Halilovic cool on Euro 2016 chances

Alen Halilovic insists it would not be a step backwards if he misses out on a place in Croatia’s squad for Euro 2016.

The attacking midfielder moved to Barcelona from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer of 2014 and spent last season on loan at fellow La Liga outfit Sporting Gijon.

Halilovic helped Sporting finish 17th in the table and his performances were deemed good enough to earn him a place in Croatia’s 27-man provisional squad for the European Championship.

Boss Ante Cacic has plenty of options to pick from as he looks to mastermind the Vatreni’s path through Group D which also involves Spain, Turkey and Czech Republic.

Croatia are currently 1.40 to qualify for the last 16 and 4.00 to top the group. At 19 years of age, Halilovic has a big career ahead of him and being involved in a major tournament at such a young age would provide him with valuable experience.

The youngster, who already has eight caps to his name, admits he would love the chance to go to France but says the quality of the squad means he knows the situation, and he is confident he would recover if left out of the final 23-man travelling party.

“We are full of great players,” Halilovic said. “All these guys deserve a call. We have not had a serious meeting, nor can we guess who will be the surplus four players.

“I’m not thinking about that now, I just want every moment to give my best. It would not be a tragedy as I’m young, but I am only 19 years old.

“I had quite a good season, I played a lot of matches, remained in good shape. Of course I am hoping for the European Championship, but if not it will not be a tragedy.”