Portugal's Silva praises idol Modric ahead of World Cup clash with Croatia

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida, June 30 : Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva paid a glowing tribute to Croatia captain Luka Modric on Tuesday, hailing the veteran playmaker as his footballing idol and "a huge inspiration" ahead of their World Cup last-32 showdown.

Modric, 40, continues to be the heartbeat of the Croatia side that finished runners-up in 2018 and third in 2022.

"Luka is actually an idol for me, not only because of the way he has played and remained at the highest level, but also because of the way he has conducted himself throughout his career," Silva told reporters.

"He's a huge inspiration to me and I imagine to almost every footballer. I'm really happy to see that, even at his age, he's still performing at such a high level. I've been fortunate enough to play against him many times.

"I actually asked for his shirt after one of the Manchester City-Real Madrid matches and I'm really glad I did. It's one of the most special shirts I have at home. I wish him all the best - just not in two days as we want to beat him!"

PORTUGAL ADAPTATION IS DIFFICULT

Portugal came in for criticism when they failed to top their group, finishing second behind Colombia, with Silva noting that adapting to the national team can be challenging for Portuguese players spread across different leagues.

"Most German players play in Germany and grow up with a similar football philosophy. Most Spanish players play in Spain and develop within the same style. We don't have that," Silva explained.

"Portuguese football is very different because the clubs often don't have the financial strength to keep their best players, most of us play abroad. We play in completely different leagues with very different styles of football.

"So that adaptation becomes difficult, especially because we don't have the amount of time together that you have at club level... That adaptation has always been a constant challenge."

However, Silva said tournament football was different and was decided by fine margins while emotions and intuition also played a part.

"While I do think it would be great if Portugal had a more unified football philosophy to make that transition into the national team easier, the reality is that we've never really had that," he added.

"But these tournaments don't depend solely on that... I genuinely believe that, although tactical adaptation is important, in a knockout tournament it becomes a secondary factor."

'INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL HAS EVOLVED'

Two European teams have already gone home from the knockout stage after Paraguay stunned Germany and Morocco eliminated the Netherlands, with both matches decided by penalties.

Five-time champions Brazil also struggled after going behind to Japan and needed a last-minute winner to progress, with Silva saying he was not surprised to see big teams knocked out.

"International football has evolved enormously over the past decade," he said.

"Every team is tactically organised, physically prepared and well analysed. Winning football matches at this level is extremely difficult."