Gvardiol is the rock on which Croatia's hopes may depend

While Croatia playmaker Luka Modric will hog the limelight in what is likely to be his swansong international tournament, the country's fortunes at Euro 2024 may equally depend on the form of defensive lynchpin Josko Gvardiol.

The 22-year-old shot to prominence at the last World Cup, when his sterling work alongside Dejan Lovren helped propel Croatia to the semi-finals before their balloon was eventually burst by eventual champions Argentina.

Throughout the tournament Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic sang Gvardiol's praises and when they reached the knockout stages he did not hold back.

“Gvardiol is the best centre back in the world," he said. "To play this maturely, it’s amazing.”

Gvardiol may not be the biggest but he is strong and quick and his performances in Qatar caught the attention of Manchester City, who splashed out 77 million pounds ($96.87 million) to take him from RB Leipzig to the Etihad Stadium last August.

Like many players do when they arrive in the Premier League, especially when they have to adjust to Pep Guardiola's exacting tactical demands, the Croatian defender struggled initially to fit into the team.

Gvardiol found himself operating mostly at left back but it was not long before he was earning rave reviews as an unlikely attacking weapon in City's latest title charge.

SCORING TOUCH

Playing left back was not entirely new for Gvardiol - he was used there in Dinamo Zagreb's youth academy and ex-Leipzig boss Jesse Marsch occasionally employed him in that position too - but finding his feet as a goalscorer certainly was.

He netted four times in 52 games for Zagreb, and got five in 88 games for Leipzig. Gvardiol made 32 appearances for City without scoring but then the floodgates opened.

A wonderful strike