Tomas Soucek isn’t the only man with England in his sights. Former Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren also has previous when it comes to humbling the Three Lions – but there’s a lot more to this altruistic two-time refugee than meets the eye

Words Arthur Renard

When England and Croatia take to the field at Wembley for their first match at Euro 2020, thoughts will inevitably return to one place: that balmy night three summers ago, when the Three Lions’ World Cup hopes melted in Moscow.

Both countries have met so often on big occasions that the fixture has become something of an international rivalry over the years – this will be their 10th meeting since 2003. But the biggest of all came in that almighty semi-final, won 2-1 by Zlatko Dalic’s side after extra time.

Dejan Lovren will always remember that monumental night. For him and his country, it meant a maiden World Cup final in their history, having been heartbroken by hosts France in 1998’s last four. Les Bleus would strike again in Russia, but it hardly diminished Croatia’s gutsy achievements.

This summer, the Zenit Saint Petersburg centre-back is ready to go against Gareth Southgate’s men once more, conscious of how Croatia’s past struggles have forged this resilient generation of players. In a revealing interview with FFT, Lovren talks Euro 2020, but also opens up about life fleeing war and, more recently, helping stricken families back home recover from a tragic earthquake he experienced first-hand. This is the stopper like you’ve never seen him before…

How did you turn that 2018 World Cup semi-final in your favour?

England could have scored more in the first half, but then we made it 1-1 at the right moment. When we went into extra time, we felt more powerful. We were actually more fatigued than them because we had gone to penalties against Denmark and Russia, but we just felt so powerful on the pitch – it was unbelievable to see how much we were running.