The 26-year-old Modric was at the heart of every move as the Croatians ran out 3-1 winners over the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, and Boban was quick to compare his compatriot with Italian legend Andrea Pirlo.

"Modric is Croatia's player to watch. If Pirlo is important to Italy, then I can't even begin to imagine what Croatia would do without Modric," Boban told Sky Sports Italia.

"He has great vision of the game and drives the team forward, and feels the responsibility of being a leader for the team."

Boban also paid tribute to manager Slaven Bilic's work in transforming the national side, and offered some advice ahead of the Group C clash against Cesare Prandelli's men on Thursday.

"Bilic has been instrumental in building group harmony and spirit in recent years. Croatia did really well against the Irish. His men have arrived at Euro 2012 in excellent physical condition," Boban said.

"A weakness that Italy might exploit will be Croatia's centre-back pairing of Gordon Schildenfeld and Vedran Corluka. The Azzurri will try to keep possession, so Bilic's side must make the most of counterattacks through players such as Ivan Rakitic."