Croatia will have to do without its top performer Ivan Perisic in the European Championship round of 16 against Spain. The former Bundesliga professional was infected with the corona virus and is already in quarantine.
Vice world champions Croatia have to deal with a serious setback before the European Championship round of 16 against Spain. Former Bundesliga star Ivan Perisic was infected with the corona virus and will definitely be absent from the game on Monday (6 p.m. / ZDF and MagentaTV) in Copenhagen. Perisic was immediately isolated from his teammates and went into ten-day quarantine, the Croatian Football Association announced on Sunday night. All other members of the Croatian EM squad as well as trainers and supervisors had tested negative.
The 32-year-old offensive player from Inter Milan should therefore also be absent if the Croats advance in the quarter-finals and probably also in a possible semi-final. Perisic is one of the great performers in the team and the record scorer in his country. “He always brings his maximum,” said coach Zlatko Dalic, highlighting Perisic’s performance these days. In the 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic, Perisic saved at least one draw, against Scotland he secured second place with a 3-1.
Perisic received a positive test result on Saturday
According to the Croatian Association, he received the positive test result from the Inter Milan professional on Saturday evening as part of a regular series of tests. Since all other tests were negative, the selection could begin with the trip to Denmark.
Because of the corona pandemic, Croatia has its team quarters at home in Rovinj. The reason for this was the concern that in the case of a positive Corona case at the preliminary round matches in Great Britain, the whole team might have had to be quarantined. “The conditions should be the same for everyone. They are not the same for everyone,” said coach Dalic during the preliminary round. The previous corona cases shortly before or during the EM did not result in a team quarantine.
In the Bundesliga, Perisic played for Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg before winning the triple with FC Bayern as a loan player from Inter Milan in the 2019/2020 season. With four European Championship goals, he leads the ranking of Croatia’s top goal scorers. Mario Mandzukic, Luka Modric and Davor Suker scored three times each at the European Football Championships. “In the past we were always there when we had to,” Perisic had given the way for the decisive European Championship games. He cannot help with this himself.
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