Stanic comes to Croatia's aid

Mario Stanic has returned to the Croatia squad for the UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifiers against Belgium and Andorra.

Home challenge
The Chelsea FC midfield player has joined coach Otto Barić's 21-man squad for two consecutive UEFA European Championship qualifiers on home territory, against Belgium in Zagreb on 29 March and versus Andorra in Varazdin on 2 April.

'Very confident'
Barić called up what he believed are the best current Croatian players, saying: "This is the best team Croatia have at this moment. I chose only the most prepared players, because this is the only way we can win. And I am very confident we will defeat Belgium. It is impossible to say now that I forgot somebody. Everybody who is good enough and fit enough has been called in against Belgium and Andorra."

Balaban left out
There was no place for striker Boško Balaban who has returned to NK Dinamo Zagreb on loan from Aston Villa FC. "I wasn't really counting on Balaban because I watched his last few matches and he didn't show much enthusiasm in his play," said the coach. "I need to see more effort from him, but I will still keep an eye on him for the future."

Belated call-up
AS Monaco FC striker Dado Pršo has received his first call-up to the national side, having not played at international level since making an appearance for the Yugoslavian Under-16 squad in 1991.

Croatia squad
Pletikosa, Butina, Dario Šimić, Kovač, Tudor, Živković, Tokić, Tomas, Šimunić, Babić, Leko, Rapaić, Srna, Kovač, Mornar, Rosso, Pršo, Mumlek, Marić, Olić, Stanić.