasalic (Orlando City), Petar Musa (Dallas), Igor Matanovic (Freiburg).