In October, Croatia will face Bulgaria in Sofia and Azerbaijan in Osijek, with head coach Kovač announcing the following list of candidates:
Goalkeepers: Danijel Subašić (Monaco), Lovre Kalinić (Hajduk), Ivan Vargić (Rijeka)
Defenders: Darijo Srna (Shakhtar), Vedran Ćorluka (Lokomotiv), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Ivan Strinić (Dnipro), Šime Vrsaljko (Sassuolo), Domagoj Vida (Dynamo Kiev), Marko Lešković (Rijeka), Hrvoje Milić (Rostov), Ivan Tomečak (Rijeka)
Midfielders: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona), Mateo Kovačić (Inter), Marcelo Brozović (Dinamo), Danijel Pranjić (Panathinaikos), Domagoj Antolić (Dinamo), Alen Halilović (Barcelona B), Ivan Perišić (Wolfsburg)
Strikers: Mario Mandžukić (Atletico Madrid), Ivica Olić (Wolfsburg), Nikica Jelavić (Hull City), Andrej Kramarić (Rijeka), Duje Čop (Dinamo)