Rangers star Borna Barisic has been dropped from the Croatia squad for their upcoming fixtures in European Championship qualifying.
The Ibrox left-back, 30, has been heavily criticised in the past at international level and has now felt the axe swing from ruthless Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic.
The under pressure Croatia boss has dropped Borna Barisic with Lecce defender Marin Pongracic called up in his place.
Whilst the Serie A star is a more traditional centre-back, Croatia also have Stuttgart left-back Borna Sosa in the squad with the Bundesliga hero now clear frontrunner for the position.
Borna Barisic isn’t the only Croatia player whose been dropped either, with Zlatko Dalic also dropping Nikola Vlasic, Petar Musa and Josip Brekalo from the squad.
Alongside Marin Pongracic, midfielder Luka Sucic attacker Marko Pjaca have been called up to the national side in their place.
Borna Barisic dropped by Croatia
This comes after Croatia suffered back-to-back defeats in the last round of Euro qualifiers, losing 1-0 at home to Turkey before losing 2-1 in Wales.
With crunch clashes against Latvia (A) and Armenia (H) to come later in November, Croatia currently sit third in Group D, level on points with Wales but six points off leaders Turkey.
Borna Barisic will now be on the country’s standby list with Zlatko Dalic explaining the decision after the squad announcement.
“It’s understandable that after two poor matches, we make some changes to the roster and incorporate several new players who have deserved it through their form,” Dali told the HNS website.
“We have also sent out nine standbys, so in the next two weeks, we will see whom else we can or should activate, depending on the health and form. We hope for a better medical situation than what was the case in October so that we can welcome these important matches in the best possible composition.
“I deeply believe that we will react effectively and show that October was an exception. After all, this team has won two major medals in the last year, and these two poor matches have not shaken my strong belief in our quality, capabilities, and unity.”
Rangers star Borna Barisic has earned 35 caps for the Croatia national team, scoring one goal, with the left-back recently praised by a former Croatian teammate.
