Croatia and Panama have it all to play for when they kick off in Toronto at 9am AEST.
Luka Modric brings up an astounding 200th national team appearance today – that is a mind-blowing number and shows incredible staying power during his decades in this national team.
Croatia’s Luka Modric waves to fans during the warm-up ahead of their match against PanamaAP Photo/Alexandra Antoniono
The 40-year-old made his senior debut in 2006 and has gone on to become a world superstar for his beloved Croatia and at Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
Modric also played for Croatia at U15, U17, U19 and U21 levels, so this is in total somewhere around his 237th appearance in the white and red checkerboard colours.
“He’s one of the greatest to play the game,” Kevin-Prince Boateng said on SBS during pregame.
Croatia must win this one today, so expect to see the little maestro on the front foot from the start as England’s draw has opened the door for Croatia to pressure them for top spot, although England have the tiebreaker due to winning their match-up.