Croatia head into their World Cup last-16 match against Denmark spearheaded by evergreen midfielder Luka Modric, a player his teammate Ivan Rakitic has compared to Spain's Andres Iniesta.
Four years with Iniesta at Barcelona and 11 alongside Modric for Croatia leaves Rakitic in a privileged position,
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. “It seems like both of them are from different planets and they came to play football with us mortals," Rakitic said. "Both of them are among the best players ever in their positions. You try to enjoy it as much as you can, to learn from them."
Iniesta is regularly classed among the greats of the game and as a defining influence on Spain's success, but Modric's talents remain relatively unsung.
Perhaps, in part, it is because Iniesta's brilliance has been backed up by achievements on the world stage -- he scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final -- while Modric has not hit the same heights with Croatia. Iniesta and Spain could lie in wait in the quarterfinals but first, Croatia must overcome Denmark in the last 16 on Sunday.
Denmark trudged their way through an underwhelming Group C but they have their own midfield dynamo in Christian Eriksen who, like Modric once did, has flourished in the Premier League at Tottenham.
Modric admittedly enjoys a stronger supporting cast, with Rakitic a particularly formidable midfield partner. But the stakes are also higher for the 32-year-old, who is probably playing his last World Cup.
“Sure, there's a lot of pressure but I said from the beginning, when we got together for this tournament, that we need to enjoy this because it's the World Cup," Rakitic said. “We need to fight, to enjoy the tournament and do everything we can to make our fans happy."
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