Croatia captain Luka Modrić struggled to find words after the historic 0-7 defeat to England at Ruževita. He admitted that in his 20 years with the national team, he had never felt as he did after the heavy evening in Rijeka, with the defeat marking the heaviest in the history of the Croatian national team.
'I have been in the national team for 20 years and for the first time I feel shame after a match. It is incredible how we lost. How we let down our reputation. We played the whole match without aggression, without unity and without a single foul. I am truly ashamed after all that happened at Ruževita,' Modrić said.
He stressed that a match can be lost, but not in this manner. He also stated that it was not the time to look for individual culprits. 'As always, we must stand together in this regardless of how heavy this defeat is. We must not point fingers at each other,' said the 41-year-old captain.
The defeat to England came after Croatia had lost 1-4 to Spain in the previous match. Combined with that result in Seville, Croatia had conceded 11 goals in the last 180 minutes of the league. 'The truth is, we have previously known matches lost with a high margin, but this defeat is different from all others. I apologise to everyone. I have never felt like this before,' added Modrić.
Croatia faces a new test on Tuesday, 6 October. Spain will come to Poljud, and the Croatian team will seek a reaction in front of their home crowd after the historic defeat in Rijeka.
