Luka Modric is upstaged by Lionel Messi as Argentina shatters his World Cup hopes on Tuesday in Qatar. Croatia’s greatest player, Luka Modric, was overshadowed by Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player ever, as Argentina crushed his World Cup hopes in Qatar on Tuesday.
The South American team defeated Modric’s 37-year-old team 3-0 after he led his nation to a second World Cup semi-final appearance. After Croatia’s shocking quarterfinal defeat of Brazil, coach Zlatko Dalic boasted that his team had “the best midfield in the world” thanks to Modric, Mateo Kovacic, and Marcelo Brozovic.
That midfield has made it possible for a nation of just under four million people to consistently compete with the best teams in the world, but they ran out of steam when they faced aggressive Argentina.
Dalic stated, “Argentina has an excellent team… today they had four midfielders and closed the space and tried to play the majority of the game there.” Argentina had an excellent team.
Despite conceding the opening goal in both of their knockout matches, Croatia prevailed over Japan and Brazil on penalties after falling behind in their group-stage victory over Canada.
Few teams are as tenacious or durable as Croatia, but two goals in five minutes—one from a Lionel Messi penalty and the other from a scruffy Julian Alvarez strike—were too much to overcome.
After going to extra time in both the quarterfinals and the last 16 of the tournament, Dalic had played down concerns about being tired. However, once Alvarez made it 2-0, Croatia seemed to have little left to play for.
Alvarez scored a second goal thanks to more Messi brilliance, and Modric was replaced by Lovro Majer nine minutes from the end, to warm applause from the nearly 89,000 fans in attendance.
Farewell?
Real Madrid midfielder Modric, who made his worldwide debut way back in 2006, is definitely in the last period of his splendid vocation.
In the third place play-off, Croatia will play either Morocco or France on Saturday. They’ve also made it to the Nations League’s last four, but that competition doesn’t have the same luster as the World Cup, so it might not be enough to convince Modric to stay.
The five-time Champions Association victor, who has a record 161 caps for Croatia, will be very nearly 39 when Euro 2024 rolls around.
The fact that Mario Mandzukic, who is a year younger than Modric, is now on the coaching staff demonstrates how long the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner has been in Qatar.
Croatia advanced to the 2018 championship thanks to a goal by Mandzukic. On a rare night when Modric was unable to control the pace or advance his team, he was shown the red card on Tuesday for protesting Argentina’s opener.
Modric asserted, “It’s never a punishment to play for the national team.” “We’ve had a very good World Cup.”