Modric: English media 'should be more humble' after overlooking Croatia

Croatia captain Luka Modric had some choice words for English media after his country's 2-1 win over the Three Lions in Wednesday's World Cup semi-final.

"English journalists, pundits from television, they underestimated Croatia and that was a huge mistake," the Real Madrid midfielder told ITV after the game, as quoted by BBC Sport. "They should be more humble and respect more opponents.

"All these words from them we take, we were reading, and we were saying, 'OK, today we will see who will be tired'. ... We showed again we were not tired. We dominated the game physically, mentally, in all aspects."

Related: Croatia's unexpected World Cup run boils down to remarkable resilience

Though Croatia was forced to play 30 minutes of extra time for the third successive knockout match, it still booked its first-ever World Cup final spot by coming from behind to beat England after extra time in Moscow.

Modric's nation is not a global football superpower like the France side it'll face on Sunday, but it's fully deserved its place at the showpiece occasion. Aside from emerging victorious against England, Zlatko Dalic's men beat Nigeria, Iceland, and demolished Argentina in the group stage, and overcame Denmark and Russia via penalty shootouts in the knockout stages.

Boasting the likes of Modric, Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic, Inter's Ivan Perisic, and Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic, this is a Croatia side that shouldn't be taken lightly by any opponent. Having used it as motivation against England, however, Modric may well be hoping France does just that.