Luka Modric urges fans to stand behind Croatia as they look to recover from their humiliating 7-0 defeat to England when they host world champions Spain in the Nations League on Tuesday. Captain Modric was deeply disappointed at the performance Saturday when Croatia were beaten heavily by England. The midfielder of the AC Milan admitted after the match that he was “ashamed” of the defeat, and urged his teammates to fight back against one of the continent’s top teams.
“Losing isn’t the issue in itself, it’s the way we lost,” Modric, ahead of the game in Split, said to reporters.
The weather will be very different to the Saturday fixture. A one-match suspension for racist behaviour by fans was in place for Croatia, so only about 6,000 local children under 14 were allowed to attend in addition to a handful of England supporters.
Modric hopes the home fans will now give the Croats the support they require in their match with Spain, who come into the game as reigning world champions and unbeaten in 41 games.
Modric added, “I wish the fans to support us as always, we are more affected than the fans after the England debacle.”
The task is as difficult as it can be. Spain have beaten Croatia 4-1 in Seville during the international break and won all three of their games in group A3. If they can win again they will guarantee their spot in the quarter-finals of the Nations League.
Modric called Spain “the best team in the world” and said Croatia just needs to work on all aspects of their game. Croatia coach Slaven Bilic also saw the match as a chance for the side to redeem itself, telling reporters they had suffered a very hard loss and they must spring into action right now.
