Croatia's Borna Sosa Recovers for Crystal Palace's Conference League Final

Croatian international Borna Sosa has recovered from a muscle injury and traveled with Crystal Palace for their Conference League final match against Rayo Vallecano. The left-back's debut season in England has been hampered by injuries, impacting his national team call-ups.

Sosa has made only 18 appearances for Crystal Palace this season, totaling 884 minutes across five competitions, including the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, and Conference League. He has yet to score or provide an assist for the club. Despite a challenging season, Sosa was part of the squad that won the English Super Cup against Liverpool last August, though he hit the crossbar in the penalty shootout.

This will be the fifth final of the Conference League, a competition established in 2021. While Josip Brekalo was previously listed in a final squad in the 2022/2023 season, he did not play. Sosa has the potential to become the first Croatian player to win the Conference League trophy, regardless of whether he plays in the final.

Crystal Palace, managed by Oliver Glasner in his final game for the club, has been the most potent attacking team in the Conference League this season, scoring 25 goals. Their offensive strategy focuses on building attacks and creating chances from dangerous areas, rather than relying on long-range shots. The team's high-pressing style has led to the most shots on goal in the competition, with six goals also coming from set pieces. Senegalese forward Ismaïla Sarr is the team's star player and the competition's leading scorer with nine goals.