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Croatia player Mateo Kovacic won’t be available for the second leg of the Champions League last four tie with former club Real Madrid after failing to recover from the hamstring problem that has plagued him for several weeks.
AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli will be a happy man after his side were successful in their bid to overturn the suspension handed to the club’s Croatian winger Ante Rebic. The forward was initially handed a two-game ban as punishment after he received a red card in the defeat to Napoli some weeks ago, but he will be ready for their next match after his suspension was reduced.
Croatia football giants Dinamo Zagreb have been drawn with Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16 of the Europa League after the draw for the round took place in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday afternoon. Tottenham Hotspur is currently being managed by ex-Inter Milan, Real Madrid, FC Porto and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. The North Londoners are one of the favourites to win the Europa League this season and Croatia football giants Dinamo Zagreb face an uphill battle to secure a place in the quarterfinals ahead of the Premier League team. Dinamo Zagreb were able to book their place in the round of 16 after beating Russian team FC Krasnodar home and away. The Croatia football club had beaten FC Krasnodar 3-2 away from home in the first leg before Croatia winger MislavOrsic scored the only goal of the game in the second leg to give Dinamo Zagreb a 1-0 victory in the second leg of their round of 32 tie and a 4-2 aggregate win. MislavOrsic scored his goal on 31 minutes and it was more than enough to take his team through to the next round of the Europa League. On their part, Tottenham Hotspur were more emphatic in dealing with Wolfsberger AC of Austria. Dele Alli, Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale were all on target to give Spurs a comprehensive 4-0 win over their Austrian opponents at home on Thursday. Brazilian striker Carlos Vinicius is on loan from Portuguese giants Benfica and he was responsible for two goals for his North London team. The win over Wolfsberger AC in the second leg made it 8-1 on aggregate for Tottenham Hotspur after they had won the first leg 4-1 away from home last week Thursday.Dinamo Zagreb will have their hands full in the round 16 over the two legs with Spurs.
Croatia international defender DujeCaleta-Car was left disappointed after his club blocked a dream transfer to Premier League title holders Liverpool. DujeCaleta-Car plays his club football for Marseille in the French Ligue 1. The 24-year-old centre back was on the radar of Liverpool in the last days of the just concluded transfer window as the Reds try to bolster their centre back options for the rest of the season amidst the numerous injuries in that department.
Croatia international forward Ante Rebic was sorely missed as his AC Milan side suffered their first league defeat at the hands of holders Juventus in the Italian Serie A. The Croatia national team player was not in the squad for the home clash with Juventus after he tested positive for Covid-19. AC Milan had to do without Ante Rebic and RadeKrunic as a result of Coronavirus. Opponents Juventus also had players ruled out because of Covid-19.
Dinamo Zagreb are the only team left to fly the flag of Croatia in Europe this season after they secured their place in the knockout stage of the Europa League. Dinamo Zagreb are the current champions in the topflight league in Croatia after they won title number 21 at the end of last season.
Croatian head coach Zlatko Dalić has named a 23-man squad for his team’s November UEFA Nations League games on Monday. Croatia is set to return to the field in November with three games following a loss to France and a win against Sweden in the October Nations League games.
Bild journalist Philipp Kessler has said that Ivan Perisic is unlikely to join Bayern Munich on a permanent basis at the end of the season. The Croatia international joined the Bavarian giants on a season-long loan from Inter Milan last summer and he initially struggled for game time under manager Niko Kovac.
Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic says that he will keep a place open for Rangers defender Niko Katic at Euro 2020. The 23-year-old defender is set for a long spell on the sidelines due to a cruciate ligament injury that he picked up in training last week. This is a major blow for a player who has been regarded as a key part of the Croatian national team by managerDalic. In fact, the 23-year-old is also held in high regard by strangers manager Steven Gerrard, who sanctioned a £ 1.3 million deal to get him from Slaven Belupo in 2018.
Croatia international Ivan Rakitic has stressed that he is clearly happy at Barcelona and has no plans of heading through the exit door during the summer. The 32-year-old’s role with the Blaugrana has reduced with the arrival of Frenkie de Jong last summer and he has made only 13 starts in the league and European games combined this season.
