Richard Rogers38 said:Moving right along.
Travelers to Brazil: (20+3)
Mario Mandzukic
Perisic-Rocket-Modric-Kova-Oggy-Badelj-Pasalic-Broske
Pranjic-Corluka-Lovren-Sifo-Vida-Srna-Vrsaljko
Pletikosa-Subasic-Zelenika
Sammir? Bubnjic? Mocinic? Miller?
Vol. 1. www.forum.hr/showthread.php?t=455173
Vol. 2.
Miller can only be brought back into the mix if someone gets hurt after we finally trim the squad down to 23.
Let’s look at it this way:
Out of the initial 30, three players have already dropped out. That means, unless there are more injuries, we only need to find four more people who won't be making the trip.
One is an easy call—Chope is the sixth forward, and he was really just included to round out the numbers. Honestly, I don't think he even goes if one of the main forwards gets injured in the coming days (though that doesn't mean Rebic isn't technically "extra" given his injury history).
Three more to go.
It’s highly unlikely any defender will be cut. Since Strinic's exit left Bubnjic as practically the only natural left-footed defender available, the defensive line is pretty set. Vida can't be cut either because he's so versatile—he can even step into that defensive midfielder role, which is currently just Oggy's territory. So, as far as defense goes, whoever is healthy is going.
That leaves us looking for the final three cuts among the midfielders.
Personally, I think Nico will try to avoid bringing absolute debutants to the World Cup, which makes Pasalic, Mocinic, and Brozovic the prime candidates to be left behind.
I'd put them in that order, mainly because Nico will almost certainly value "representative" experience from the U-21 level, and Brozovic was a key player there.
Why am I even mentioning this? Because, in my opinion, it's not impossible for Brozovic to head to Brazil instead of Badelj, even though Badelj has more senior experience. They play very similar roles, so there's really no point in taking both.
So, here is my personal prediction:
Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (FC Rostov), Danijel Subasic (AS Monaco), Oliver Zelenika (Lokomotiva)
Defenders: Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Dejan Lovren (Southampton FC), Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv), Gordon Schildenfeld (Panathinaikos), Danijel Pranjic (Panathinaikos), Domagoj Vid (Dynamo Kyiv), Šime Vrsaljko (Genoa CFC), Igor Bubnjic (Udinese Calcio)
Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla FC), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dynamo Kyiv), Ivan Perisic (VfL Wolfsburg), Mateo Kovacic (Inter Milan), Milan Badelj (Hamburger SV)
/Marcelo Brozovic (Dinamo Chicago), Sammir (Getafe CF)
Forwards: Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich), Ivica Olic (VfL Wolfsburg), Eduardo Alves da Silva (Shakhtar Donetsk), Nikica Jelavic (Hull City AFC), Ante Rebic (Fiorentina)
If I were picking the initial 30 myself, my list would look a little different (I'd leave out Ilicic and Sammir), but given how the list stands now and the injuries that have already happened, this seems like the most logical selection.
