FRANCE 98 – General Media News Template

Striker Igor Cvitanovic has been thrown out of Croatia’s World Cup squad after a row with coach Miroslav Blazevic. Cvitanovic, top scorer for the past two season in Croatia, refused to accept Blazevic’s training regime.

Cvitanovic, who will play for Spanish side Real Sociedad next season, complained that the programme was a waste of time and only tired the players after their recent series of matches.

The absence of Cvitanovic adds to Croatia’s goalscoring problems. Earlier this week Italian-based striker Alen Boksic was ruled out of the tournament.

The Lazio star, who has a knee injury, left the Croatian training camp in Porec, in north-eastern Croatia, to return to Rome to undergo an operation on a long-standing knee operation. The Croatians face Argentina, Japan and Jamaica in the first round of the World Cup, which starts in France on June 10.