West Ham United forward Nikola Vlasic got his preparations for the 2022 World Cup underway after featuring in a friendly against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Vlasic, who is currently out on loan with Torino in Serie A for the duration of the season, is one of six West Ham players attending the World Cup alongside Declan Rice (England), Nayef Aguerd (Morocco), Thilo Kehrer (Germany), Lucas Paqueta (Brazil) and Alphonse Areola (France).
Ahead of Vlasic’s opening game in a week’s time against African nation Morocco, who Aguerd will be representing, Croatia have been in friendly action on Wednesday ahead of the tournament.
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Croatia, who are in Group F, took on Group C side Saudi Arabia in a warm-up match for the tournament, where Croatia recorded a 1-0 victory in Saudi Arabia.
The only goal of the game came with eight minutes to spare where former Leicester City and current Hoffenheim striker Andrej Kramaric came off the bench to score the winning goal.
Vlasic played the duration of the first half before being replaced at the break by Dinamo Zagreb forward Mislav Orsic, with former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren and Inter Milan midfielder Marcelo Brozovic among those in the starting line-up with Vlasic.
In the second half, Tottenham Hotspur wing-back Ivan Perisic, Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric were among those to come off the bench against Saudi Arabia.
After facing Morocco next Wednesday morning, Croatia’s other group stage matches come against Canada and Belgium.
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