Slaven Bilic believes Croatia must “take special care” of Luka Modric as they prepare to face England in the Nations League.

Croatia started their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 win over Czechia before losing 4-1 to Spain last time out.

Modric opened the scoring in their win over Czechia, which was also the first goal of Bilic’s second tenure with the national team.

The 41-year-old was used as a late substitute against Spain, with the world champions comfortably leading at the time of his introduction.

Bilic insisted they will monitor Modric’s minutes, but is confident the AC Milan midfielder can make an impact for Croatia.

“Of course, as with many other players, we have to be mindful of his workload, which is why we take special care of him,” said Bilic.

“He is simply unique. The old saying is that age is just a number, but with him, it really seems that way and he proves it.

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“He simply keeps going because he is unique and because he means so much to the team.

“He is more than a player, more than a captain. He is an icon. His importance can be seen everywhere, at the table, at dinner, in meetings.

“But above all, he is here because he still gives so much on the pitch and makes a difference.”

Croatia have won eight of their last nine competitive home matches (D1) since a 1-0 loss to Turkiye in an October 2023 European Championship qualifier.

However, despite losing only four of their last 41 home competitive internationals, three have been in the Nations League (v France and Portugal in 2020 and Austria in 2022).

Bilic’s side will play mostly behind closed doors due to crowd disturbances involving Croatia fans during a Nations League match against France in March 2025. There is an exception for schoolchildren, plus 100 travelling England supporters.

Since beating England in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, Croatia are winless in all four games against the Three Lions (D1 L3).