On the eve of the opening of the World Cup, iQIYI Sports specially launched the exclusive [Top 32 Star Tour] series of planning, and the team introduced to you in this issue is [Croatia]:
After finishing second in the last World Cup, Croatia experienced a four-year period of blood exchange pains - veterans such as Subasic, Mandzukic and Rakitic retired one after another, and the Plaid Army, which were not yet solid in terms of squad depth, were unable to find suitable successors. Fortunately, with the gradual growth of the new generation represented by Gervadior, coupled with the fact that middle-generation players such as Brozovic have become independent existences, they have beaten France, Denmark and Austria in the UEFA Nations League for the first time, and achieved a gratifying transformation on the eve of the opening of the World Cup.
Eastern European magician] Modric
Date of birth: September 9, 1985
Played for: Real Madrid
Valuation: 10 million euros
National team appearances: 154
Despite being over 37 years old, Modric remains the core of Real Madrid's organisation and spiritual leader, having been able to deliver a single score of more than 10 goals in all competitions in five consecutive seasons. Last season, Modric scored three goals and 12 assists, setting a career high in assists, especially in the Champions League where he provided four assists, three of which occurred in key knockout matches, helping Real Madrid to reverse all the way to the final and eventually win the title despite being unfavored. Looking at the national team level, after shining in the World Cup in Russia, he did not choose to retire like Rakitic and others, but continued to play an indispensable role as an indispensable commander in the national team, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists in 7 games in this World Preliminary Tournament, and scoring 2 goals in 6 games in the UEFA Nations League. This winter, we can expect to witness the "magic flute" play the perfect curtain call for its last World Cup in Qatar.
[Iron Warrior] Brozovic
Date of birth: 1992.11.16
Team: Inter Milan
Valuation assessment: 40 million euros
National team appearances: 76
After years of grinding, Brozovic, who debuted as an attacking midfielder, gradually retired to the back position, and willingly took on the role of "blue collar" in organizing tandem attacks and interception barriers. In the last three seasons, Brozovic was named in the Europa League squad, then helped Inter regain the Serie A title, and was named Serie A midfielder last season. As one of the veterans who have played with the national team in 2 World Cups and 2 European Championships, Brozovic started all 8 games in this World Qualifier and scored 1 goal, and also played 6 group games as a starter in the UEFA Nations League stage, which is another pillar of the midfield next to Modric in the national team.
[Blade out of sheath] Perisic
Date of birth: February 2, 1989
Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Valuation: 10 million euros
National team appearances: 115
After six successful seasons at Inter and helping the Nerazzurri win the league title after years of absence, Perisic is also in good form since moving to Tottenham this summer, and the 33-year-old could also face the final World Cup of his international career in Qatar. Looking at Croatia's attacking line, whether it is Kramaric or Budimir and others are embarrassing, Perisic is still the most consistent output, he also handed over 3 goals + 2 assists in 10 appearances in this World Qualifiers. Although the speed and breakthrough ability of his former survival have declined to varying degrees, his crosses have been perfected, and he has always had a "big heart" trait in international competitions, as evidenced by his defeat of England in the semifinals of the World Cup in Russia.
【New Iron Gate】Gvadior
Date of birth: 2002.1.21
Played for: RB Leipzig
Valuation: 60 million euros
National team appearances: 12
In the steel defense line at the World Cup in Russia, the central defender combination of Vida + Lovren is old, Strinic has retired, and Vrsalico has been reduced to the Greek Premier League. Among the new defenders, Leipzig's Gvardior is the most anticipated performance, the 20-year-old defender who made a splash in all four games as a starter at last summer's European Championships, and then showed amazing potential in his first five league appearances, scoring two goals and assisting three times in 46 games for RB Leipzig last season. In this World Qualifier, he also played four games for Croatia and started all of them, and scored one goal, and he is known as the team's defensive leader for the next decade.