Modric meets De Bruyne as Croatia host Belgium in a World Cup tune-up
Two of the most watchable midfields in world football meet in Rijeka on Tuesday night, when Croatia host Belgium in a friendly that doubles as a final dress rehearsal before the World Cup. Luka Modric against Kevin De Bruyne is the obvious billing, and even in a game that means nothing on paper, the chance to see both still pulling strings at this stage of their careers is worth the admission alone.
Neither side will read too much into the result, but both have reasons to want a convincing 90 minutes. Croatia were unbeaten in nine before Brazil beat them 3-1 in April, and Zlatko Dalic wants his team sharp rather than merely solid. Belgium spent the back half of their qualifying campaign dropping points they should not have, including against Kazakhstan and North Macedonia, and Rudi Garcia is still trying to settle on a settled side.
Dalic tinkers with a back three
The most interesting wrinkle on the home side is tactical. Dalic has signalled he will go with a back three in Rijeka, with Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol expected to anchor it alongside the young Tottenham defender Luka Vuskovic. It is a shape Croatia have not leaned on often, and a friendly is the sensible place to test whether it gives Modric and the rest of that experienced engine room more freedom higher up the pitch.
Modric himself is worth watching after a knock. He took a clash of heads in a 0-0 draw against Juventus at the end of April and was briefly a doubt, though Croatia expect him fit for the tournament. He is one of four centurions in this squad, alongside Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric, a core that took Croatia to the final in 2018 and the semi-finals four years later and shows little sign of stepping aside just yet.
Belgium lean on De Bruyne again
For Belgium, so much still runs through De Bruyne. He has had a stop-start club season, but when he is near his best he changes what this team can do, and Garcia will want him ticking before the group stage. The bigger question is up front, where Romelu Lukaku has barely played since March with a muscle problem after a quiet season at Napoli. That has opened the door for the uncapped Matias Fernandez-Pardo, who could be handed a first start to lead the line.
Thibaut Courtois remains the spine the whole side is built around, and with Jeremy Doku and Youri Tielemans around De Bruyne, Belgium still carry plenty of threat. Whether they have the defensive certainty to match it is the doubt Garcia has spent months trying to answer.
What is at stake
There is no trophy on the line, but the draw makes this useful for both. Croatia open their World Cup against England in Dallas on 17 June and sit in a group with Panama and Ghana, so a test against a side of Belgium's quality is close to ideal preparation. Belgium head to Group G with Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, fancied to go through but still searching for the rhythm that deserted them in qualifying. Expect plenty of changes and a few experiments, but with Modric and De Bruyne on the same pitch, there should be enough to keep an eye on.
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