SWISS-BORN RAKITIC ON CUSP OF WORLD CUP GLORY

Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic’s World Cup lasted five days before he was sent home for refusing to come on as a substitute in their first game against Nigeria, saying he had a back problem, but the coach and medical teams did not believe him and the veteran forward was sent home.

Coach Zlatko Dalic said he had used the same excuse in a previous friendly and to skip training.

“During the Nigeria encounter, Kalinic was warming up and was supposed to come on in the second half,” Dalic said at the time.

“However, he then stated that he wasn’t ready to come on due to a back issue. The same thing happened during the Brazil friendly in England, as well as before the practice session. I have calmly accepted that, and since I need my players fit and ready to play, I have made this decision.” — Agencies

Faced with a choice between Switzerland, where he was born, and Croatia, the homeland of his parents, Ivan Rakitic made a painstaking decision that will see the midfielder line up against France in Sunday’s World Cup final.

Swiss football is brimming with players of dual nationality such as former youth international Rakitic, whose loyalties are often divided between their adopted country and cherished homeland. It even occurs in the same family, notably in the Xhaka household.

Rakitic was born in Rheinfelden, in the canton of Aargau, not far from Basel. He grew up in Mohlin, a small town of 11,000 people, where his father, fleeing the Yugoslav Wars, founded NK Pajde Mohlin in 1993, the club where Ivan started out.

He then joined FC Basel, before signing for Germany’s Schalke aged just 19. — AFP