Croatia's defeat to England in the first match of Group D has caused a debate within the Balkan national team about the position to be occupied by Luka Modric, whose role in the match was largely unnoticed. The Real Madrid midfielder played in a more advanced demarcation than he usually occupies in the white team, where he constantly participates in the creation of the game, and that meant that the world runner-up was never in control of the game.
Against England, Modric played closer to the midfielder guarded by a double pivot formed by Kovacic and Brozovic, who in theory gave the “10” Croatian more freedom to move. “Croatia's biggest problem was that Modric was too high up in the field, close to Rebic, and Brozovic made a lot of mistakes. It cost Croatia control of the game, ”the Croatian media Index.hr highlighted on Monday in its analysis of the match.
England-Croatia statistics.
BeSoccer
Even so, the local media were optimistic despite the defeat of their team. “Losing to England was predictable. Now there are more options to be second and face the second of the group of Spain instead of finishing first and then crossing with the group of death “, concludes the newspaper Vecernji List, which also added to the criticism of Modric's position during the meeting. Dalic will have to decide whether to repeat the scheme against the Czech Republic in a match in which it is all or nothing for the runner-up in the World.