Portsmouth Forward Segecic Switches to Croatia

Adrian Segecic, a 21-year-old forward for English Championship club Portsmouth, has switched his international allegiance from Australia to Croatia, a decision confirmed through FIFA's Change of Association Platform on Friday. The Sydney-born player, whose grandparents hail from Croatia, will begin with the Croatian under-21 national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Segecic represented Australia at youth levels from under-15 to under-23, including a senior call-up in September under coach Tony Popovic for matches against New Zealand. He did not feature in those games and has not been selected since. The move caught Australian football officials by surprise, as the Croatian Football Federation informed them of the application shortly before its approval. Under FIFA rules, once Segecic plays an official match for Croatia, he cannot revert to Australia without appealing to the FIFA Football Tribunal.

In a statement on the Croatian Football Federation's website, Segecic explained his reasoning. "It wasn't easy to make this decision because I grew up in Australia, which I represented at youth levels, so I would like to express my gratitude to...