Motivated Modrić setting sights high

Expectations raised
The Tottenham Hotspur FC playmaker was named Carlsberg Man of the Match for his superb passing and movement as Croatia sealed first place in Group B and a quarter-final berth. Both the result and the display have raised expectations about how far Slaven Bilić's men can go, and Modrić admitted he too has had to revise his targets. "Before the tournament I said the quarter-finals would be a great result," the 22-year-old told users. "We are there now, but given our performances I believe we can go further. I don't want to stop now at just the quarter-finals. If we play game by game, we can go very far."

High pressure
Asked how Croatia were able to outplay a tournament favourite after labouring to a 1-0 victory over Austria in their first outing, Modrić indicated that against Germany the team were finally able to play with their normal freedom. "In the first game, there was a lot of pressure and we were expected to win, so it was hard to play under that pressure," he said. "Maybe that is why we didn't play so well. The match against Germany was high-pressure too, but we were playing for the quarter-finals so we had to play well. Having three points already helped us play better."

Knockout phase
Croatia will face either Czech Republic or Turkey in the last eight – two sides who have hardly taken the finals by storm – but Modrić denied there would be any advantage from booking an early ticket to the knockout stage: "Every game in the quarter-finals will be hard and will be pressurised, and the team playing against us will be more careful against us. Those teams who sneak through [in their last match] will also be under pressure." He spoke of his relief at having avoided Group A winners Portugal, however – for now at least: "I think if we played them, we could do well, but it is better to avoid them until later." The former NK Dinamo Zagreb favourite also added Spain and Netherlands to the list of teams that have impressed him, saying: "If we look at what they did in the first games, they would be our biggest rivals."

Spurs squad
Modrić's performances have not gone unnoticed in England, of course, and he was happy to discuss who he was most looking forward to lining up alongside at White Hart Lane next season. "Spurs have lots of great players and it will be nice to be part of that team," he explained. "But if I have to choose names, it would be [Dimitar] Berbatov, Robbie Keane, [Giovani] Dos Santos, [Jermaine] Jenas and [Aaron] Lennon. But I say again, Spurs have a great squad." Turning back to matters more urgent, Modrić then departed with a special message for Croatia fans everywhere: "Thank you for your great support – I believe the players will give you more and more reasons to be happy during the tournament."