Finishing third at the last FIFA World Cup and finalist at the one before, Croatia’s League of Legends national team will have to pull off a major upset to bring the same pride to the country that Luka Modrić once did. To take on that challenge, Croatia will be led by Nikola "xani" Zrinjski, current head coach of Galions in the LFL, sources tell Sheep Esports on Thursday.

At 28 years old, xani was a jungler between 2016 and 2018, notably for Origen, before transitioning into a coaching career. His early coaching days in 2019 with Vitality.Bee were not easy, as he notably had to coach the well-known Jean "Trayton" Medzadourian. He then joined Misfits Premier in the LFL before being promoted to assistant coach within their LEC roster.

In 2023, he became head coach of Aegis, where he worked with players such as Rudy "" Semaan, before joining Zero Tenacity, with whom he achieved his first trophies by winning the Ultraliga twice. More recently, in 2025, he won the LFL Division 2 Spring Split with , a success that caught the attention of , who signed him for the summer split, where he still currently serves.

xani will clearly not have a large pool of Croatian players to build from. In the toplane, he could look at Karlo "Falleo" Kovačić, toplaner for The Secret Club in the EBL, or Deni "Danilo" Prtenjača from Croatian Flair (CF), also competing in the EBL, as well as veteran Toni "Sacre" Sabalić, although he is not currently active.

In the jungle, options include Lovre "Mafro" Čorić, who is currently playing for Verdant in the NLC, or the CF jungler Roko "Sikterr" Karamatić, who only recently began his career. For midlane, one can only hope for a return of European legend Luka "Perkz" Perković, although he has already retired.

Otherwise, Nikola "CROmpir" Jagustin, currently midlaner for CF, could be an option. In the botlane we find the clearest choice, SK Gaming’s LEC AD Carry Josip "Jopa" Čančar, who should be the main player in this roster. Finally, in the support role, Tomislav "Thomas" Nanjara from TLN Pirates and former Movistar KOI Fénix player could take the spot, unless Dino "LIMIT" Tot comes out of retirement, or Dilan "Enoch" Krnjak, support for GnG Amazigh in the Arabian League, is preferred instead.