Luka Modric is still Croatia's main man at 40 - and out to break England hearts again

Luka Modric and Co haunted England in 2018 - and are determined to do the same again at this summer's World Cup with the two nations going head to head later this week

Luka Modric was already in veteran territory the last time he broke English hearts at a World Cup.

That was back in 2018 in Russia when Modric and Croatia knocked out Gareth Southgate’s men in the semi-finals and ended an incredible ride.

Now, eight years later, Modric is 40 and still going strong. He is still the heartbeat of the Croatia team 20 years on from his international debut.

Modric reached 198 caps in Croatia’s final World Cup warm-up match, a 2-1 win over Slovenia and is poised to break through the 200 barrier in this tournament.

Clearly, his legs do not carry him as far as before but, when it comes to facing England, there always seems to be an extra edge and motivation.

The narrative around the World Cup semi final in 2018 was all about Croatia being fired up by the perceived English arrogance and the notion that “football was coming home.”

Sadly no-one told them that the song was actually ironic comedy and self-deprecating because it has been so long since England last lifted the World Cup in 1966.

It was former Tottenham defender Vedran Corluka - now the assistant coach of the national team - who came through the mixed zone interview area after the game and shouted at the assembled media: “football’s not coming home.”

England are still waiting and Modric is still the biggest obstacle facing Thomas Tuchel’s men because it feels the winner will be favourite to top the Group.

Tuchel has taken issue with the notion that England were handed an easy pathway belays statistically they got the toughest draw based on FIFA rankings when it was made last December.

However, it would be fair to say that Croatia are not the force they were in 2018 and a lot of that is down to the fact they have not been able to find a new generation to replace Modric and Co.

They have an ageing squad of Modric, Mateo Kovacic (32), Ivan Perisic (37) and Andrej Kramaric who turns 35 next Friday.

Croatia reached the World Cup final in 2018, they lost 3-0 to eventual winners Argentina in the semi final four years ago in Qatar when Josko Gvardiol really made his name and he joined Manchester City for £77m the following summer.

England have won their last two meetings - in the Euros at Wembley in 2021 and in the Nations League in November 2018 - against Croatia.

But that should not mask the fact that something special happens to Croatia and Modric whenever they play in major tournaments.

Modric finished the season at AC Milan and made a staggering 47 appearances for club and country. He is still in great shape even if he is different player now. But he was, according to regular Milan watchers, their best player last season.

The energy and running he had at Tottenham and then, even more impressively, for Real Madrid is not the same. Modric will go down as one of Real Madrid’s all-time greats as he won the Champions League six times, La Liga four times and the Ballon D’Or.

He is still a great leader and manager Zlatko Dalic leans on him heavily even if he has had mixed success in trying to bring through a new generation of players.

Dalic’s contract is up with this World Cup and is a touchy subject. Croatia are 11th in the world, England fourth and this is a heavyweight clash which could be Madrid’s last great hurrah.

The simple truth is that Modric is irreplaceable. His future is uncertain. AC Milan are not sure what they will do next season and there is a feeling Modric may retire from football after this World Cup. It is not clear.

But even if he does, there have been a raft of stories this weekend saying Real Madrid want to bring him back to the club in whatever role. He still stands tall as one of the all-time greats.