Luka Modric’s Croatia in serious trouble ahead of World Cup qualifier
By Alex McVey
Luka Modric is the main man for his Croatian national team, but the diminutive midfielder’s squad is facing some serious trouble in their quest for a 2018 World Cup berth.
Croatia were in the drivers’ seat for much of their World Cup qualifying campaign, but they lost any advantage they had after a disappointing 1-1 draw to Finland. Despite having the lead going into the dying moments of the match, Croatia conceded a disappointing equalizer in the 90th minute to allow Finland to snatch two crucial points away from them.
That draw sees them slip to second place on 17 points in their group, just behind Iceland who have 19 points, and right ahead of Ukraine who have an equal number of points but a worse goal differential.
This all sets up a dramatic finish for the Croatian side. Barring a major catastrophe by Iceland in their final match, Croatia will need to win their upcoming match against Ukraine in order to secure the runner-up spot.
Modric put Croatia’s coach, Ante Cacic, on blast following the draw. When asked whether the players supported Cacic, Modric had this to say:
"What do we do now? We started with him and now we have to just keep going… Until our match with Iceland, everything was fine and now all of a sudden nothing is of any worth. That’s the honest truth, the situation is catastrophic, but we still have a chance to make it right."
Indeed, it seems that Cacic’s problems in the dressing room went much deeper than just Luka Modric. The Croatian coach was ousted in dramatic fashion just two days before their upcoming must-win match against Ukraine, and replaced with Zlatko Dalic.
Some Croatian fans have suggested that even these drastic measures will not be enough to right the ship for Croatia. A popular Croatian sports website, CroatianSports.com, recently published a call for the players of the Croatian national team to refuse to take the pitch. The article argues that only by refusing to play against Ukraine and purposefully sacrificing the team’s chance at a World Cup can the Croatian players send a strong enough signal against the corruption that has infected Croatian football from the top down.
Chances are, no such protest will actually emerge. Few professional players would ever want to risk the opportunity of a World Cup to instigate a protest against their FA. Luka Modric will still be attempt to lead Croatia to victory. The question remains whether it will be enough to fix the Croatian football crisis.
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