Modric, missiles and the midfield that won’t grow old
5 min readJun 17, 2026 08:00 AM IST “They should be more humble and respect their opponents more.” Luka Modric‘s rebuke had arrived with the relief of vindication. It was directed not at England’s players but at the journalists and pundits who had spent the week calling Croatia tired, the walking dead, a team running on fumes after three successive extra-time matches. In the 109th minute in Moscow, Mario Mandžukić ended the argument. England went home. Eight years later, the cast has barely changed. England and Croatia meet again at a World Cup, this time in the group stage in Dallas rather than a semi-final in Moscow. Modric, yet again, leads an aging Croatian squad. England, meanwhile, are the fourteenth youngest team in the competition. Nowhere is that contrast clearer than in the midfield. Zlatko Dalić has flirted with experiments recently — he fielded three centre-backs in a friendly against Belgium, Croatia lost, and he promptly returned to the safety of a 4-2-3-1. Should familiarity prevail, Thomas Tuchel can expect to face a double pivot …









