Former England striker Gabby Agbonlahor has insisted that the Three Lions should not be worried about Croatia legend Luka Modric when the teams meet on Wednesday night.
The 40-year-old is appearing at his fifth World Cup, having first turned out in the 2006 tournament in Germany, 20 years ago. The iconic midfielder has won 198 caps for Croatia, 44 more than any other player, with Ivan Perisic next on the list with 154. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (228), Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa (202) and Lionel Messi (199) have more international caps in football history.
Modric is still going strong into his fifth decade, having moved to AC Milan from Real Madrid last summer. He made 37 appearances for the Italian giants in all competitions last season, although his campaign was cut short when he suffered a fractured cheekbone in April. The Ballon d’Or winner – who turned out an incredible 597 times for Real Madrid – is fit and ready to play at the World Cup, where he is likely to be in the starting XI for Croatia.
He will be involved when Croatia take on England on Wednesday night in Dallas, but Agbonlahor – who won three caps for the Three Lions – is not concerned about the influence of the legendary midfielder.
‘I’m not being funny, fantastic player but there should be no issues in that midfield against Modric,’ Agbonlahor told talkSPORT. ‘There should be no issues.
‘I watched him in the last tournament and he can’t get round the pitch at that age. It’s fantastic he’s still playing, but you shouldn’t be fearing Modric, England’s midfield. [Declan] Rice, [Jude] Bellingham, [Elliot] Anderson. He shouldn’t have the time, when you’re the age of Bellingham, Rice and Anderson.
‘No offence to Luka Modric, fantastic player. He was one of those players when he was at his peak you try and press him and he’s already popped it off, got a one-two, outside of the right boot passes, the goals he scored, fantastic player. But let’s be honest, you should not be worried about Modric.
‘He’s 40 years old! Croatia haven’t really got those players that run in behind with pace. If Modric was playing and he had [Marcus] Rashford and [Anthony] Gordon running in behind then I’d say ok, he’s still got that pass in him, but they’ve not really got that squad of players.
‘We should not be worried about Croatia, we really shouldn’t.’
England midfielder Jordan Henderson was certainly not as dismissive as Agbonlahor, praising Modric as the best he has ever faced in his position.
‘I’m not even just saying this — for me, he’s probably the best that I’ve played against in my career, midfield-wise,’ said the Brentford midfielder. ‘I think his career speaks for itself.
‘I think he’s a top, world class player. So hard to play against, the way he plays. Yeah, I’m a big, big fan of his.
‘Hopefully he doesn’t perform as well as we know he can against us, but I haven’t seen him have a bad game yet, so it’ll be a difficult test, of course, for whoever plays in midfield.’
When manager Zlatko Dalic named Modric in his squad in May, he said of the veteran, who was recovering from the facial injury: ‘He’s training with a [facial] mask and doing well. Maybe this break helped him.
‘We’ll see his condition, but I don’t doubt him. He’ll be in good form.’
