Luka Modric played his last game in a World Cup this afternoon. From Qatar he takes third place with the Croatian team, which was already a finalist in the last one, in Russia 2018, in which they lost the final against France (4-2). At the age of 37, on September 9 and after the match against Morocco, Modric said that he will continue with his team until the final phase of the League of Nations, in June of next year, and that he will see later. The coach Zlatko Dalic had asked him to retire from the national team after playing Euro 2024.
It does not seem likely that Modric will continue for two more years. Real Madrid convinced him to extend his contract to this season (the illusion of playing in the World Cup weighed heavily, as well as having won the League and the Champions League) but it is difficult for him to agree to extend it for longer.
After achieving third place in Qatar, Modric commented that "it could be my last game in a World Cup. I'm very happy with my entire career in Croatia. Winning two medals is very important; my dream was to win the Cup, it hasn't happened, but We have confirmed that Croatia has a great team, with a very good future ahead. At least I want to continue until the League of Nations and then we'll see what happens", he pointed out in World Goal.
Modric was overwhelmed with pride: "You can no longer talk about Croatia as a team that does something every 20 years. With the last World Cup and with this one we have put Croatia on the map of great teams. We wanted to be in the final, we didn't it was possible, but we traveled home as winners, which is also very important," he said.
The match against Morocco for third place was the nineteenth played by Modric in the World Cups. Modric made his debut in these big events in Germany 2006, which caught him at the age of 20. He played 28 minutes, spread over two games against Japan and Australia, in the group stage.
Croatia missed the appointment in South Africa 2010, but returned in Brazil 2014, with Modric already becoming the benchmark of the group. It was not a good World Cup for the selection of the checkerboard. They lost to Brazil and Mexico and although they beat Cameroon they did not make it past the group stage.
The great World Cup between Modric and Croatia was Russia 2018. Led by Modric, well accompanied by the then Barcelona player Rakitic, Croatia beat Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland in the group stage and then began their idyll with penalties, eliminating Denmark and Russia, standing in the final after eliminating England in the semis. In that World Cup Modric scored his only two goals in the World Cup, against Nigeria and Argentina. That 2018 Modric closed it by also taking the Ballon d'Or.
In the World Cup in Qatar Modric was once again the undisputed starter. He did not shine at the level of Russia 2018, but his mastery was felt with details in all the games. Always performing at an acceptable level, with a remarkable physical display, his weakest match was the semifinal against Argentina, something that happened to the entire team. Against Morocco Modric, he started again.
In Qatar for Croatia, Gvardiol and Livakovic shone more, but no one can argue with Modric for his leadership on and off the pitch. The best Croatian player of all time.
