Igor Matanović

Igor Matanović
Matanović with Croatia in 2026
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-03-31) 31 March 2003
Place of birth Hamburg, Germany
Height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Position Striker
Team information
Current team
 SC Freiburg
Number 31
Youth career
–2010 Harburger TB
2010–2021 FC St. Pauli
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 FC St. Pauli 17 (1)
2021–2025 Eintracht Frankfurt 16 (1)
2021–2023 → FC St. Pauli (loan) 36 (2)
2023–2024 → Karlsruher SC (loan) 32 (16)
2025– SC Freiburg 31 (11)
International career‡
2017 Croatia U14 3 (0)
2020 Germany U17 3 (2)
2020 Germany U18 2 (2)
2022–2024 Croatia U21 6 (2)
2023–2024 Croatia U23 1 (1)
2024– Croatia 12 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 July 2026

Igor Matanović (born 31 March 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.[2] Born in Germany, he plays for the Croatia national team.

Club career

FC St. Pauli

Matanović played for the youth team of Harburger TB until 2010, when he moved to FC St. Pauli's youth academy.[3] He made his professional debut for St. Pauli's senior team in the 2. Bundesliga on 27 November 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 87th minute for Rico Benatelli against VfL Osnabrück. The home match finished as a 1–0 loss.[4]

Eintracht Frankfurt

On 30 August 2021, he signed a five-year contract for Eintracht Frankfurt; on the same day he returned to FC St. Pauli on loan.[5]

Karlsrusher SC (loan)

On 17 August 2023, Matanović moved to Karlsruher SC in 2. Bundesliga on loan.[6]

SC Freiburg

On 9 July 2025, Matanović joined SC Freiburg.[7]

International career

In April 2022, he declared his intention to represent Croatia internationally at the senior level.[8]

Matanović was called up to the senior Croatia national team for the first time for the Nations League games against Portugal and Poland in September 2024.[9] He debuted on 5 September 2024 against Portugal at Estádio da Luz. He substituted Martin Baturina in the 61st minute, Portugal won 2–1.[10]

On 18 May 2026, Matanović was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by head coach Zlatko Dalić.[11] His side was knocked out by Portugal after a 2–1 defeat in Toronto, where an equalizing 103rd-minute stoppage-time goal from Joško Gvardiol was disallowed as offside by VAR.[12] The VAR used cutting-edge snickometer technology to detect Matanović's hair grazing the ball to rule the offiside in a controversial ruling.[13]

Personal life

Matanović's family is from Kotor Varoš, Bosnia and Herzegovina.[14]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC St. Pauli 2020–21 2. Bundesliga 17100—171
Eintracht Frankfurt 2021–22 Bundesliga 00000000
2024–25 Bundesliga 161217[a]0252
Total 1612170252
FC St. Pauli (loan) 2021–22 2. Bundesliga 18210—192
2022–23 2. Bundesliga 18020—200
Total 36230—392
FC St. Pauli II (loan) 2021–22 Regionalliga Nord 20——20
2022–23 Regionalliga Nord 10——10
Total 30——30
Karlsruher SC (loan) 2023–24 2. Bundesliga 321400—3214
SC Freiburg 2025–26 Bundesliga 31114115[a]35015
2026–27 Bundesliga 00122[b]133
Total 3111531745318
Career total 1352910424416937
  1. 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 2 July 2026[15]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Croatia 202451
202520
202651
Total122
Croatia's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Matanović goal.[15]
List of international goals scored by Igor Matanović
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
112 October 2024Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia Scotland1–12–12024–25 UEFA Nations League A
226 March 2026Camping World Stadium, Orlando, United States Colombia2–12–1Friendly

Honours

SC Freiburg

References

  1. ↑ "Igor Matanović". SC Freiburg. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Igor Matanović at WorldFootball.net
  3. ↑ Rosenfeld, Buttje (14 November 2020). "Igor Matanovic: Der FC St. Pauli hat ein Supertalent im Sturm" [Igor Matanović: FC St. Pauli has a super talent up front]. Hamburger Morgenpost (in German). Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Germany » 2. Bundesliga 2020/2021 » 9. Round » FC St. Pauli – VfL Osnabrück 0:1". WorldFootball.net. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  5. ↑ "Eintracht verpflichtet Igor Matanovic" [Eintracht sign Matanović] (in German). Eintracht Frankfurt. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "PER LEIHE: IGOR MATANOVIĆ WECHSELT IN DEN KSC-STURM" [ON LOAN: IGOR MATANOVIĆ JOINS THE KSC ATTACK] (in German). Karlsruher SC. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Igor Matanovic joins SC Freiburg". SC Freiburg. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "19-Year-Old Igor Matanović Chooses Croatia National Team Over Germany". total croatia news. 28 April 2012. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Dalić objavio popis igrača za početak Lige nacija" (in Croatian). Croatian Football Federation. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  10. ↑ "Portugal v Croatia game report". ESPN. 5 September 2024.
  11. ↑ "Dalic blends youth and experience with Croatia squad". 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Slater, Matt (2 July 2026). "Ronaldo replacement Ramos heads Portugal past Croatia in World Cup thriller". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Gay, Jason (3 July 2026). "Croatia Eliminated From World Cup in Most Heartbreaking, Hair-Grazing Way Possible". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "Malo mjesto u BiH je dalo tri reprezentativca na Svjetskom prvenstvu, a samo jedan je među Zmajevima". meridiansport.ba (in Bosnian). 20 June 2026. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  15. 1 2 Igor Matanović at National-Football-Teams.com
  16. ↑ "SC Freiburg 0 - 3 Aston Villa (May 20, 2026) ESPN". www.espn.com. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
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