Croatian national football team will participate in the first edition of the China Cup, to be held in January 2017.

Although of course, in China, Croatia will be without many of their major stars, and are expected to bring up footballers from HNL as the Croatian championship break takes place then, reports Index.hr.

Apart from Croatia, the host country of China will also participate in the China Cup, along with Euro sensations and Croatian opponent in the World Cup qualifiers, Iceland, and twice winner of the Copa America, Chile.

Four participants will play the first semi-final matches - with the pairs determined by lot. The winners will fight for the trophy on 15 January, while the losing semifinalists will play for third place.

"A number of famous football players and coaches celebrated Croatia throughout the world, so we enjoy a high reputation in China. We look forward to this tournament and the opportunity to promote our football in a country such as China and hope that the China Cup opens more opportunity for our players and coaches and to play a role in the development of Chinese football,” said Davor Šuker, president of the Croatian football federation.

The first edition of China Cup, to be held from 10 to 15 January 2017, will take place in Guangxi province.