Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic praised team captain Luka Modric, stressing that the midfielder deserved the award for being the best player at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Modric deserves to win the Ballon d'Or even if Croatia does not win the World Cup because he has had a great season with Real Madrid and has captained a career-defining World Cup campaign, Dalic said on Thursday, reports Efe. The coach said his squad was successful at the World Cup because of unity and stressed that football has advanced to the point that strong team play and organisation were more important than individual superstars like Messi and Neymar.