Croatia relishing England underdog tag as Luka Modric jibe sparks national outrage

View 3 Images

Croatia love to rip up the script - which is why they'll have no problem being underdogs against England.

They were shock runners-up in Russia before securing an impressive third-place finish in Qatar . Now Zlatko Dalic's troops are dreaming of going one better.

Indispensable 40-year-old captain Luka Modric, the greatest Croatian player to have ever lived, remains the beating heartbeat of their side. Not only are they counting on his irresistible technical ability but crucially, he's also tasked with integrating new, fresh-faced talent in among the old guard.

Teenage Tottenham centre-back Luka Vuskovic is pushing to start following a highly-successful loan spell with Hamburger SV in Germany while 22-year-old Inter Milan maestro Petar Sucic has been dubbed the future of Croatia's midfield.

Meanwhile, after just one season under the tutelage of Cesc Fabregas at Como, 23-year-old playmaker Martin Baturina has been linked with a £50million transfer to the Premier League by the Italian press.

All three players are appearing at their first World Cup finals and are striving to capture the hearts of the nation with victory over England in Arlington.

In Croatia , there is seemingly a feeling that they are being underestimated again. Zagreb-based newspaper Sportske Novosti have not taken kindly to Gabby Agbonlahor's recent talkSPORT comments on Modric.

The ex-Aston Villa striker effectively claimed the AC Milan veteran was over the hill, stating England "should have absolutely no problems in midfield" because Modric "can't move around the pitch like he used to."

View 3 Images

Don't be surprised if those remarks have already been discussed within the walls of Croatia's training base in Alexandria, Virginia.

In 2018, after defeating the Three Lions 2-1 after extra-time in the World Cup semi-final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Modric took aim at the English media.

He said: "We proved everything differently that people were talking. Especially English journalists, pundits from television, they underestimated Croatia tonight and that was a huge mistake. "All these words from them we take, we were reading and we were saying 'okay, today we will see who will be tired.' As I said, they should be more humble, and respect opponents more. That's it."

View 3 Images

Modric, who could potentially ditch his face mask at the AT&T Stadium for the first time since fracturing his cheekbone in an aerial duel with Juventus ' Manuel Locatelli in April, is rapidly approaching his 200th cap - which he could receive on Tuesday against Panama .

Only three players in international football history, Cristiano Ronaldo , Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa and Lionel Messi , have currently made more national team appearances than the Croat Rolls Royce.

Proud boss Dalic, who has been at the helm since 2017, has been practising with a three-man defence in training.

Modric, Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol and 37-year-old wing-back Ivan Perisic are all poised to play key roles in executing that system.