Remember Laurent Blanc in 1998? Then England should beware of Croatia

England fans might do well to remember Laurent Blanc before they get too carried away ahead of tonight’s match.

Before he joined United Blanc was France captain when his country won the World Cup in 1998.

But cast your mind back to the tournament and you will recall he missed the final after being red-carded in the semi against Croatia for elbowing Slaven Bilic.

But TV replays showed that Bilic went down like a of (feel free to insert any footballing cliché you find most appropriate at this point) and made the most of the incident to get Blanc sent off.

Bilic was severely criticised for his conduct afterwards but Blanc’s red card still stood.

OK, France might have gone on to win the match and the final but the lesson here is simple.

Bilic is now Croatia’s coach and, while he spent many years in English football don’t expect him to do us any favours.

He will want his side to win the group.

And spontaneously falling over might still be one of his favoured tactics.

You have been warned.