JOIN USCroatia captain Luka Modric could barely hide his joy after the Balkan side crushed Argentina 3-0 in their World Cup Group D showdown on Thursday, but he cautioned that they must keep their feet on the ground as they move to the next round.
"The most important objective was achieved," Modric said. "We are ecstatic over it. But I think that we should go game by game. Let's not be euphoric. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
"Of course this will boost our confidence for the next game. It's going to be tough. But let's avoid euphoria, let's keep our feet firmly on the ground and prepare for the next matches."
Modric said the Croatians had played a perfect game.
"At the end, our victory looks easy but it was not that easy. That first goal in the second half followed from their goalie's mistake," the Real Madrid midfielder said.
"It was a shot in the arm for us. We played a perfect game. In the second half, we set a balance, we created possession, and thank God we scored three times. We are over the top with our victory."
Modric added that Croatia deserved the victory due to their own performance, rather than Argentina's failings. "This result and Argentina's poor display was due to our good game, our compact block all over the pitch, particularly when we didn't have the ball," said Modric.
"We cut off the lines of passing, we wanted to avoid Messi getting the ball. I believe that we played a fantastic game."
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic also cautioned his squad against getting carried away.
"We have to be happy, we have emerged from the group. We have beaten great Argentina with the greatest player in the world, Messi," he said.
"However, we have to pray to God we don't go over the top. We have to be humble, dignified, put in a good shift as a team. No-one is happier than I am but I have to keep calm and composed, feet on the ground."