Milan Badelj, one of the legendary players who helped Croatia win silver in the 2018 World Cup, has been honored by the Croatian Football Association (HNS) before their qualification match for Euro 2024. Badelj and Josip Pivarić, both 34 years old, retired from playing at the end of last season and were presented with special jerseys with their numbers 55 and 26 respectively, marking the number of matches they played for the national team.

Badelj was dropped from Zlatko Dalić’s guest list after leaving the national team and playing for Genoa in Italy. However, he had made a deep mark on the national team as part of the legendary generation that won silver in Russia. Despite his departure from the national team, his name was not forgotten by HNS, which honored him on this occasion before their qualification match.

Badelj expressed gratitude to HNS for this recognition and said that he felt proud to have played for Croatia’s national team. He also stated that he would always cherish his memories of playing for Croatia and would continue to support them in their future endeavors.