Rosso rewarded with Croatian call

Croatia coach Otto Barić has called up 29 players including Giovanni Rosso for the upcoming home friendly matches against F.Y.R. Macedonia and Poland

Large group
At the Marjan Trophy event, Baric's men will meet the Macedonians first on 9 February before taking on Poland on 12 February. The group of players selected is the largest invited together since Baric took over from Mirko Jozic as coach last summer.

Rosso in
Among the new faces for Baric as he thinks ahead to a forthcoming UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier against Belgium on 29 March are Maccabi Haifa FC midfield player Rosso, who has resisted attempts by Israel to win his services, and forward Ivica Mornar.

Chance for a few
"We need to finalise the squad for the match against Belgium," said Baric. "I know who 90 per cent of the players will play against Belgium will be, but I decided to call up more in order to test all possible options."

Croatia squad
Pletikosa, Butina, Šimić, Kovač, Živković, Tokić, Tomas, Šimunić, Smoje, Sabolčki, Režić, Tudor, Srna, Leko, Rosso, Mornar, Mumlek, Andrić, Agić, Šerić, Babić, Hrman, Carević, Olić, Balaban, Karić, Marić, Marić, Bokšić.