Croatia needed a win over Ghana to lock up second place in Group L behind England. They got it, 2-1. Which is good. But the real story was Luka Modrić doing what Luka Modrić does — just 40 years older than when he started.
Modrić played his 200th match for Croatia on Friday. That’s a lot of caps. And with one swing of his right foot from a corner kick, he became the oldest player in World Cup history to register an assist. He’s 40 years and 291 days old. That stat alone is ridiculous, but the guy has been ridiculous for so long it almost doesn’t feel like news anymore.
Still, let’s talk about the assist. It came in the second half, a corner kick from the left that curled toward the near post. Torino midfielder Nikola Vlašić read it perfectly and powered a header into the net. Simple. Effective. Vintage Modrić.
And the win itself was important. Croatia got bounced around a bit by England in the group opener, losing 3-1. But that loss looks a lot less scary now that they’ve got three points and a ticket to the knockout stage. Ghana pushed hard — Mohammed Kudus had a few moments where you thought they might equalize — but Croatia held on.
This team has been a neutral fan favorite for years. 2018 finalists. Two third-place finishes. They’re never the flashiest squad on paper, but they always seem to find a way. And Modrić is the reason why. His legs don’t move like they used to, but his brain doesn’t need them to.
The knockout draw isn’t set yet, so we don’t know who’s next for Croatia. But the bracket is shaping up in a way that could give them a path. And with Modrić still out there picking apart defenses from set pieces, it’s hard to count them out.
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