Croatian Modric says he is confident he can beat Brazil

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In the French Cup, in 2018, Croatia surprised the world by reaching the final, losing to the host by 4 to 2. For that campaign, midfielder Luka Modric, 37, was elected the best player in the world by FIFA. Four years later, he tries again to take his country forward in the Qatar Cup, but to do so, he will have to overcome in the quarterfinals what he considers one of the big favorites for the title: Brazil.

In a press conference this Thursday (8), on the eve of the duel (at 12:00 GMT), Modric made it clear that he recognizes Brazilian superiority, but, even so, he still believes it is possible to leave the field victorious.

“We’ve played against Brazil a few times, but we still haven’t managed to win. I hope that changes. Brazil has phenomenal players in every position. We have to be aggressive, run on the limit and not let them play. That’s important when we don’t have the ball, we have to be aggressive and firm and not let them escape”, said the captain in the interview published by the Croatian sports website Sportske Novosti, noting that facing the teams of Brazil and Argentina is always a “celebration of football”.

“Brazil and Argentina are the best teams in the world, with a lot of great players. I like to see them, it’s fun to play against these teams. We have one of those chances tomorrow. We also play in Argentina and Brazil. It’s a celebration of football and something every player wants. These are the big names in football.”

The Croatian number 10, as well as the press in his country, is comparing the confrontation against the national team with the 2018 Cup final, against France, in terms of difficulty and importance. “France is like this game, only it was the final. But that’s the game…”

Modric also said he was happy to qualify for the quarter-finals after beating Japan on penalties, but said his team still wanted more in Qatar.

“Perhaps the biggest game of the tournament awaits us against one of the favorites for the title. They are always the favorites, but according to what they have shown in this championship, they are precisely in that group. We have to be true, give our best, as in every game so far. In this case, we have a chance. We are not satisfied with the quarterfinals. We have our strength, we believe in ourselves and this is how we will position ourselves on the field. We know that we have a great opponent ahead, but we have our qualities, we believe in ourselves and that’s how we’re going to position ourselves”.

When asked if the Brazilian defeat to Cameroon is hopeful, Modric downplayed the result, noting that Brazil played with a reserve team. But he also reaffirmed that Croatia’s confidence in winning the match is high.

“That game is not an example, but it shows that they too can be beaten. Every match is unique. We showed mental strength and endurance in extra time and penalties [contra o Japão]🇧🇷 In that case, the last game gave us a lot of confidence and we’re going to go into it confidently. We’ll see what happens. We’re ready for anything.”

Praised this week by striker Vinicius Junior, his Real Madrid teammate, Modric thanked the Brazilian for his words, but made it clear that now the fight is for the country and that he will do everything to stop it.

“It’s nice to hear when he talks about me in kind words. He’s a nice guy and we have a great relationship. He’s playing in great form and has shown he’s a great player. It will be very difficult to stop him tomorrow. I’ll advise my teammates and help make his job harder. Everyone here is fighting for their country,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing some former and other current teammates. It will be special to play against them. We may be friends after the game, but on the pitch each of us fights for his country. We will do our best to take it one step further”, he concluded. .

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