Croatia Football

This is the story of a how a fun-loving former international star was said to have 'fulfilled his dream' by having sex in the middle of the pitch with his ex-wife, who was a former Playboy model.

EXCLUSIVE BY WILL PICKWORTH IN SWANSEA: A Ballon d'Or winner, Real Madrid 's most decorated star and a veteran of 186 Croatia caps, joining Swansea as an investor and co-owner.

The crash involved four vehicles and also claimed the life of another individual not traveling with Pokrivac. Two of his teammates sustained critical injuries and remain hospitalised.

Fabian Hurzeler's side, who are known as the Seagulls, have been synonymous with the bird being emblazoned across their badge since 1977, having previously been known as the Dolphins.

GARY KEOWN: Indeed, for one night only, the Glen Sannox, still to take to the waters, looked positively mobile and functional compared to the highly rated Croatian.

In a video which circulated on social media after the final whistle, Barisic showed off two nasty-looking bite marks, reportedly gained during the crush to secure the player's shirt.

Dalic's side seemed all but set to progress to the knockout stages of the European Championship after Luka Modric had fired them into the lead in the 55th minute.

MATT BARLOW IN LEIPZIG: Zlatko Dalic's side had looked to be heading into the last-16 after Luka Modric scored for Croatia in the second-half, just moments after missing a menalty.

Relive Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Spain take on Albania and Croatia meet Italy in their final game of Group B.

UEFA has banned Albanian player Mirlind Daku on Sunday for two games at Euro 2024, after leading fans in nationalist chants. Daku has since apologised on social media.

Daku's statement came after UEFA launched two investigations into alleged incidents around Albania's 2-2 draw with Croatia on Wednesday, which led to Serbia's threat to pull out of the tournament.

MATT BARLOW: Yamal is supremely gifted and yet the real secret to making this abundance of natural talent work in elite international football at the age of 16 is his temperament.

Re-live Mail Sport's live blog for Croatia vs Albania for all the build-up, live score and action from the group stage of Euro 2024.

JOE BERNSTEIN IN BERLIN: Spain kicked off their Euro 2024 campaign underway in style after thrashing Croatia 3-0 in Berlin, with Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Carvajal all netting.

Petkovic had seen his spot-kick saved by Unai Simon but was assisted by Ivan Perisic for the rebound, but his team-mate was penalised for entering the box early after a VAR check.

MATT BARLOW IN BERLIN: Croatia were sliced open by the Spanish, who are more purposeful under boss De la Fuente. They retain all the technical artistry but can be more direct.

At 16 years and 338, the winger has broken yet another record as he's become the youngest player to feature in the Euros having been named in Spain's XI against Croatia.

Re-live Mail Sport's live blog for Spain vs Croatia for all the build-up, live score and action from the Group stage of Euro 2024.

Euro 2024 is here and many will be looking at their nation's path to the final. But for some there appears to be serious cause for concern that they will not make it out of the group stage.

Advances in sports science and lifestyle choices mean some of the continent's finest can enjoy longer careers but everything comes to an end eventually.

Bar the few thousand lucky enough to be in the stadiums, fans will soon gather around their televisions in anticipation as they wait to see what their countries can achieve on the big stage.

The cream of Europe's top stars head into the tournament looking to make their mark, but there's plenty that already have among the coaching staff in their playing careers.

Most of these kits have already had their first outing in recent international breaks, with England first sporting their new look in friendlies against Brazil and Belgium in March.

MARTIN KEOWN: With just under two days to go until the hosts kick off the tournament against Scotland in Germany, Euro 2024-mania has reached fever-pitch.

After a fearsome qualifying campaign, in any other group Luis de la Fuente's side might have been the favourites, but have a path laced with landmines in the form of Italy and Croatia.

Excitement is building for the 2024 UEFA European Championship's as Germany are set to host the hotly anticipated tournament this month. Here is where all 24 teams rank with FIFA,

The countdown for Euro 2024 is well and truly on as the final pieces of the puzzle are being put together. So when will the final squads be named? Here is everything you need to know.

Once the club football season ends, there is just the small matter of a European Championship for football fans to get their teeth in to.

The forward, who spent two seasons with Blackburn Rovers back between 2009 and 2011, has led a journeyman career and graced some of Europe's biggest clubs.

WALES 1-1 TURKEY - TOM COLLOMOSSE AT THE CARDIFF CITY STADIUM: For 36 minutes, Wales' dream of qualifying for a third consecutive major tournament was tantalisingly close.

Luka Modric has admitted that it was a 'strange feeling' to lose his regular starting role at Real Madrid, after three consecutive games starting on the bench. 

AL-NASSR 4-2 SHABAB AL-AHLI: Al-Nassr began the clash at Al-Awwal Park well, with Anderson Talisca opening the scoring after just 11 minutes when he was set up by new recruit Marcelo Brozovic.

Manchester City are a club almost intrinsically linked with enormous riches in the modern game, but surprisingly they don't really throw around their weight in the transfer market

Pep Guardiola's side have been linked with the £86million defender for some time, with Leipzig giving City a deadline of August 12 to execute a deal for him.

JACK GAUGHAN: City are negotiating with RB Leipzig for the 21-year-old defender, valued at around £86million by his club, who want talks concluded before the season starts.

JACK GAUGHAN IN SEOUL: City had identified the Croatia international as a primary target months ago and the central defender is keen to seal a switch to the Etihad Stadium.

RB Leipzig have claimed their has been no agreement with Manchester City over Josko Gvardiol, despite reports the defender is about to join the club.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY SAMI MOKBEL: Tite has won all there is to win back in his native Brazil. But his competitive juices are urging him to try something different. To exit his comfort zone.

A number of stars have left Chelsea this summer as Todd Boehly and Mauricio Pochettino oversee a major clear-out following last season's disappointing campaign in the Premier League.

Both Haaland and Knoll beamed as they struck a pose beachside, no doubt enjoying the sunshine at the recently-launched Balearic hotspot on Friday afternoon.

It is a little ironic that Josko Gvardiol, labelled by his Croatia manager as 'the world's best centre' back aged just 22, is perhaps best known for 12 seconds of embarrassment against Lionel Messi.

Leipzig want around £86million for the 21-year-old. Previous club Dinamo Zagreb are understood to have a sell-on clause of around 20 per cent.

In what was a tightly-contested game, Ruiz, of Braga, raced from kick-off to stun his opponents, who are now out of the competition. Spain will now fight it out with Ukraine to win Group B.

The Real Madrid star, who will turn 38 in September, wore a pained expression as Croatia were beaten 5-4 in a penalty shootout in defeat by Spain, raising questions of his future in international football.

Croatian model Ivana Knoll was cheering on her country during the Nations League final in Rotterdam - after making a name for herself at the World Cup last year.

Croatia take on Spain on Sunday evening in the Nations League final, with veteran midfielder Luka Modric looking to inspire his country to their first ever major international trophy.

DANNY MURPHY: I wish Luka Modric good luck on Sunday as he tries to cap an incredible career with a first major trophy for Croatia, against Spain in the Nations League final.

Croatia scored twice in extra time to beat the Netherlands 4-2 in their Nations League semi-final in Rotterdam on Wednesday and advance to Sunday's decider.

Brozovic, who has also been linked with Barcelona and Liverpool, has a contract at the San Siro until 2026, having played 318 games and scored 30 times for the club

TRANSFER CONFIDENTIAL: Simon Jones will be giving you insight, news and the latest chat from across the globe on all the deals taking shape ahead of this summer's transfer window.

Rob Page's gamble proved inspired move with one of the replacements, Ipswich Town's Broadhead, becoming the 93rd-minute the saviour on his international debut for the side.

Read how Sportsmail covered the action in the live blog for the Euro 2024 qualifiers on Saturday night, including Croatia versus Wales and Spain versus Norway.

The midfielder has been linked with a lucrative move to the Saudi Arabian side amid suggestions that he could reunite with his former Real team-mate Ronaldo.

Next summer's tournament takes place in Germany, with Hansi Flick's side having qualified already by virtue of being hosts, and 53 teams are preparing their quest to join them.

The talented centre back is one of the most highly coveted players in Europe after starring for Croatia at the Qatar World Cup last year.

And, according to the Telegraph , the situation with Kovacic has alerted Manchester City with boss Pep Guardiola understood to be a big fan of the 28-year-old Croatian midfielder.

In an open letter to fans, Lovren described his announcement as 'somber news', and spoke of the emotion he had gone through in deciding to hang up his boots for his country.

From top-class players such as Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic to Croatia's run all the way to the 2018 World Cup final, the Balkans are unquestionably a hotbed for footballing talent.

This is reportedly a non-negotiable condition and would see Modric - who has been a talismanic figure in Croatia's success at major tournaments over recent years - hang up his boots for his nation.

Former AC Milan midfielder Kessie only joined Barca from AC Milan in July, six months ago, but the Spanish giants are already looking to move him on.

Gvardiol starred for Croatia at the World Cup, helping his nation finish third in Qatar, and is viewed as one of the hottest prospects in European football.

It comes as a boost for Nathan Jones as he attempts to steer the club away from the bottom of the Premier League with the Saints landing Mislav Orsic on a two-and-a-half year deal.

After a World Cup full of exciting moments, heightened drama, and individual brilliance, its time to see which teams are going to take a swing at players who stood out in Qatar.

Blues star James was forced off on his long awaited return to action from the knee injury that kept him sidelined for three months and ruled him out of the World Cup.

Before being dumped out of the World Cup, a number of stars produced scintillating displays and put themselves in the shop window, meaning they could be in line for big-money transfers next year.

Lovren and Marcelo Brozovic - who was seen making what appeared to be a gun gesture - were filmed partying back in their homeland after Croatia's elimination from the World Cup in Qatar.

It was a truly extraordinary World Cup both on and off the field that culminated in Lionel Messi and Argentina's fairytale victory over France in a classic final.

For the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mexico and Budweiser, it has been a tournament to forget. Here Sportsmail takes a look at the winners and losers to come out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Centre half Gvardiol, 20, impressed for Croatia as they finished third at the Qatar World Cup, losing out to eventual winners Argentina in the semi-final, and Real Madrid are now said to be keen on him.

In an unpredictable tournament from start to finish, England and Brazil both eased into the knockout stages, but then fell at the quarter-finals, while Morocco and Croatia made the semi-finals.

With 832 players included in their nation's squads for the tournament, 11 excelled themselves, with Lionel Messi stealing the spotlight with his seven goals and three assists in the tournament.

Lionel Messi inspired his side to an historic triumph in Qatar, beating France on penalties to claim their first World Cup win since 1986 - yet Argentina are still behind Brazil in FIFA's rankings.

The inclusions of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe come as little surprise following their outstanding displays in Sunday's classic final between Argentina and France.

Hakimi's Morocco side lost the game 2-1 to Croatia and tensions boiled over at full time with the African side frustrated with some of the decisions from Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim.

The Moroccan coach Walid Regragui was full of praise for his players, whom he said 'gave everything' but just came up short against Croatia to finish fourth.

Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic wants superstar midfielder and national team captain Luka Modric to continue his international career despite being 37-years-old and considering his future.

GERRY COX: Achraf Dari cancelled out Josko Gvardiol's opener, as both sides founds the target within nine minutes. It was left to Mislav Orsic to provide the decisive moment.

Celebrations followed after the win over Morocco, with the Croatia players and staff sprinting onto the pitch in delight before being presented with bronze medals.

The 31-year-old 'keeper was attempting to play out from the back when he got a left-footed pass all wrong and saw the ball veering towards his own net.