Croatia boss Slaven Bilic has backed axed England captain John Terry to get through his crisis.
Chelsea hero Terry was skipper when England beat the Croats twice in the World Cup qualifiers as the Three Lions got revenge for being dumping out of Euro 2008.
Bilic said: "John Terry is a tiger, he is a lion and always will be for his team, there is no doubt about that. He is a leader. Some players need the push of the armband to be a captain, but not Terry.
"He has never needed that. He is a natural leader. He can still be that kind of player for England this summer in the World Cup.
"It will not affect him, that is the kind of man he is.
"He was the leader on the pitch for Chelsea long before he became the captain of the club. It is the way he plays and he always will show that leadership on the pitch, whether he is the captain or not."
