Dejan Lovren believes Croatia are capable of eclipsing the achievements of the vintage 1998 team that reached the World Cup semi-finals. Basking in the glow of their remarkable 3-0 victory over Argentina in Nizhny Novgorod, Lovren praised his teammates for nullifying the threat of Lionel Messi and stated that Croatia had no reason to fear anyone in the tournament if they can maintain the same level of performance.

Ante Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic scored the second-half goals that condemned Argentina to a humiliating defeat, leaving Jorge Sampaoli’s team on the brink of elimination, and secured Croatia’s place in the last 16 with a game to spare, fuelling hopes that a golden generation of supremely talented individuals, who play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, can finally deliver collectively at a major tournament.

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Asked whether there was any team that Croatia would prefer to avoid in the knockout stage, Lovren replied: “I don’t see any. We played a friendly against Brazil. We showed we can play in the first half [against them] – for me [they are] also one of the favourites. And we are not too scared against anyone. When you look, it’s 3-0 against Argentina ... this is a big, big game. I don’t know when they lost the last time 3-0 at the World Cup.”

As well as Croatia played against Argentina – they outclassed Sampaoli’s side at times and the scoreline did not flatter them – the ultimate challenge for Zlatko Dalic and his players is to try to follow in the footsteps of the Davor Suker-inspired team that finished third in France 20 years ago. “I said we can do it. Of course [be even] better,” Lovren said. “And when you look on the team-sheet, we have better players than the previous [team] of 20 years ago. But it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t perform well. But if we are like against Argentina, through all the tournament, I believe we can go far.”

Croatia executed their gameplan perfectly against Argentina, controlling the midfield, exposing the space that opened up on the flanks behind Sampaoli’s wing-backs and restricting the influence of Messi, who was a peripheral figure throughout. “Of course we respect Messi because he’s the greatest player in the world, but he’s also stoppable,” Lovren said. “But not [stoppable] against one player. We defended like a team and this is how we did it. Together. You saw it. He didn’t have many chances. It was brilliant defending.”

By finishing top of Group D, Croatia would be likely to avoid France in the last 16, although Lovren has no qualms about their next opponents. “To be honest, I don’t mind. Whoever comes, we are ready to fight. Even France, they will know they have a tough opponent. I think the teams and people will realise they should respect Croatia.”

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There is a sense that Croatia could, as in 1998, go under the radar a little as the spotlight shines on some of the World Cup heavyweights. “When you look, of course, there are still Germany here, Spain, France,” Lovren said. “The big teams, big names. I would say we are the underdogs, and this helps us. How we played against Argentina, it will give us a boost for the next couple of games, and hopefully we can just stay fit for the rest of the tournament.”

Lovren singled out Modric for special praise on a night when the 32-year-old showed all his class and scored an outstanding goal, curling a 25-yard shot inside the post with 10 minutes remaining to double Croatia’s lead. “Amazing – I said to him it reminded me of his goal against Manchester United, for Real Madrid,” Lovren said. “And he was again one of the best players. He has this calmness, so much experience in his career, he knows how to play these big games. It’s a joy to play with him.”