Dejan Lovren backs Croatia to surpass heroes of France ’98 after Luka Modric and Co crush Argentina to reach World Cup knockout stages in Russia
- Dejan Lovren believes the current Croatia team can surpass the France ’98 side
- Miroslav Blazevic saw his team blossom 20 years ago to reach the semi-finals
- After beating Argentina 3-0, Croatia are poised to finish top of Group D in Russia
- Lovren backed them to go further than Davor Suker and Co in the coming weeks
Croatia defender Dejan Lovren has insisted the current national team can surpass the achievements of the 1998 heroes that reached the World Cup semi-finals.
Led by eventual Golden Boot winner Davor Suker, Miroslav Blazevic saw his team blossom at the tournament in France 20 years ago until they were eventually knocked out in the last four by the hosts and eventual champions.
After beating Argentina 3-0 on Thursday night, Croatia are poised to finish top of Group D in Russia. Lovren backs the current crop to surpass their fellow countrymen and go far in the tournament.
Dejan Lovren believes the current Croatia team can surpass the France ’98 World Cup heroes
‘We can do better than the 1998 team, but let’s see,’ he told reporters.
‘I think we have better players than that team.’
Lovren produced a disciplined defensive display as Croatia overcame Lionel Messi and Co with goals from Ante Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic.
Their two wins from two matches mean Zlatko Dalic’s side only need a draw against Iceland in the final group game to secure top spot.
Led by Golden Boot winner Davor Suker, Miroslav Blazevic saw his team finish third in France
After beating Argentina 3-0 on Thursday, Croatia are poised to finish top of Group D in Russia
Despite their success in Russia so far, Lovren still insists Croatia remain underdogs in comparison to the competition’s leading lights.
‘There are no easy games. Germany are still here, Spain, France. We are the underdogs and that helps us,’ he added.
‘How we played today will give us a boost for the next couple of games and hopefully we can just stay fit for the rest of the tournament.’
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