Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic insists Lionel Messi was “powerless” against his players in Argentina’s 3-0 victory on Thursday night.

The Barcelona star struggled to make an impression during the game as he was closely marked by Dalic’s troops in Russia.

Dalic hailed his players for keeping the Argentine captain quiet during the match.

“We were good. There was neither chance, room or time (with the ball) for Messi,” said Dalic, a former coach of Al Ain, on Friday.

“All was set for Messi to have neither room nor time. The main thing was to block the flow of the ball to him.

“He felt powerless, his body language was showing that he was powerless.”

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric was one of the stars of the show, scoring the team’s second and Dalic was delighted he outshone Messi on the big stage.

“Everything is known about Luka, he plays every match for the squad at the highest possible level,” he added.

“To score a goal in such a match against Messi… It’s a reward, that Messi did nothing and he (Modric) did everything for Croatia.

“It is a reward for Luka, great motivation. You could see by his reaction after the goal what it meant to him.”