The Barcelona player Ivan Rakitic has praised his national teammate and captain Luca Modric as the Croatians will be battling with the hosts Russia on Saturday 7th to decide who goes all the way to the semifinals.
Rakitic could not hide his praises for the real Madrid midfielder as Croatia walked through Denmark in the round of 16 in a dramatic penalty shootout to the quarter finals. He urged his teammates to put their all into the match to make sure Modric has a memorable time among them.
"Luca is worth our total support and backup at this stage of the tournament. I find myself lucky to be playing alongside with him for ten years now. Since he became the captain of the team we've been soaring higher and higher." Rakitic told reporters on Friday.
Rakitic further pleaded with teammates to continue to follow Modric's instructions on the pitch as he referred to him as the true leader.