鈥楴ationality鈥 scuppers Modric Ballon hopes
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Croatia defender Dejan Lovren says teammate Luka Modric would be a contender for the Ballon d鈥橭r award if he was Spanish or German and is under-valued because of his nationality.
Modric scored a superb solo goal in Croatia鈥檚 impressive 3-0 win over Argentina and the midfielder was also on target, from the penalty spot, in the opening win over Nigeria.
The Real Madrid star has formed a strong midfield partnership with Barcelona鈥檚 Ivan Rakitic but Lovren feels that Modric鈥檚 ability is under-rated.
鈥淚t is a real pleasure to play with Luka Modric, who is one of the best players in the world right now,鈥 said the Liverpool defender.
鈥淢odric would probably be getting more attention than he is right now if he was a German or Spanish player. He would maybe even be a Ballon d鈥橭r winner.
鈥淏ecause we are a smaller country, he does get less attention than he deserves. But we are all football lovers and we know Modric is an incredible player. He is one of the best in the world right now,鈥 Lovren said.
No Croatian has ever won the annual award for the world鈥檚 best player although Davor Suker finished second in 1998, the year Croatia reached the semifinals of the World Cup.
With Croatia already assured of a place in the last 16, coach Zlatko Dalic has indicated he will field a largely second string side against Iceland tomorrow as he looks to protect six players who have yellow cards against their name.
A second yellow would lead to a suspension and while Group D rivals Argentina and Nigeria will want Croatia to go all out for a win, Lovren says they have to think of their own needs.
鈥淚 fully understand Argentina鈥檚 concerns and their wish for Croatia to play a full team for the next game as well. But we must also think about the fact that we should not be playing the players who have yellow cards,鈥 said Lovren.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 also our concern we need to keep in mind. The coach is the one who will make the final decision. All of us are ready.
鈥淥ur goal of course is to get all nine points and we do not think the win over Iceland will be easy. We have played them in the past and we know they are a team that needs to be respected,鈥 he said.
Lovren said that Croatia鈥檚 reserve players had beaten the first-choice eleven twice in three in-house games.
Rakitic, Ante Rabic, Sime Vrsaljko, Mario Mandzukic, Marcelo Brozovic and Vedran Corluka are the six Croatian players who are one booking from suspension.
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