There was heartbreak for England when the Croatian team dumped them out of Euro 2008 in the qualifying campaign. But for Croatia it's a huge opportunity to show just what their young stars can do at the highest level. The likes of Niko Kranjcar of Portsmouth and Ivan Klasnic of Werder Bremen will want to show their fans what they are capable of, but my tip for star of the tournament would be 22-year-old Luka Modric.

He was signed by Dinamo Zagreb as a 16-year-old trainee. After various loan spells at clubs and winning numerous footballing awards as a youngster, Modric played full time for the Croatian champions Zagreb in 2005 and has never looked back since. He is sure to be a superstar of the future and has already done enough playing for Zagreb to be transfer targeted by some of Europe's biggest clubs.

Tottenham Hotspur have beaten everyone to the signing of Modric for a whopping £16.5million, equalling their highest-ever fee for a player. Juande Ramos must rate the young Croat highly and we will see this talent in abundance in Euro 2008 where I think the Croatian team could be the dark horses of the tournament and Modric could be their hero.

The midfielder is sure to fit in well with Tottenham's attacking nature and should supply the team's strikers with many an opportunity for goals, hopefully inspiring the Londoners to success in the Premier League. He has already guided Zagreb to THREE consecutive titles. 

Modric has worked his way up through Croatia's youth sides, starring for the Under-19s and Under-21s before making his full international debut. He has already played 25 times for his country and scored three goals. He is a confident youngster and will be eager to impress his national coach Slaven Bilic, who played him as a substitute in the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany at the age of only 20.

He scored his first international goal against a strong Italian side in Italy in 2006, showing he is capable of outwitting, outpacing and destroying one of the best defences in the world. I think Modric and Kranjcar will light up the Croatia midfield in Euro 2008 and I am sure they can help their team qualify through the group stages of the tournament with ease.