Source: Daily_Mail
Croatia have talent to overcome loss of Spurs ace Luka Modric, insists Bilic
Croatia boss Slaven Bilic insists his side have the talent to cope without star man Luka Modric in their World Cup qualifying double header - though he admits they will miss the Tottenham midfielder.[LNB]Bilic's side currently sit seven points adrift of Group Six leaders England with tomorrow's clash against Belarus being followed by a trip to Wembley next Wednesday.[LNB] Ruled out: Luka Modric, left, was injured against Birmingham[LNB]Modric suffered a broken leg at home to Birmingham last weekend and will miss both qualifiers, leaving a large hole in Bilic's squad.[LNB]And the former West Ham defender knows his side will feel the loss.[LNB]Determined: Slaven Bilic remains confident[LNB]Bilic said: 'Modric is at least one of our top players. [LNB]'He is making a difference every week for Tottenham, so we are missing him. It will be difficult to compensate, because we do not have an equivalent player to him. But we are going to try.[LNB]'Modric is a top, top player, but he is not the only player in our team that has such skilful characteristics.[LNB]'We have Niko Kranjcar, we have Ivan Rakitic - so every one of us has to do something more to make up for the loss of Modric.[LNB]'In the last three years - this is my fourth now - I know that we have a group of players who can cope with anybody.[LNB]'We can compete at any level, we have our chances to beat anybody.'[LNB]Tomorrow's match at home to Belarus has been dominated by Modric's injury and the subsequent fall-out - with the president of the Croatian national federation claiming the injury left him wondering whether the country's top stars are deliberately targeted for rough treatment in the Premier League.[LNB] Filling in: New Spurs signing Niko Kranjcar must replace Modric[LNB]Preparations have also been overshadowed by the furore surrounding Arsenal striker Eduardo's alleged dive against Celtic, for which the Brazil-born player has been banned for two Champions League games.[LNB]In tomorrow's other Group Six clash third-place Ukraine, who are three points behind Croatia with a game in hand, take on Andorra in Kiev.[LNB] Ridiculous! Gold slams claims Spurs star Modric was deliberately injuredModric fractures leg bone, forcing Redknapp into the transfer marketHarry Redknapp bemoans 'crazy' international break as Tottenham new signing Niko Kranjcar jets off for Croatia dutyThanks Harry! Kranjcar targets top four to reward Spurs boss Redknapp[LNB] Explore more:People:Luka Modric, Niko KranjcarPlaces:Birmingham, Croatia, Andorra, United Kingdom
