Meet Marcelo Brozović, king of the games room

Luka Modrić may be Croatia's talisman but the team also have another champion in Marcelo Brozović. Not in football, but at table tennis.

One of the squad's favourite ways to pass the time here in France is to pick up the ping pong paddles in the team hotel. There's only one problem, though – nobody stands a chance while Brozović is at the table.

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"He is certainly the best among us – he even wins left-handed," said Croatia forward Andrej Kramarić. "I heard that when he moved to Inter Milan he had a table tennis table delivered even before he received a regular table! He must have been eating from that until he got a real one!"

Brozović is nothing if not modest, however. "I am the best at table tennis, but the others are very good too," said the 23-year-old midfielder. The travelling Croatian press pack decided to challenge the player with their finest – journalist Dubravko Miličić from 24sata – but Marcelo didn't have too many problems and won a quick contest 5-3.

It's not only table tennis where Brozović dominates; he is also the best at darts, billiards and cards. He is the king of the games room. Believe it or not, there is only one corner where he's not the best and that's in front of the PlayStation. "[Mario] Mandžukić, [Marko] Pjaca and [Mateo] Kovačić are the best at that," said Brozović.

Persistent rain in France has denied the players the chance to get outside and test themselves at golf and tennis, but there's a fair chance we can guess who'll prevail when they finally do have a go.