A couple of months back when the Croatians earned a morale-boosting win knocking off heavily favored Argentina, the team not only gained a win, they gained a new player. Luka Modric made his first senior appearance for the injured Robert Kovac that day and impressed Coach Zlatko Kranjcar so much that Modric may have played his way onto the 2006 World Cup squad for his native Croatia.

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The Dinamo Zagreb midfielder got a ringing endorsement from the Croatian coach, as he noted - the young star grew into the game alongside Niko Kranjcar and Niko Kovac. This has prompted many to suggest he will be in Germany with the national team. If he is, it would cap off a very successful first full season as his squad, Dinamo Zagreb, were recently crowned national champions.

 
The new kid on the block can realistically harbour thoughts of inclusion and his presence will immediately elevate the Croatian attack. The 20-year-old, who started his career at Zrinjski in neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina, joined Dinamo from his previous club, Inter Zapresic, midway through the 2004-2005 season, albeit, making only four appearances before the summer break. Modric has an eye for the net and has found a home with the Dinamo squad. He helped his team secure the Croatian league title by beating Osijek over the past weekend.

Modric not only impressed at the midfield position, but he has been averaging a goal every four games this season. Luka has a knack for scoring clutch goals as well - notching the winning-goal in a win over reigning champions Hajduk Split on February 12th and netting the tying-goal in a 2-2 draw with their closest rivals Rijeka on the 29th of April.

The young commodity seems to take things in stride and will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with over the long term on the international scene. Coach Kranjar recently stated “He is very talented, with a strong presence and organizational qualities.” For the Modric fans and him personally, that sounds to me like he'd better not make any plans for an early summer vacation. Come June 9th, this starlet should be at midfield when his Croats take on the favoured Brazilians in the opening match. The team plays Australia and Japan in the other Group F games and are expected to advance into the second round. The future looks bright for both Modric and the Croatians.