Spain’s upcoming game vs Croatia will be a special occasion for Barcelona star | OneFootball

Spain have already completed three of their four games in the ongoing international break, and the challenge that lies ahead of them is Croatia.

Tomorrow night, La Roja will lock horns against the Croatian national team in Croatia in what will be a difficult challenge. Given the form they are in, however, it is clear that Luis de La Fuente’s men are the favourites.

As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Tuesday’s game will be a very special one for one Spain player in particular – Dani Olmo – as the player will get to relive a lot of his boyhood memories on the night.

A return home

Olmo trained at the grassroots level in football at La Masia, but made a bold decision to leave the country for regular minutes at a critical period in his development.

Olmo spent six years in Croatia. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

In 2014, aged just 16 years, the player left Spain to move to Croatia and play for Dinamo Zagreb. His bold decision paid off, but it is clear that it was always a risky one.

From that point, the player spent six years in Croatia until he left for RB Leipzig in 2020. He entered Dinamo Zagreb as a young talent, and left them as a Spanish national team regular and a gem of a midfielder.

In that sense, the player owes the country of Croatia a lot, as it was where he was shaped into the player he is.

Tomorrow will be his first game back in Croatia since he left in 2020, and returning to his second home will indeed be special.

A story of what could have been

Olmo had a chance to represent Croatia. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Olmo was always clear throughout his career that he would represent Spain, and he did so without hesitation when handed the chance.

The Spanish outlet, however, brought to light that the Barcelona midfielder was offered the chance to play for the Croatian national team as well at one point.

At that point in time, Olmo received the proposal with affection but went on to choose his dream of playing for Spain. Notably, his first game back in the country tomorrow will be in the Spanish national team colours.