Luka Modrić Said Croatia Were Motivated By Lack Of Respect By English Press

ITV Football/Twitter

Croatia captain Luka Modrić expressed his feelings about Croatia’s win over England last night, (July 11) saying his team had been underestimated.

In a heartbreaking display, England’s hopes of reaching the World Cup final, for the first time since 1966, were destroyed.

England fans went wild within the first few minutes of the game when Kieran Trippier’s free-kick put England 1-0 up, and throughout the first half, it looked like it really was coming home.

In the second half however, our excitement began to waver. Croatia scored to bring the match level, and as the game went into extra time, Croatia scored once more, with just 11 minutes remaining.

Speaking to ITV after the game, Croatia captain Luka Modrić explained why he believed England lost.

He said the press had underestimated Croatia.

PA

The lack of expectation drove Croatia and motivated them further, according to the Real Madrid midfielder. He said the press expected Croatia to be tired, but they proved otherwise.

Speaking to ITV, Modrić said:

We proved everything different than 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: ‘OK, today we will see who will be tired.’ They should be more humble and respect their opponents more.

We showed again that we were not tired – we dominated the game mentally and physically. We should have killed the game even before extra-time.

This is an amazing achievement for us – it’s a dream come true after such a long time. We are in the final and that is the biggest success in Croatia history. We have to be proud.

Some England fans, reluctantly – I emphasise the reluctance – admitted Croatia had played well, and perhaps, dare I say it, even deserved to win.

One England supporter wrote:

Hurts to say it , but better team won tonight. England dominant early but Croatia kept ball much better and carried more threat. [sic]

Another added:

I’ll be brief, congratulations Croatia, the better team won. They had a savvy going on that we’re probably still a tournament or two away from — but we’ll get there, my heart is still busting with pride.

Beautiful tournament, and we played some beautiful football. I’ll take that.

A third said:

The better team won tonight, congratulations to Croatia, well-deserved. Fantastic effort by England.

A young team that will improve and have done us all proud. And it’s been a long time since I’ve said that about England. Bravo!

When asked if he thought England deserved better in the game, manager Gareth Southgate said: ‘I don’t know’.

Speaking to ITV, he continued:

There was a spell in the second half, they got the goal, the tails were up, we had to really weather the storm, we lost our way a little bit.

Possibly at that moment, that experience of being ahead in a big game like this, we were hanging on a little bit rather than trying to control the game.

Despite the heartbreaking loss, the England team did us proud throughout the tournament.

I think they’ll definitely be welcomed home with open arms.

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to [email protected]. 

Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.