Modric hopes fans back Croatia against Spain

Against England, Croatia were serving a one-match punishment for fan racism and played the game in front of a crowd of 6,000 local children 14 and under, who were exempted from the ban, and a handful of England supporters.Facing Spain, who won the World Cup for the second time in July and are unbeaten in 41 matches, is a difficult challenge for Slaven Bilic's Croatia."Spain is the best team in….

They're the champions," said Modric."I don't know how Spain is going to interpret our defeat… (but) what happened isn't typical for our team, we all know that…"Against the best team in the world, we have to fix everything, be aggressive, and not give them too much space to find solutions."Spain beat Croatia 4-1 in Seville earlier in the international break and have three wins from three games going into the….

We'll see if I leave the national team in a year or a month," explained Modric, who earned a 205th cap against England."The important thing for me is to be in a place that makes me happy.

I'm willing to help at any time, both on and off the field."Bilic, coaching Croatia for the second spell in his career, said facing the new world champions offered a quick chance of redemption."It (the England thrashing) was incredibly tough.

We'll never forget it, but when there's a fire, you have to react," said Bilic."On one hand we have a very difficult opponent, but it's the best opportunity for us."Spain coach Luis de la Fuente wrote off Croatia's heavy defeat by England."What happened the other day was just an accident in football," said the Spain coach."It doesn't reflect the difference in footballing ability between Croatia and England.

This result can motivate them."Teenage winger Lamine Yamal has excelled for Spain in their first three group matches, scoring in each of them, including a brace against Croatia."Lamine is in fantastic form.

He's a role model and a born competitor," said the Spain coach."He's in good shape to play tomorrow's match.

But so are other team-mates, who are all in perfect condition."Spain and Barca midfielder Dani Olmo developed as a youth player at Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia, although he was not used by De la Fuente in their meeting in Seville.Olmo left Barcelona as a teenager to join Dinamo, before later rejoining the Catalan giants in 2024 from RB Leipzig."Everyone has their own story…

Modric hopes fans back Croatia against Spain AFP | Updated 10 minutes ago | The hosts seek redemption after their 7-0 humiliation by England.

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