Modric said he felt ashamed for the first time in 20 years after the defeat to England

Modric said he felt ashamed for the first time in 20 years after the defeat to England

MOSCOW, October 4 - RIA Novosti. The captain of the Croatian national football team, Luka Modric, said that after the crushing defeat from the English in the Nations League, he feels shame for the first time in 20 years of playing for the national team.

On Saturday, the Croatian national team in Rijeka lost to the English team with a score of 0:7 in the match of the third round of the group stage of the Nations League. This defeat was the largest in the history of the Croatian team. Its previous worst result was a 0-6 loss to Spain in 2018.

“We didn’t fight, we didn’t show aggression, we weren’t united. I’ve been in the national team for 20 years and I have to say that for the first time I feel ashamed after a match. You can lose, the opponent is stronger, but giving in like that and losing your reputation is unacceptable. For the first time in 20 years, I’m really ashamed,” Index quotes Modric as saying.

"We don't have to point fingers at each other, we have to get through this together, like we always did. We lost by a big margin, but after a match like this it feels completely different. I've never felt like this before. I'm sorry," the midfielder added.

In the next Nations League match, Croatia will host Spain on October 6.

As part of the Croatian national team, Modric won silver (2018) and bronze (2022) medals at the World Championships. He has been playing for the national team since 2006 and holds the national team record for the number of matches (205). After the World Cup in Russia, Modric won the Golden Ball.