Kovac's side continued their preparations for the tournament with a 2-1 victory courtesy of Ivan Perisic's double, with Kovac naming his squad for the trip to Brazil after the match in Osijek.
Croatia open the tournament against hosts Brazil in Sao Paulo and will be without injured quartet Ivan Strinic, Nico Kranjcar, Ivo Ilcevic and Milan Badelj.
Kovac has also decided to cut Igor Bubnjic, Mario Pasalic and Duje Cop from his original group as he prepares for his first major competition as Croatia coach.
Qualification for the World Cup was secured via the play-offs as Croatia beat Iceland 2-0 on aggregate, but the second-leg triumph came at a cost as Mario Mandzukic was sent off, meaning the Bayern Munich forward will miss the opening game on June 12.
Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (Rostov), Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Oliver Zelenika (Lokomotiva)
Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv), Dejan Lovren (Southampton), Danijel Pranjic (Panathinaikos), Gordon Schildenfeld (Panathinaikos), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar), Domagoj Vida (Dynamo Kyiv), Sime Vrsaljko (Genoa)
Midfielders: Marcelo Brozovic (Dinamo), Mateo Kovacic (Inter), Ivan Mocinic (Rijeka), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla), Jorge Sammir Cruz Campos (Getafe), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dynamo Kyiv)
Strikers: Eduardo (Shakhtar), Nikica Jelavic (Hull City), Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich), Ivica Olic (Wolfsburg), Ivan Perisic (Wolfsburg), Ante Rebic (Fiorentina)
