Group D: Croatia v Spain, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE time)
BORDEAUX // Croatia are the dark horses for Euro 2016. Their players' bad luck is that they look nervously over their shoulders at the dark shadow behind them.
The aggressive, disruptive behaviour of a section of their following in France has already upset their progress in the competition and puts the Bordeaux security detail on a state of alert ahead of Tuesday evening’s Group D fixture against Spain.
“They are not supporters, they are just stupid,” midfielder Ivan Rakitic said after flares thrown on to the pitch during Croatia’s last match, against the Czech Republic, in Saint-Etienne.
The miscreants were successful saboteurs, too, it appeared.
Before the crowd trouble, Rakitic's Croatia were headed for maximum points from their two games. After it, they let their lead against the Czechs slip and now find themselves needing to beat the defending champions Spain to move to the top of the table and thus achieve what will most likely be a more favourable outcome in the last-16 stage.
See also:
• Andy Mitten's Euro 2016 diary: Inside the Croatia storm with a 'sports terrorists' minority
• Gallery: Barca's Ivan Rakitic scores for Croatia but Czechs fight back as drama flares at Euro 2016
The runner-up in the group will play Italy in the next round, the winner a team from the raffle of third-place finishers to be allocated after Wednesday’s end of the group phase.
So as Rakitic pointed out: “A draw would suit both Spain and Croatia in some ways,” in that it would keep the two of them above the Czech Republic, who play Turkey on Tuesday, a point each would probably suit Spain better than Rakitic and his teammates.
It would suit Croatia better if they had a fit Luka Modric on the field, too, against Spain who bow to nobody in their admiration of Croatian strengths in that area of the field. Modric has a very small chance of having recovered sufficiently from a calf problem he sustained against the Czechs, though his tournament is by no means over.
Modric and Rakitic have each scored one of Croatia's three goals so far, the first with a stunning long range effort, the latter with a neat dink over Peter Cech, one-on-one with the advancing goalkeeper.
Rakitic has a knack of getting into those sorts of positions and a clinical eye when he does. He pops up with those sort of goals regularly for his club side, Barcelona.
When La Liga club began planning for the necessary update on what had been club football’s most sophisticated midfield two years ago, with the chief architect of their pass-and-move style, Xavi, approaching his mid 30s, they turned to Rakitic, then of Sevilla.
It was not a like-for-like replacement exactly, because Rakitic has more box-to-box mobility about him, but has proved an excellent move. He has made his berth alongside Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta, fixtures in Barcelona and Spain’s first XI. They are unnegotiable when Barcelona want to line up their best.
Likewise, Modric has gained in influence and importance at his Real Madrid since Xabi Alonso – another stalwart for Spain until he stood down from national duty at the same time as Xavi, after the 2014 World Cup – left Madrid.
Time was that Spanish clubs, especially Barcelona, would assume that the best sort of cerebral midfield schemers were found graduating from the Spanish academy systems. Now their leading clubs rely on two Croatians for those functions.
It is not just those two either. Spain’s Big Two have invested in the next generation of Croatians. Mateo Kovacic joined Madrid last summer at age 21, for close to £20 million (Dh107.6m) from Inter Milan. A midfielder, he may come into the national starting XI in place of Modric.
Barcelona have on their books the feathery Alen Halilovic, 20, who was also a star at the 2013 U17 World Cup played in the UAE. He matured over a season on loan at Sporting Gijon and was unlucky to miss out on the squad for this tournament.
“We have players who are at major clubs and have had good seasons with them,” Rakitic says. “Luka [Modric] says the same as me, that it is time this generation of players achieved something together.”
They just need all their followers to be singing from that same songsheet.
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