There will come a time, in the not too distant future, when Luka Modric has a decision to make. A 15-year international career with Croatia has amassed 141 caps and taken him as far as the 2018 World Cup final, but the shadows are lengthening at those gifted feet.
These next days, perhaps weeks, might end up marking the end of the road for a player who will turn 36 in September. There cannot be too many miles to travel with his country now. Surely.
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Glasgow had threatened to be the last stop for Modric and Croatia at Euro 2020. Anything less than a victory over Scotland and the chances of progressing beyond Group D would have evaporated for a fading team that had collected just a point against England and the Czech Republic. Anything less than a win and Modric would have been forgiven for considering international retirement.
Those creeping thoughts, however, can wait for another day after a sublime individual performance carried Croatia through to the round of 16.
Modric was peerless at Hampden Park, a technician operating on his own special level. Scotland had found reasons to believe they could be the ones to progress after their fight had brought them level late in the first half, but Modric’s sumptuous finish just after the hour mark soon brought them to their knees.
That decisive moment captured the timeless brilliance of Modric.
Mateo Kovacic had momentarily shaped to shoot on the edge of Scotland’s box but another, more appealing option presented itself. A square pass begged Modric to come good and he did so with a simple sweep of his right boot. The precise finish, bent with the outside of his boot, arched high beyond David Marshall and into the top corner. Goals of such magnitude come little better. For good measure, Modric now stands as the oldest and youngest goalscorer for Croatia in the European Championship.
Luka Modric takes the lead for #CRO.
Outside of the box.
Outside of the boot.
Curls into the back of the net.
What a goal.#CRO 2-1 #SCO🎥 @itvfootball pic.twitter.com/qeZ2YQfATu
— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) June 22, 2021
“No one is sure how Luka manages that,” head coach Zlatko Dalic said. “He pulls the entire team and doesn’t give up. Whatever I say about Luka would not be sufficient. I am very proud of him.”
John McGinn, whose own star has risen at pace in recent years with Aston Villa, has come up against no shortage of gifted opponents in the Premier League but perhaps none like Modric. “Their experience showed,” said Scotland’s beaten midfielder. “They’ve got one of the best players in the world in Luka Modric.”
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McGinn was wrong on neither count. Scotland were not savvy enough to beat Croatia and nor did they come to close to shackling a creative force whose powers show little sign of waning. Modric has arrived at Euro 2020 on the back of his most prolific season with Real Madrid, emphatically dismissing the notion his days were numbered at the Bernabeu.
The mobility is not what it was but Modric is ageing with grace and intelligence. Scotland can now attest to that.
The diminutive midfielder was the giant of Glasgow. Scotland found moments of joy in unsettling Croatia, forcing errors through an intensity of play alone. Never Modric, though.
The veteran played on his terms and dictated play too much for Scotland to ever hope this would be their big night. He passed with right and left foot, inside and out. Technically, he was flawless, negating the need for him to match the endless doggie sprints of his opponents.
For every touch of the ball Scotland had, Croatia had two. Their control was epitomised by Modric and slowly, he drained the juices of his midfield opponents alongside Ivan Perisic and Nikola Vlasic, whose goals sandwiched their captain’s. Steve Clarke’s men, more guts than guile, were spent long before the end.
(Photo: Luka Stanzl/Pixsell/MB Media/Getty Images)
Modric, too, sank to his knees at the full-time whistle. “This goal means a lot to me but our play means more, from the beginning until the end,” he said. “I am happy that my goal helped, but it’s most important that the team won.”
Croatia go on to Copenhagen for a last-16 tie against an, as yet, unknown opponent from Group E. That could mean Sweden, Poland or Slovakia. It might even bring a mouthwatering date against Spain, the country Modric has called home since leaving Tottenham Hotspur to join Real Madrid in 2012.
None of those nations will fear Croatia as they might have done three years ago on their way to a World Cup final defeat to France but they now have a reminder that Modric deserves all the respect they can muster.
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Croatia, its leading lights dimming since their adventures in Russia, have developed an increased reliance on their captain and most-capped international. It is, though, perfectly understandable on these big occasions. Modric, winner of the Golden Ball at the 2018 World Cup, still knows a trick or two on this captivating evidence.
International football will undeniably be poorer without him.
(Top photo: Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
