World Cup 2018: 5 players that stood out in the group stage.

#2 Luka Modric (Croatia)

Luka Modric

The 32-year-old Real Madrid midfielder captains the Croatian national team, playing a pivotal part in their midfield. He scored 1 goal and assisted 3 in the World Cup qualifiers. Modric usually plays alongside Ivan Rakitic in the central midfield position in Zlatko Dalić's 4-2-3-1 formation.

Luka Modric's Croatian squad faced Nigeria in their first match, where Modric converted a penalty in the 71st minute after Etebo's own-goal gave them a lead. The match ended 2-0.

Croatia faced 2014 World Cup runner-ups Argentina in their second match, which was expected to be their toughest fixture of the group stage, but they won by a 3 goal margin without conceding any.

Luka Modric shifted from his usual defensive midfield position in the 4-2-3-1 formation to an attacking midfield position in a 4-1-4-1 formation. He shot past Willy Caballero in the 80th minute from outside the box to earn his second goal of the tournament.

Modric stepped back into the defensive-midfield position against Iceland in the final match of the group stage, aiding the team into possession play holding the ball 62% of the time.

Luka Modric is credited with the success of the underdog team Croatia for being the only team apart from Uruguay to earn 9 points in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, winning all 3 matches.