Croatian player in both the UEFA Champions League & Europa League finals

19 April 2019 – Croatia will have a representative in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League finals. 

Tonight’s quarter-final results in the UEFA Europa League means either Ante Rebić or Mateo Kovačić will be playing in the final. 

Rebić was impressive tonight in Eintract’s 2-0 victory over Benfica. A 4-2 away loss in the first leg meant the German side went through on away goals. 

Whilst he did not get on the scoresheet himself, Rebić played a hand in both his team’s goals and was a constant threat up front. 

Eintracht will meet Kovačić’s Chelsea side in the semi-final on 2 & 9 May after Chelsea beat Slavia Praha 4-3 at Stanford Bridge to give them the tie 5-3 on aggregate. The Croatian midfielder played the full 90 mins for the Blues. 

In the other semi-final, Arsenal will meet Valencia. The final will be played in Baku on 29 May. 

Croatia will have a player in the UEFA Champions League final for the 8th year in a row after Liverpool and Barcelona set up a semi-final fixture. 

Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitić or defender Dejan Lovren will be involved in the Champions League final in Madrid on 1 June after Barcelona and Liverpool successfully negotiated their quarter-final ties. 

2019 will be the 8th year in a row a Croatian has been in the final. Only Brazil, France, Germany and Spain have players in the last seven in a row. 

2012 – Ivica Olić
2013 – Mario Mandžukić
2014 – Luka Modrić
2015 – Ivan Rakitić
2016 – Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić
2017 – Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Mario Mandžukić
2018 – Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Dejan Lovren
2019 – Ivan Rakitić or Dejan Lovren?