Martin Erlić
Squad number 25 · Midtjylland
Their 2026 World Cup
Martin Erlić travelled to the 2026 World Cup with Croatia, wearing number 25, without ever getting on the pitch. His side played 4 matches (2 wins and 2 defeats) and bowed out in the round of 32, beaten by Portugal 2-1.
Defence went to J. Šutalo (4 matches, 360′) and M. Pongračić (3 matches, 270′).
Another 6 players in the Croatia squad ended up the same way, without a single minute. The full run is on the Croatia team page.
Biography
Martin Erlić (Croatian pronunciation: [mǎrtin êːrlitɕ]; born 24 January 1998) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for the Danish club Midtjylland and the Croatia national team.
Early career Hailing from the village of Tinj, Erlić started training football at NK Raštane in a nearby village. At the age of 12, he was scouted by GNK Dinamo Zagreb and spent two years in its youth team before moving onto NK Rijeka. Erlić moved abroad at the age of 16, to Parma. After Parma's bankruptcy, Erlić went to Sassuolo in 2015.
Loan to Südtirol On 31 August 2017, Erlić moved to Serie C club Südtirol on a season-long loan deal. On 8 October, he made his Serie C debut for Südtirol, as a substitute replacing Filippo Sgarbi in the 70th minute of a 3–1 away defeat against Padova. On 15 October, Erlić played his first entire match for Südtirol, a 5–0 home victory against Santarcangelo. On 8 November, Erlić scored his first professional goal for Südtirol in the 81st minute of a 1–0 away win over Sambenedettese.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · text adapted from the article.
See all the tournament stats on the World Cup data hub.
Photo: Bryan Berlin · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)