Did you know? World Cup star Ivan Perisic made his beach volleyball debut in 2017 

Beach volleyball fans will be forgiven if they decide to back Croatia at the FIFA World Cup, thanks to the presence of Ivan Perisic in the Croatia team.

In 2017 the Croatia winger, who plys his trade in England for Tottenham Hotspur, competed alongside Niksa Dell’Orco at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Porec Major.

They lost all three of their matches, against US teams Casey Patterson and Theo Brunner and Jacob Gibb and Taylor Crabb, and Brazilian duo Alvaro Filho and Saymon Barbosa, but they definitely made their mark.

Perisic donated his appearance fee to the Croatia Volleyball Federation to help with their development of beach volleyball players and his appearance was popular with his opponents.

A few years on from his appearance in Porec, and after winning World Cup silver in 2018, the 33-year-old will do all he can to help his country to renewed success in Qatar. Good luck, Ivan!