There are some footballers who just refuse to let the clock beat them, and Luka Modric is absolutely one of them. The Croatian legend scored in what could turn out to be his final ever appearance on home soil, helping Croatia to a 2-1 victory over Slovenia in a Euro 2024 warm-up that had a distinctly emotional edge to it.
Modric, who has been carrying an injury and wearing a protective mask in recent weeks, peeled it off at full time and took in the applause from a crowd that clearly knows it might be watching the last few scenes of something genuinely special. At 38 years old, the Real Madrid midfielder still finds ways to influence football matches that players half his age can only dream about. It is frankly unfair on everyone else.
For Croatia, this was a solid confidence booster ahead of what looks like a tough group stage. They are in Group B alongside Spain, Italy and Albania, which is not exactly a gentle start to proceedings. But beating Slovenia, who are no pushover themselves, and doing it while getting Modric some minutes and some rhythm, will have pleased manager Zlatko Dalic quite a bit.
The result also matters because England come next in their warm-up schedule. Gareth Southgate's side will face a Croatian team that has good memories of playing against the Three Lions, most notably that 2018 World Cup semi-final win that still stings for a lot of England fans. Croatia will fancy testing themselves against England before the tournament and Modric, fit and scoring, makes them a considerably different proposition.
It would be easy to get carried away and say Croatia are dark horses for the tournament, but realistically they are a solid, experienced side rather than genuine contenders for the trophy. What they do have, though, is a player in Modric who can conjure something out of nothing on any given day. And at a major tournament, that kind of player is always worth having around.
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