"I’m proud and it’s a great honor to be here. Everything’s been great these past two days, and the guys welcomed me really well. I was honestly surprised by the call-up, but I’m proud and I’ll make the most of every chance I get on the pitch. I want to bring the great form I’ve had at Sturm into the national team," said Karić.

Our new national team member pointed out that it’s too early to talk about the Austria match and that the team’s focused on the first game: "Our attention’s on Romania. What happens against Austria, we’ll see later. Right now, the match in Zenica against Romania is important. We need to take three points there, and then we can think about other things and Austria."

When asked whether he feels pressure ahead of these important matches, Karić replied: "There’s no pressure, I’m excited for my debut. I’ve already played big matches with my club. This is the peak of my career and being here brings me joy, not pressure."