Croatia World Cup 2018 team guide: tactics, key players and expert predictions

Luka Modric has been moved into a more advanced role under Zlatko Dalic and is seeing less of the ball but the benefits may outweigh the drawbacks

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2018 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 32 countries who have qualified for Russia. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 14 June.

Despite arguments that 4-3-3 might be a better fit, Croatia’s default formation has long been 4-2-3-1 – with the odd foray into a 4-4-2 midfield diamond. Zlatko Dalic made a significant change immediately after taking over as manager (two days before the deciding group game against Ukraine in the qualifiers), moving Luka Modric to the No 10 position, a role the Real Madrid player has rarely occupied since his early days. The Modric-Ivan Rakitic conundrum was a stumbling block for Dalic’s predecessors, who struggled to harness both stars’ playmaking skills coherently; the new coach’s solution paid off in Kiev and in the play-off against Greece.

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