Liverpool’s Croatian defender has seen his club reach the Champions League final and his country reach the World Cup final. To him, that means the criticism should come to a halt.

“This feels incredible, especially after everything that was said about us before the game,” said Lovren after the win over England in the World Cup semifinal. “We showed our character. We showed that we deserved to be in the final and people should respect us. Sometimes, the criticism is unfair and people should respect me also.”

Paired with World Cup Best XI contender Domagoj Vida, Lovren and the Croatian defense held England off the board after Kieran Trippier‘s 4th-minute free-kick goal.

“People said I had a difficult season [with Liverpool] but I don’t agree with that,” Lovren told BeIN Sports. “I showed why I took Liverpool to the final of the Champions League and now with the national team, and now I’m in the World Cup final.”

”I think people should recognize that I’m one of the best defenders in the world and not just talk nonsense.”

“This criticism is what gets me more motivated to work harder and prove everyone wrong,” Lovren said. “Everyone. From today, everyone in Croatia and around the world saw we managed to make history. In 20 years’ time, people will remember us, and not just the team from 1998. That is why I am proud, and now we have one game to make people remember us forever.”

Lovren made 29 appearances this season for Liverpool in the Premier League and played the full 90 minutes in all but one of Liverpool’s 13 Champions League matches. He has also started and played in every minute of Croatia’s World Cup adventure, save for their meaningless final group stage match against Iceland. The 29-year-old is set to earn his 46th cap in the World Cup final.

”It’s something we’ll never forget. People are crying in our country,” Lovren added about the win over England to reach the World Cup final. “This is something historical for us. We will never forget this. We beat our record 20 years ago and we had it on our shoulders all the time, this weight I would say and people now will never forget us. Now we have the chance to do something even better and hopefully we can do it.”

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