Dalic confirmed an unchanged 26-man squad that sees Croatia captain Luka Modric set to lead his country in what is expected to be the Ballon d’Or winner’s final World Cup appearance.
Dalic retained the provisional list announced on May 18 and cut seven players from a standby list as Croatia set their sights on building upon recent tournament achievements.
The 40-year-old will have one final opportunity to take Croatia to World Cup success after guiding his country through to the runners-up spot in Russia in 2018 and third-place finish at Qatar 2022.
Dalic has a balance of youth and experience, especially in defence where Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol is joined by much talked about 18-year-old Luka Vuskovic who is gaining valuable experience in the Bundesliga at Hamburg SV.
England, Ghana and Panama comprise Croatia’s Group L destiny.
Squad:
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), Josip Stanisic (Bayern Munich), Marin Pongracic (Fiorentina), Kristijan Jakic (Augsburg), Martin Erlic (Midtjylland), Luka Vuskovic (Hamburg SV)
Midfielders: Luka Modric (Milan), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Nikola Vlasic (Torino), Luka Sucic (Real Sociedad), Martin Baturina (Como), 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)