On Saturday, Croatia suffered a 7‑0 loss to England at home in the Nations League, prompting captain Luka Modric to describe the match as a “catastrophic night” and to admit feeling “ashamed” of his team’s performance.
Modric, 41, had recently signed an extension to his international career under returning manager Slaven Bilic and was making his 205th appearance for the national side. He said, “You can’t play football like that… we looked like we had four or five players less.” The 20‑year‑old midfielder, who has been a key figure in Croatia’s World Cup runs, said he had never felt such shame in his international career.
England’s dominance began early, with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham scoring two goals before the 57th minute, when Modric was substituted. England added three more, with Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers netting the final tally. Modric watched from the sidelines as the scoreline widened to 5‑0 before the final whistle.
Bilic’s Croatia had started the campaign with a 2‑1 win over the Czech Republic and a 4‑1 defeat to Spain, but the 7‑0 loss to England left the team in a precarious position in Group A3. Modric warned that the defeat could tarnish Croatia’s reputation and called for the squad to regroup ahead of their next fixtures against Spain in Split and later matches against England and the Czech Republic.
“We need to pull ourselves together, stay together because a new difficult game awaits us,” Modric said. “We have to show our true colours, that there is defiance and pride in us, desire, willingness, togetherness, these things cannot be lost overnight.”
