Croatia’s most famous fan says her country will beat England in their World Cup clash tonight – and is backed by a nation who find the English ‘arrogant’.
Ivana Knoll – a Croatian model and attention-seeker-in-chief from the Adriatic nation – believes Luka Modric and Co. will have another strong tournament due to their togetherness.
The former Miss Croatia became an internet sensation for her rather provocative outfits in the stands at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and has amassed 2.9 million Instagram followers.
Her opinion on England has been backed by leading national team journalist Drazen Antolic, who has branded the English arrogant in a cutting column.
Knoll was at the centre of a march of Croatia fans through the streets of Dallas and will, one assumes, have found a way to attend the expensive affair at 9pm tonight.
She recently told the BBC’s Football Heaven show: ‘I think, first of all, we will beat you guys. People are underestimating us because we are a small nation.
Viral Croatia fan Ivana Knoll has predicted that her team will beat England in Texas tonight
Knoll says people are ‘underestimating’ Croatia, who reached the World Cup final in 2018 and came third in 2022
‘Croatia is never in the predictions, and we have killed the last couple of World Cups. So I don’t see that.
‘But I understand, when we are a small market and that’s how things go, but I’m sure that we will surprise again.’
The model, who goes by the online moniker knolldoll, added: ‘The biggest concern now is with people talking about that our players are old, blah-blah.
‘But you have examples with individual nations who had such a good team with players from the biggest clubs in the world and they, as a national team, couldn’t do anything because they didn’t connect.
‘So I think the connection is the most important.
‘It’s no matter if some players are older, younger, the best, whichever clubs they are [at].
‘But if, as a group, they play together, then miracles happen, and I believe that we are always such a good team and I think that’s why we achieve such big results.
‘I think, for sure, we will get to the quarter-finals.’
England were defeated by Croatia at the 2018 World Cup but are seen as the bigger team
Croatia have a spate of leading stars. Luka Modric, aged 40, is at his fifth World Cup. He has been playing with a mask on after suffering a fractured cheekbone from a clash of heads playing against Juventus in April.
Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol is also in the squad and is back playing after he suffered a broken shin in January.
Count in his City team-mate Mateo Kovacic, PSV’s Ivan Perisic, and Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanisic, and you have the makings of a strong squad.
Croatia were runners-up in at the 2018 World Cup, having beaten England in the semi-finals, and came third in 2022.
Journalist Antolic wrote for the newspaper Jutarnji list: ‘There is no bigger match for Croatians than England, if we don’t count the finals of the biggest competitions, and even when they brag and underestimate themselves, in which they are world champions, the motivation jumps to the sky and the desire to win is greater than against anyone.
‘History repeats itself, the Three Lions today do not perceive Croatia as a team that was second and third in the world, while making them cry in the semi-finals, but as a team from the B rank of the League to a nation whose golden reach is to reach the World Cup.
‘The comments of their journalists and former players that they should not be afraid of a team led by a forty-year-old must be a turbocharger for [manager Zlatko] Dalic’s chosen ones because everything else would say that they are not up to the jersey they wear.
‘They respected and appreciated us more in Russia, and even then our people felt their arrogance.
‘Croatia is not and must not be a “sharpened” outsider, but a member of the football aristocracy. Beating the English would be great, but not crucial.’
Another newspaper, Vecernji list, quoted Shearer, who was speaking as a Betfair ambassador, predicting victory against the Croatians.
‘I predict that we will beat Croatia 2-1, with Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon scoring the goals,’ said Shearer.
