The Japan Times - Modric hopes fans back Croatia against Spain after England shame

Modric and his team-mates were crushed 7-0 at home by Thomas Tuchel's England on Saturday and the AC Milan midfielder said afterwards he was "ashamed" of the team's performance.

Croatia host Spain in Split in Group A3 seeking to make amends, while La Roja are hoping to seal qualification to the quarter-finals.

"Losing isn't the problem, but the way we lost is," 41-year-old former Real Madrid star Modric told reporters Monday.

"I hope the fans will cheer us on as always and that, after the match, they can judge how we played.

"That's what we need, so we're hoping for a positive reaction because what happened hurts us more than anyone."

The atmosphere should be different. Against England, Croatia were serving a a one-match punishment for fan racism and played the game in front of a crowd of 6,000 local children 14 and under, who were exempted from the ban, and a handful of England supporters.

Facing Spain, who won the World Cup for the second time in July and are unbeaten in 41 matches, is a difficult challenge for Slaven Bilic's Croatia.

"Spain is the best team in the world. They're the champions," said Modric.

"I don't know how Spain is going to interpret our defeat... (but) what happened isn't typical for our team, we all know that...

"Against the best team in the world, we have to fix everything, be aggressive, and not give them too much space to find solutions."

Spain beat Croatia 4-1 in Seville earlier in the international break and have three wins from three games going into the match.

Modric said he has not decided for how long he will continue to represent his country.

"We're taking it one game at a time. We'll see if I leave the national team in a year or a month," explained Modric, who earned a 205th cap against England.

"The important thing for me is to be in a place that makes me happy. I'm willing to help at any time, both on and off the field."

Bilic, coaching Croatia for the second spell in his career, said facing the new world champions offered a quick chance of redemption.

"It (the England thrashing) was incredibly tough. We'll never forget it, but when there's a fire, you have to react," said Bilic.

"On one hand we have a very difficult opponent, but it's the best opportunity for us."

Y.Ishikawa--JT