Josip Brekalo (; born 23 June 1998) is a Croatian footballer who plays as a winger for Italian club Fiorentina and the Croatia national team. Club career Brekalo is a youth exponent from Dinamo Zagreb. He made his league debut on 19 December 2015 against Inter Zaprešić. On 15 May 2016 he signed for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg for €10 million. On 31 January 2017, Brekalo was loaned out to VfB Stuttgart until the end of the season with an option for a further year. The loan deal was initially automatically extended until June 2018 when Stuttgart secured promotion. Brekalo scored his first senior goal on 17 February 2017 coming off the bench for VfB Stuttgart against 1. FC Heidenheim. Brekalo returned prematurely to Wolfsburg on 1 January 2018. On 8 May 2021, he scored his first career hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over Union Berlin. On 31 August 2021, Brekalo joined Torino on a loan with options to buy. On 28 January 2023, Brekalo returned to Italy and signed with Fiorentina. International career Brekalo is a youth international and has represented Croatia in 2015 UEFA Under-17 Euro, 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, 2016 UEFA Under-19 Euro and 2019 UEFA Under-21 Euro. He made his debut for Croatia's senior squad on 15 November 2018 in a 3–2 Nations League victory over Spain. On 8 September 2020, Brekalo scored his first international goal for Croatia in a 4–2 Nations League defeat to France. On 1 June 2021, Brekalo was named in Croatia's final 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On 31 October 2022, he was named in the preliminary 34-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup; however, this time he didn't make the final 26. Style of play He usually plays on the right wing for both club and national team. However, he played some international matches on different positions. In the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League he played as a right back due to absence of Šime Vrsaljko. In 2020–21 UEFA Nations League he was used as one of two false 9 strikers in 4-1-2-1-2 formation, a formation which does not support wingers. Personal life Brekalo's father Ante (nicknamed Šargija) is a former footballer, having represented Bosnia and Herzegovina on various youth levels, as he hails from the Bosnian region of Posavina. His career was halted at the age of 21, when the Yugoslav Wars broke out and he