I Felt Ashamed — Luka Modric Breaks Silence After Croatia’s Crushing 7-0 Defeat To England

Croatia captain Luka Modric has admitted that he felt “ashamed” after his side suffered a heavy 7-0 defeat to England in their Nations League encounter in Rijeka on Saturday.

The 41-year-old midfielder described the result as a “catastrophic night”, saying it was the first time in his 20-year international career that he had experienced such a feeling following a match.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Modric made his 205th appearance for Croatia but endured a difficult evening as England capitalised on a series of defensive mistakes to dominate the game.

The hosts struggled to match England’s intensity, with Modric expressing disappointment over their lack of aggression, competitiveness and teamwork.

“You can’t play football like that… we looked like we had four or five players less,” Modric said.

“It is difficult to find an explanation for such a performance without duels, fouls, aggressiveness, togetherness. I’ve been here for 20 years, but for the first time I feel ashamed after a game.”

England took control with goals from Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon before Bukayo Saka extended the visitors’ advantage. Kane added another goal, while Saka completed his brace and Morgan Rogers scored England’s seventh to seal a stunning victory.

Modric was substituted in the 57th minute with Croatia already trailing 5-0 and watched from the bench as England added two further goals before the final whistle.

The defeat followed Croatia’s 2-1 away victory over the Czech Republic and a 4-1 loss to Spain. The result against England subsequently left Croatia third in their group and facing a difficult battle to maintain their position in the top tier of the Nations League.

Modric acknowledged that the scale of the defeat was unacceptable, particularly given Croatia’s reputation and achievements over the years.

“Losing like this and squandering the reputation we’ve built over the years is unacceptable. It was a catastrophic night for Croatia,” he added.

Croatia will now look to recover quickly when they host Spain in Split on Tuesday before facing England again on November 12 and welcoming the Czech Republic on November 15.

Modric called on his teammates to remain united and respond positively in their upcoming fixtures.

“We need to pull ourselves together, stay together because a new difficult game awaits us,” he said.

“We have to show our true colours, that there is defiance and pride in us, desire, willingness, togetherness; these things cannot be lost overnight.”