Memasuki Piala Dunia kelimanya, Modric juga merasa kembali muda berkat kehadiran para pemain remaja di dalam skuad, termasuk bek berusia 19 tahun, Luka Vuskovic.

"Every game, every tournament is special at 40 with the national team," ucap Modric menjelang pertandingan.

Gelandang veteran itu menyatakan hasratnya untuk menikmati sisa-sisa momen terbaiknya di level tertinggi sepak bola dunia.

"My aim in this tournament is to enjoy it, to do my best, but enjoy it," tambah Modric.

Modric menegaskan hubungan emosionalnya yang kuat dengan rekan-rekan setimnya selama masa persiapan turnamen akbar ini.

"I want to enjoy each match, every training with these guys," kata Modric.

Pujian Henderson untuk Modric dan Bellingham

Di kubu lawan, gelandang Inggris Jordan Henderson memberikan penghormatan tinggi dengan menyebut Modric sebagai salah satu lawan tertangguh di lini tengah.

"I'm not even just saying this -- for me, he's probably the best that I've played against in my career, midfield-wise," kata Henderson kepada ESPN.

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Pemain Brentford tersebut mengingatkan rekan-rekannya untuk tetap waspada karena Kroasia memiliki kedalaman skuad yang berbahaya secara keseluruhan.

"Hopefully he doesn't perform as well as we know he can against us, but I haven't seen him have a bad game yet, so it'll be a difficult test, of course, for whoever plays in midfield," ujar Henderson.

Henderson juga menekankan pentingnya bagi tim nasional Inggris untuk fokus pada performa kolektif mereka sendiri daripada hanya terpaku pada satu pemain lawan.

"For us, it's just about focusing on ourselves because it's not just him [Modric], there are other very, very good players in their squad as well," kata Henderson.