Rangers Borna Barisic played 45 mins tonight as Croatia were defeated 1-0 by Belgium in Brussels.
The Scottish title winner will be hopeful that he has done enough to earn himself a starting berth in their massive EURO2020 opener against England at Wembley, next Sunday.
He put in a steady, if unspectacular display tonight with few real chances to demostrate his attacking prowess.
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⏹️ Congrats to @BelRedDevils as they win the international friendly in Brussels – #Croatia heads back home, and faces England next Sunday! #EURO2020#BELCRO #Vatreni🔥 pic.twitter.com/xJMlO2xC2f
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) June 6, 2021
There has been some frustration and criticism aimed at Barisic, posing that he does not offer enough for the national team.
The key observation is that the Ibrox full-back is clearly deployed in a more conservative role for Croatia, compared to his role for Steven Gerrard’s Rangers – the same freedom to roam on the left flank would surely see more productivity and dangerous link play with Ivan Perisic.
In terms of competition for his spot, that is most likely to come from Josko Gvardiol – as was the case tonight.
Valued at £17.1 million, the youngster spent last season on loan at Dinamo Zagreb from parent club RB Leipzig, who he signed for in a multi-million deal last Summer.
From a Rangers perspective, hopefully manager Zlatko Dalic will opt for the more experienced option in the form of Barisic to go up against the formidable attacking threat of Gareth Southgate’s England next week.