Australian attacker on standby for Croatia's World Cup

But the 21-year-old Portsmouth forward, who tallied 10 goals and four assists for Pompey to stave off relegation from the English Championship, is among seven players on standby. Final squads for the World Cup must be submitted by June 1.

The former Sydney FC star is on the fringe of a Croatian squad featuring captain Luka Modric, who has been named just weeks after undergoing cheekbone surgery.

The 40-year-old midfield maestro, targeting a fifth World Cup, is expected to fully recover in time for the cup which starts on June 12.

"He's training with a facial mask and doing well," Croatia's coach Zlatko Dalic said.

"Maybe this break helped him. We'll ‌see his condition but ⁠I don't doubt him; he will be in good form."

Croatia face a potentially tricky group stage with games against England, Ghana and Panama.

CROATIA WORLD CUP SQUAD:

* Goalkeepers: Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Dominik Kotarski (FC Copenhagen), Ivor Pandur (Hull City).

* Defenders: Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City), Duje Caleta-Car (Real Sociedad), Josip Sutalo (Ajax Amsterdam), Josip Stanisic (Bayern Munich), Marin Pongracic (Fiorentina), Martin Erlic (Midtjylland), Luka Vuskovic (Hamburg)

* Midfielders: Luka Modric (AC Milan), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Nikola Vlasic (Torino), Luka Sucic (Real Sociedad), Martin Baturina (Como), Kristijan Jakic (Augsburg), Petar Sucic (Inter Milan), Nikola Moro (Bologna), Toni Fruk (Rijeka)

* Forwards: Ivan Perisic (PSV Eindhoven), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Marco Pasalic (Orlando City), Petar Musa (Dallas), Igor ⁠Matanovic (Freiburg)

* Standby: Lovro Majer (Wolfsburg), Franjo Ivanovic (Benfica), Dion Drena Beljo (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivan Smolcic (Como), Karlo Letica (Lausanne), Adrian Segecic (Portsmouth), Luka Stojkovic (Dinamo Zagreb).