Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier knows England must keep Luka Modric silent in their World Cup semifinal against Croatia.

The Real Madrid ace has been outstanding in Russia.

Dier said: “He (Modric) is a great player, one of the best in the world, and whatever position or wherever he plays it doesn't make a difference to a player of that quality.

“As a team we are not focusing on individuals which is the most important thing. We are purely focusing on ourselves and what we want to do as a team and the collective is really the most important thing. If we are right collectively and defensively then individuals don't matter.

"But he is a world class player and he is extremely effective for his country, for his club, and he has been one of the best players here at the World Cup so far. He is someone we are aware of and we have to be ready to control him.

“We beat Real Madrid and they ended up winning the Champions League, so what happened in those two games is kind of irrelevant to what might happen on Wednesday.

“Both he and Rakitic are two fantastic players - world class players in their positions that have been playing at extremely high level for their clubs.

“Rakitic at Barcelona, I haven't played against him before, so it's difficult to observe as much.But Modric is obviously known well from his time in the Premier League; he's a fantastic player who can create magical moments."