It took many years for Luka Modric to be fully acknowledged as a world-class player in his homeland. Nowhere, except probably in Argentina, is the cult of the fantasista -- that classic No. 10 attacking playmaker -- as strong and as imprinted in the football fans' collective consciousness as it is in Croatia, but he has just never developed in that mould.

Modric has always had a big legacy to live up to. The legendary Croatia team that came third at the 1998 World Cup had three playmakers: Zvonimir Boban, the captain, was their true leader; Robert Prosinecki, the troubled maverick genius; while Aljosa Asanovic always played better for the national team than he did for any of his club sides.

As his critics were quick to point out, Modric has never been a leader like Boban; he lacks the charisma of Prosinecki and he seldom seemed as good in that checkered shirt as he did when representing Dinamo Zagreb, Tottenham or Real Madrid. They called him the "alibi-player," meaning he supposedly preferred to stay away from taking any risks or initiative. Another tongue-in-cheek nickname was the "King of pre-assists," meant to say he was just good at build-up play, but needed others to provide the actual attacking threat.

Even for all his efforts at Tottenham, it was only after he had established himself as one of the key players for Madrid that he gained the recognition he deserves in Croatia. And now, at Euro 2016 in France, he's arguably more central to the team's chances than he has ever been before.

Modric was the undoubted Man of the Match against Turkey, also scoring the only goal with a wonderful exhibition of technique. Against the Czechs, Croatia's team balance was ruined after he had to come off with injury. Now that the maestro is unavailable for the Spain game, the question is -- who can replace him?

Young Mateo Kovacic, his teammate at Real Madrid, is the most immediate alternative, but he was also the one who replaced Modric in the previous game and that didn't turn out to be a particularly good solution. Kovacic knows how to keep the ball and he's also one of the best dribblers at the tournament, but both his defensive and attacking play leave a lot to be desired. His overall influence stands no comparison to Modric.

Then there is Marcelo Brozovic, Inter Milan's box-to-box midfielder whose biggest advantages are hard work and lungs of steel. He has been used on the right side of midfield in the previous two matches, enabling Darijo Srna, a full-back, to constantly overlap and act more like a winger. Brozovic could be moved to central midfield, with Marko Pjaca -- a fast and skilful winger -- taking his place, but the problem is that Brozovic lacks the tactical discipline to hold his position in defensive block, which will be important against Spain.

Without Modric, Croatia are set to be overrun in midfield, so staying compact will be key, especially as there is no typical ball-winner who can provide muscle in the middle of the park. Despite his keen eye for interceptions and good passing skills, Milan Badelj of Fiorentina is not really the type.

There have been rumours that manager Ante Cacic could use young Ante Coric, 19, as the No. 10 -- in which case Ivan Rakitic would drop deeper and assume the role usually reserved for Modric. That is highly unlikely, though: for all of his vast potential, Coric is very far from being ready to take that role in such an important game.

Cacic has experimented with 3-5-2, as well as with 4-4-2, in the pre-tournament friendlies. He's a coach who likes to tinker tactically. However, he used the same exact starting XI in both previous Euro games and hesitated with subs, which hints at his reluctance to give the "Plan B" -- whatever it is -- a chance. According to the reports coming from the team camp, there is nothing to suggest he's planning on changing the formation for this game, either. That doesn't necessarily mean he won't go for it, as Cacic has been known to make shock selections before, but it might be that everything stays the same -- just with Kovacic in place of Modric.

What is clear is that no one can really replace the Real Madrid man. Croatia must accept that and change their tactics accordingly: some fine tuning of the players' roles and adopting a more reactive approach will be needed if they are to have any chance against the reigning European champions.