Luka Modric has described Croatia’s 7-0 Nations League defeat to England as the most shameful evening of his international career, with the Milan midfielder offering an unusually stark assessment after a collapse that laid bare his side’s shortcomings.
The scale of the result left Croatia’s players and supporters stunned. England’s emphatic win over Bilic’s team was not simply a defeat but a performance Modric felt his side failed to meet at the most basic competitive level.
Modric’s blunt verdict after England rout
Speaking after the match, Modric called the night “catastrophic” and said Croatia had appeared badly short of the intensity required for international football.
“You cannot play football that way,” Modric said. “It looked as if we had four or five fewer players on the pitch. It is difficult to explain a display like that when there were no duels, no fouls, no aggression and no team spirit.”
The midfielder, now at Milan, has spent two decades with the national side and said the feeling after this defeat was unlike anything he had experienced in a Croatia shirt.
“I have been here for 20 years, but this is the first time I have felt ashamed after a match,” he said. “You can lose, or face an opponent who is stronger — and at this moment they are stronger. But not in this way.”
A heavy reminder for Milan’s experienced leader
For Modric, a player accustomed to carrying responsibility at club and international level, the result was especially painful because of Croatia’s lack of resistance. His comments focused less on England’s quality than on the absence of fight, collective work and aggression from his own side.
England were the better team on the evening, but Modric’s verdict made clear that Croatia’s concern lies in the manner of the defeat. A 7-0 scoreline is rare at this level, and the captain’s words ensured the response will be judged as closely as the result itself.
