Former Republic of Ireland international Matt Holland has hailed the performance of Luka Modric during Crotia's 3-1 win in their Group C opener.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was the star man as the Croatians recovered from conceding the lead to race to a comfortable victory in Poznan. Croatia now top the group after Spain and Italy could only conjure up a 1-1 draw earlier on Sunday, and Holland insists that Ireland's failure to keep Modric quiet proved critical in their own downfall.
"We have to acknowledge that Croatia were the better team. Their front two, Mandzukic and Jelavic combined brilliantly," said Holland.
"They looked a threat in the air, their movement was very good and Modric was excellent in midfield. He controlled the tempo of the game.
"In the first half there was a spell where we really pressed them and [Modric] wasn't getting a lot of the ball so he went a lot deeper and it kept him away from our goal where he can cause the most danger.
"But in the second half he strolled through it and he was excellent."
Ireland next face Spain at Euro 2012 on Thursday in Gdansk.
Matt Cotton
