Croatia captain, Luka Modric, has identified Brazil as the ‘favourite’ country to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Modric said this ahead of Croatia’s World Cup quarter-final tie with Brazil at the Education City Stadium on Friday evening.
Croatia head to the game after beating Japan in the last 16, while Brazil thrashed South Korea.
“Brazil are always one of the big favourites in every World Cup, but what they’ve shown in this tournament is that this time they deserve to be favourites,” Modric said at his pre-match press conference.
The Real Madrid midfielder added, “We have faced Brazil before on several occasions and not won. We believe this can change.
“We’ll have to play at a high tempo, keep them under control, be strong and assertive and not let them out of sight. Like I say, Brazil are the favourites – but we’ve seen that even the favourites can be beaten.”
Modric guided Croatia to the final of the FIFA World Cup four years ago in Russia, where they lost to France in the final.