Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic will face Spain in the UEFA Nations League at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium in Seville, ten days after making his Barcelona debut on the same pitch.
The match marks the third time Livakovic has come up against the Spanish national team, having previously lost to them at Euro 2020 and in the 2023 Nations League final.
Livakovic explained that Spain midfielder Dani Olmo has been his primary support since arriving in Barcelona, helping him adapt thanks to Olmo's fluency in Croatian. However, the two club teammates will line up on opposite sides when Croatia take on Spain in Andalusia.
Basketball origins in Zadar
Standing at 1.88 metres tall, Livakovic originally intended to pursue a career in basketball while growing up in the Croatian coastal city of Zadar. The city boasts a rich basketball tradition, having produced Yugoslav basketball legend Kresimir Cosic, whose name is now carried by Zadar's principal sports arena, as well as 1980s Yugoslav national team center Zoran Vrankovic.
Despite his early ambition on the court, Livakovic switched to football as a youth player after trying the sport. He quickly decided that football was his calling, even though his role as a goalkeeper meant he would continue playing primarily with his hands.
The long path to top European clubs
Livakovic left Zadar as a teenager to continue his development in Zagreb, playing first for NK Zagreb and subsequently joining Dinamo Zagreb. At Dinamo, he spent three seasons playing alongside Olmo, appearing together in 90 matches for the Croatian champions.
While Olmo secured a transfer abroad early in his career, Livakovic remained in Croatian domestic football longer than is typical for high-level players from the country. He was 28 years old when Turkish side Fenerbahce signed him from Dinamo Zagreb.
Following two seasons in Turkey with Fenerbahce, Livakovic joined Spanish club Girona on loan. That spell proved short-lived, as the goalkeeper departed quickly due to a lack of playing time and a desire to protect his starter position for Croatia ahead of the World Cup. He returned to Dinamo Zagreb before securing a transfer to Barcelona this summer, where serving as a backup has not penalized his standing with the national team.
Advice from Luka Modric
Livakovic's rise to become Croatia's first-choice goalkeeper was heavily influenced by national team captain Luka Modric, who was also born in Zadar. As documented in the FIFA documentary series Captains, Modric stepped in to offer crucial guidance during the qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
At the time, Livakovic was competing for the starting spot against Ivica Ivusic and former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Ivo Grbic. Modric told Livakovic directly that he was failing to project security in goal and warned that his hesitation was spreading to the rest of the squad.
Modric urged him to accept that mistakes are part of football, asking Livakovic why he believed he was not allowed to make an error like anyone else. Through that conversation, Livakovic learned that high pressure does not need to be accompanied by fear.
Since reclaiming the starting role, Livakovic has established himself as Croatia's undisputed goalkeeper. He has missed only three matches since then: two friendly fixtures against Egypt and Gibraltar, and one Nations League fixture against Scotland due to a suspension.
Previous encounters with Spain
Livakovic has experienced difficult moments against Spain in past major tournaments. He was in goal at Euro 2020, held in 2021, when Spain defeated Croatia 5-3 in extra time in a dramatic knockout tie that opened with an own goal scored by Pedri from the halfway line.
He also started the 2023 UEFA Nations League final in Rotterdam, where Spain defeated Croatia in a penalty shootout to claim the trophy. That victory marked the first international title for Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente. Dani Carvajal sealed the win by scoring a Panenka penalty, with Livakovic unable to save any of Spain's spot-kicks.
Now returning to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium, where he made his debut for Barcelona just ten days earlier, Livakovic will face Spain once again as Croatia seek to secure a result in Nations League competition.
