Dejan Lovren is not one to shy away from a bit of self-promotion in social media – but the Liverpool defender has been forced to endure the taunts of England fans after Croatia’s Nations League defeat to the Three Lions.
Lovren took aim at England in an Instagram story posted immediately after Croatia’s dramatic 3-2 win over Spain on Thursday.
In the same post, the 29-year-old also continued his on-going spat with defender Sergio Ramos, which stems back to May’s Champions League final and accusations Ramos deliberately injured Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.
Lovren said: “I elbowed him [Sergio Ramos] good. Haha! 3-2! Go ahead and talk now buddy. They are a bunch of p******. Now to beat England and walk out like a boss.”
In response, Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic said he would speak to Lovren about his comments, but wouldn’t go into detail about what he would say.
That victory in Zagreb set up at winner-takes-all tie against England at Wembley on Sunday, with Lovren seemingly confident of a repeat of this summer’s World Cup semi-final.
That outcome looked likely when Andrej Kramaric's deflected strike put Croatia ahead after 57 minutes.
That left England needing two goals to avoid relegation, with a score draw not enough to prevent Croatia from finishing ahead of the Three Lions.
Substitute Jesse Lingard tapped in on the line to bring Gareth Southgate’s side level with 12 minutes left and set up a grandstand finish.
Then, with five minutes remaining, Harry Kane managed to get an outstretched boot on the end of Ben Chilwell’s free-kick and divert the ball into the net for a dramatic winner.
The result sent England through to next summer’s Nations League finals in Portugal, while simultaneously sending Croatia down to League B.
Lovren’s pre-match comments weren’t forgotten by England fans, who taunted the former Southampton defender while revelling in their dramatic victory.
To make things worse for Lovren, England anthem 'Three Lions' was played immediately after the final whistle at Wembley.
Lovren revealed that the song ‘made him angry’ during the World Cup as he felt it had disrespected Croatia in the lead up to their semi-final.
England fans will be waiting for Lovren’s next Instagram post with great interest.
