Celtic hero Josip Juranovic sets ambitious target in Croatian media

By John McGinley

November 15, 2022

Celtic hero Josip Juranovic has given an interview to Croatian media ahead of the Qatar World Cup, making it clear he thinks his country can be a contender at the tournament.

Croatia reached the final of the 2018 World Cup, seeing off Denmark, hosts Russia and England before losing 4-2 to France.

Juranovic wasn’t involved back then but feels his country are in a position to compete for a medal again.

Asked what his aim for the tournament was, the Celtic defender told SportKlub: “You can ask any Croatian fan that. I want to come home with a medal around my neck.

“Our group is good, we have good opponents. The first match is the most important, so we will go into that match concentrated from the first minute. And I hope we will all be happy together.

“If I will be the first pick, it will give me an additional motivation to play the best I can, after all, it is a Croatian jersey, simply sacred.”

Croatia get their World Cup campaign underway against Morocco next week but will first play a friendly away to Saudi Arabia in a warm-up contest.

Juranovic is indeed expected to get regular minutes during the tournament, which could further enhance his reputation and value as a Celtic player.

Although he hasn’t quite played as well this term as he did in his debut season, hopefully his trip to the World Cup can fill him with renewed confidence ahead of the rest of our trophy push in Scotland.

In other news, Brian Laudrup makes stark rivals finance admission; notes Celtic advantage with or without Gio.