The head coach of the Croatia under-21 national football team, Ivica Olić, announced on 8 September the squad for the final three qualifying matches for the 2027 European Championship, at a time when Croatia sits top of Group H and controls its own fate in the race for direct qualification for the final tournament. According to the official announcement by the Croatian Football Federation, the national team will gather in Zagreb on 21 September and will then play matches against Hungary, Ukraine and Lithuania over a period of eleven days. The first match is scheduled for 26 September in Varaždin, the second for 2 October against Ukraine in Miskolc, Hungary, while the qualifying campaign will conclude on 6 October away to Lithuania in Druskininkai. Olić named 23 players in the main squad, with another nine on standby, while the team enters the final stage of qualifying without several footballers who are unavailable because of injuries.
Croatia leads Group H and remains unbeaten
According to the current Croatian Football Federation standings, Croatia has 13 points and a goal difference of +10 after five matches. Turkey is second with 11 points from six matches, Ukraine third with eight points from six matches, Hungary has three points from five appearances, while Lithuania has two points from six matches. Such a table gives Olić's team a very strong starting position ahead of the final qualifying window, especially because Croatia has also played one match fewer than Turkey and Ukraine. The team is also the only side in the group that remains unbeaten after five appearances.
The results so far also show why Croatia has reached the top. It opened qualifying on 9 September 2025 with a 1:1 draw against Turkey in Trabzon, before beating Ukraine 1:0 and Lithuania 4:0 in Velika Gorica. In November 2025, Croatia recorded a 2:0 away victory over Hungary in Budapest, while in March 2026 it defeated Turkey 3:0 in Osijek. Across those five qualifying matches, Croatia scored 11 goals and conceded only one, which came in the opening match against Turkey.
After announcing the squad, Olić stressed that the national team had reached the final stage of qualifying and that the entire focus was now on the next match against Hungary. The head coach believes that another three points would further strengthen Croatia's position and allow the team to continue controlling its own qualification prospects in the final two away matches. Such an approach has clear competitive logic: victory in Varaždin would take Croatia to 16 points before the matches against Ukraine and Lithuania, while at the same time further reducing the room for its rivals to overturn the situation at the top of the group.
Four points from three matches would secure first place
The current standings and UEFA rules indicate that four points from the remaining three matches would be enough for Croatia to guarantee first place in the group regardless of all other results. Croatia would then finish with at least 17 points, which is also the maximum Turkey can achieve. If the teams finish level on points, UEFA first compares the results of the head-to-head matches, and Croatia collected four points from its two games against Turkey: it drew 1:1 in Trabzon and won 3:0 in Osijek. This means that, in a scenario in which both teams finish on 17 points, Croatia would have the advantage in their direct head-to-head record.
Ukraine, which currently has eight points from six matches, can finish with a maximum of 14 points, so even a perfect record in its remaining matches would not be enough for first place unless Croatia also suffered a major drop in results. That is precisely why the Ukraine-Croatia match on 2 October in Miskolc will be one of the key fixtures in the closing stage of the group. For Croatia, however, the basic calculation remains simple: a result against Hungary can open the door to direct qualification before the final two away matches.
UEFA's qualifying format further increases the importance of first place. Under the competition regulations, the winners of all nine qualifying groups and the best runner-up qualify directly for the final tournament. The remaining eight runners-up must enter the play-offs for the final four places. Success in the group therefore means not only qualifying for the European Championship but also avoiding two additional high-risk matches in November.
Five important absences, three players recovering from cruciate ligament injuries
Injuries represent the biggest problem ahead of the training camp. The HNS relayed Olić's confirmation that Leon Grgić, Teo Barišić and Anton Matković remain unavailable because they are recovering from cruciate ligament injuries. Filip Krušelj and Ante Kavelj will also miss this gathering because of injuries. These absences affect several areas of the team and mean that the coaching staff must prepare for the qualifying finale with a somewhat different distribution of roles.
At the same time, Olić explained that he included several new and slightly younger players in the squad who earned their call-ups through their performances at club level. This is particularly important in an U-21 national team, where the structure of the squad changes more rapidly than in senior football and where a player's development during a single season can very quickly influence the hierarchy within the team. The squad includes footballers from Croatian clubs as well as players competing in England, Portugal, Czechia, Greece and Austria, giving Olić a group with varied club and competitive experience.
The goalkeeping options are Toni Silić of Hajduk, Anthony Pavlešić of Sigma Olomouc and Luka Savatović of Lokomotiva. The defensive line consists of Moreno Živković of Rijeka, Luka Hodak and Šimun Hrgović of Hajduk, Niko Šepić and Raul Kumar of Istra 1961, Branimir Mlačić of Watford, Dominik Prpić of Porto and Ivano Kolarik of Osijek. It is a group combining players with experience from the current qualifying campaign and younger options receiving an opportunity in the final stage.
The greatest number of options is in midfield
Midfielders make up the largest part of Olić's squad. Lovro Zvonarek of Estrela da Amadora, Luka Vrbančić of Osijek, Branko Pavić of Rijeka, Ivan Canjuga of Varaždin, Adriano Jagušić of Panathinaikos, Ivan Katić of Lokomotiva, Adrian Segečić of Portsmouth, Domagoj Bukvić of Osijek, Marin Šotiček of Hajduk and Fabijan Krivak of Sigma Olomouc have all been called up. Such a selection gives the coaching staff more options for changes between matches, which will be important because Croatia plays three competitively demanding fixtures within a short period.
Of particular value is the fact that some of the midfielders have already accumulated significant playing time in this qualifying campaign. Marin Šotiček scored the equaliser for 1:1 in the first match against Turkey in Trabzon, only three minutes after Turkey had taken the lead, securing Croatia a point at the start of qualifying. Fabijan Krivak, Lovro Zvonarek, Adriano Jagušić and other midfielders have also already been part of the team that conceded only one goal in five qualifying appearances and built a position at the top of the group.
Antonio Verinac of Austria Lustenau and Fran Topić of Dinamo are the forwards named in the main squad. The number of conventional strikers is therefore smaller than the number of players in the other units, but several of the selected midfielders and wingers can take on attacking roles. In the final stage of qualifying, that could also be important when adapting to different types of opponents: Hungary will probably look for a result in Varaždin that keeps it in contention for a higher position, while the matches against Ukraine and Lithuania will have a different tactical context.
Nine players received standby call-ups
The standby list includes Antonio Rajić of Kustošija, Marko Zebić of Rudeš, Ivan Cvetko and Filip Mažar of Slaven Belupo, Stjepan Davidović of Korona Kielce, Kristijan Čabrajić, Lovre Kulušić and Matija Subotić of Lokomotiva, and Šimun Mikolčić of Osijek. The standby call-ups give the coaching staff additional room for manoeuvre in the event of new injuries, health problems or changes in player availability before and during the training camp. This is especially important in a cycle featuring three matches and travel to three countries within a little more than a week.
The squad also shows a strong representation of players from Croatian clubs. Hajduk has Toni Silić, Luka Hodak, Šimun Hrgović and Marin Šotiček in the main squad, while Osijek provides Luka Vrbančić, Ivano Kolarik and Domagoj Bukvić. Rijeka has Moreno Živković and Branko Pavić, Istra 1961 has Niko Šepić and Raul Kumar, while Lokomotiva has Luka Savatović and Ivan Katić. They are joined by players from several European leagues, including Dominik Prpić of Porto, Branimir Mlačić of Watford and Adrian Segečić of Portsmouth.
Hungary is the first obstacle, followed by Ukraine and Lithuania
The first match of the final cycle will be played on 26 September at 17:00 in Varaždin. The HNS lists Stadion NK Varaždin as the venue, while the opponent is Hungary, which Croatia defeated 2:0 in Budapest in their first head-to-head meeting. Hungary currently has three points from five matches and is a considerable distance from the top, but precisely because of its position in the standings it can play without the same type of pressure facing the group leader. For Croatia, the key will therefore be to turn its advantage in quality and results into control of the match without underestimating the opponent.
The second match will be played on 2 October at 18:00 in Miskolc, where Ukraine will be the nominal home team. Croatia won the first head-to-head match 1:0 in Velika Gorica, so it also enters the final stage of this pairing with a positive result from the first meeting. Ukraine has eight points and can still mathematically reach 14, meaning its approach will also depend on the result of its match against Turkey on 26 September. For Olić's team, the match in Miskolc could be the moment when direct qualification is confirmed if it first completes the job against Hungary.
Qualifying concludes on 6 October at 19:00 in Druskininkai against Lithuania. Croatia defeated Lithuania 4:0 in the first match, while the Lithuanian national team is currently bottom with two points and a goal difference of -11. Despite that, final qualifying matches often bring additional uncertainty because teams enter them with very different objectives and a result can simultaneously affect the positions of several national teams. In the ideal scenario, Croatia will travel to Lithuania with first place already secured, but the current calculations mean that it must first earn that possibility on the pitch.
Direct qualification would bring a return to the Euros without play-offs
The final tournament of the 2027 European Under-21 Championship will be jointly hosted by Albania and Serbia. UEFA has announced that the tournament will be held from 16 June to 3 July 2027 and will feature 16 national teams. Albania and Serbia have guaranteed places as hosts, while the remaining 14 participants will qualify through the qualifying groups and play-offs. The final tournament will be organised into four groups of four teams, with the top two from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.
For the Croatia U-21 national team, direct qualification would carry additional significance after the outcome of the previous qualifying cycle. Croatia finished second in qualifying for Euro 2025 and reached the play-offs, but in November 2024 it was eliminated by Georgia after a dramatic two-legged tie and a penalty shoot-out. UEFA records that Croatia won the return leg in Rijeka 3:2 after extra time, making the aggregate score 3:3, before Georgia won the shoot-out 7:6. As a result, Croatia did not participate in the 2025 final tournament in Slovakia.
Croatia's most recent appearance at the U-21 Euro finals was in 2023 in Romania and Georgia. It lost 2:0 to Ukraine and 1:0 to Spain in the group stage and drew 0:0 with Romania, which was not enough to reach the quarter-finals. The current generation now has the opportunity to return Croatia to the top 16 European national teams in this age category, while winning the qualifying group would allow it to complete that task without an additional November campaign and the uncertainty of the play-offs.
Schedule for the final stage of qualifying
- 26 September 2026 at 17:00: Croatia - Hungary, Varaždin
- 2 October 2026 at 18:00: Ukraine - Croatia, Miskolc, Hungary
- 6 October 2026 at 19:00: Lithuania - Croatia, Druskininkai, Lithuania
The national team will gather in Zagreb on 21 September, where it will begin its immediate preparations for the match against Hungary. Olić's message ahead of the gathering is clear: instead of calculating too far ahead, the coaching staff wants to focus its concentration on the next match. Croatia's performances so far have created a situation in which it does not depend on the results of others, but it must confirm the final step in three matches played within a short period. First place in Group H remains the simplest and safest route to the 2027 European Championship, and the match in Varaždin could already decisively shape the final stage.
Sources:
- Croatian Football Federation - official squad announcement, information on injuries, the training camp and match schedule (link)
- Croatian Football Federation - current Group H standings and information about the Croatia U-21 national team's next match (link)
- HNS Results - official Croatia U-21 results in the current qualifying campaign (link)
- UEFA - current situation in qualifying for the 2027 European Under-21 Championship and qualification format (link)
- UEFA - competition regulations, criteria in the event of teams finishing level on points in the qualifying group (link)
- UEFA - official information about the 2027 final tournament in Albania and Serbia, dates and competition format (link)
- UEFA - report from the Euro 2025 play-offs, including Croatia's elimination by Georgia after penalties (link)
- UEFA - results from the 2023 U-21 Euro final tournament and Croatia's performance in the group stage (link)