Luka Modrić views the 0-7 drubbing by England in the Nations League as a dark chapter in his career and in Croatian history.
The captain of the “Hrvatska” said he felt “ashamed for the first time” after 20 years on the Croatian national team, while coach Slaven Bilić spoke of coming back down to earth.
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“From the first to the last: no one bears less responsibility than anyone else,” the Milan star said, visibly shaken. “You can’t play soccer like that. Even if we were down two players, it would have been unacceptable. But it felt like we were playing with four or five fewer players. A disastrous night.”
Croatia’s all-time appearance leader continued: “I’ve been on the national team for 20 years, and for the first time, I feel ashamed after a game. The way we lost is unbelievable—the way we squandered our reputation,” said the captain, who was substituted in the 57th minute. “We played the entire match without aggression, without cohesion, and without committing a single foul. I’m truly ashamed.”
Croatia’s national team coach Slaven Bilić—who is now under intense pressure following the team’s second consecutive crushing defeat—also admitted that it is “hard to say anything positive after a game like that. I’m disappointed; I feel sorry for the fans who came to see us.” Although he acknowledged that, as a coach, he should have made adjustments, that night was a “collective blackout.”
The score was already 4-0 after 45 minutes; the Croatian national team coach revealed what he told his players at halftime: “I told the players that I didn’t expect a comeback. At that moment, I would have signed on the dotted line right away to keep the score at 4-0 until the end, because I knew how both our players and our opponents were feeling. That was my only goal at halftime: we had to regroup and try not to concede a fifth goal.”
Due to a UEFA sanction, the match was originally scheduled to be played behind closed doors; however, children up to age 14 were allowed free admission. Five to six thousand young fans filled the stands at “Rugievica,” and with their constant booing and shouting, the atmosphere felt more like a schoolyard than a soccer stadium.
*photo source: AP
