Luka Modric is 40 years old, preparing for his fifth World Cup, and apparently still not interested in showing deference to anyone. Ahead of Croatia’s Group L opener against England on June 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Croatian captain delivered a characteristically composed statement that carries just enough edge to make opponents uncomfortable.

“We respect everyone, but we’re not afraid of anyone,” Modric said.

If you’re an England supporter, that sentence probably triggers a very specific memory from 2018. The last time these two sides met on football’s biggest stage, Croatia sent England home in the semi-finals. Modric won the Golden Ball that tournament as the best player, leading his country all the way to the final against France.

The weight of a fifth World Cup

Modric first appeared at a World Cup in 2006. Two decades later, he’s still captaining Croatia at the highest level.

The 2018 tournament remains the high-water mark for Croatian football. Modric orchestrated a run through to the final before falling to France. He collected the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Now he returns to face England again, this time in a group stage match in Texas rather than a semi-final in Moscow.

From the pitch to the blockchain

On April 9, 2026, Modric was announced as the global brand ambassador for CoinW, a crypto trading platform. There’s also a Solana-based fan token, $MODRIC, which launched in October 2025. By early June 2026, it had reached a market cap of around $100K.

For CoinW, the timing of Modric’s ambassadorship looks calculated. Signing him months before the World Cup ensures the platform gets maximum visibility during the most-watched sporting event on the planet.

The $MODRIC token presents a different kind of calculation. At $100K market cap, it’s extremely small and therefore extremely volatile.

The match kicks off at approximately 4pm ET on June 17.