Josip Stanisic earns first Croatia call-up

Josip Stanisic has been called up to the Croatia national team for the first time by coach Zlatko Dalic for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus (8 October) and Slovakia (11 October). The Munich native is also eligible to represent Germany, but has now opted to play for Croatia, who he last featured for at U21 level.

“My family comes from Slavonski Brod, a city in the east of Croatia. It’s a dream for me to play for Croatia’s senior national team. The Croatian FA and the coach have been making great efforts with me for several months and showed me an outlook. I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” the 21-year-old right-back said.

After making his Champions League debut for Bayern last week, Stanisic could now soon earn his first senior cap for Croatia.

Seven appearances for Bayern in 2021/22

Stanisic has been a part of the Bayern first-team squad as of this season and already made seven competitive appearances this term. Croatia will meet up in Zagreb on 4 October. They currently lead Group H in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on 13 points, ahead of Russia on goal difference.

As well as Stanisic’s Champions League debut, read about the other impressive facts from the 3-0 win in Barcelona: