Whilst most of his team-mates were off performing and impressing for their national teams, Croatia’s Nikola Katic must feel aggrieved.
The centre-back was the one Rangers player who must’ve felt he had a real chance of international glory. A storming start to the season alongside Connor Goldson has done wonders for the centre-back’s confidence.
When he signed for the club, Steven Gerrard referred to him as their “baby”. Make no mistake, Katic is still a youthful prospect with plenty of development in him. If he continues to improve at the rate he is, he’ll be a star in no time.
It, therefore, may also be a stretch to assume he should’ve been picked for international duty. After all, Croatia are the World Cup runners-up, and have a host of talent at their disposal.
Katic had to settle for a place with the under-21 squad, alongside Celtic man Filip Benkovic.
Benkovic was a success at Dinamo Zagreb and signed for Leicester for £13million in the summer. But injuries have ravaged his playing career so far, whilst Katic goes from strength to strength.
Barisic’s performance shows Katic could perform
Borna Barisic was called up for the full squad after impressing for NK Osijek, and did himself no harm for future call-ups. He put in a solid display against Portugal, and showed that Rangers players can play at that level.
Therefore, there’s no reason to suggest Katic couldn’t have done similar had he been called up.
Croatia do have a wealth of talent at the back. But if Barisic was able to go there and do a job, surely Katic deserved a shout considering his work at Rangers. The centre-back has done more than Barisic has at Ibrox so far, and deserved a place in the squad.
It’s unreasonable to think Katic should’ve just jumped into a World Cup finalists squad and got into the side. But with his development ticking along nicely, it would’ve been good for him to experience some exposure to senior football at international level.
For that reason, Katic can count himself unfortunate. Continue to perform at the level he currently is, however, and that call-up will arrive just like Barisic’s did.
