38 years old and he just had to grind 97 minutes in the Croatia vs Albania match.
After the match, Modric sat down, panting from fatigue. He has to accept that he is no longer at the peak of his career. Besides him, he no longer has talented teammates like Ivan Perisic or Ivan Rakitic to support each other.
Just this EURO, maybe in 2 years, at the 2026 World Cup, we will no longer see Modric wearing the national team shirt. No one can win over time. A regret for one of the best midfielders that Croatian football has ever produced.
Croatia was held to a 2-2 draw by Albania in a dramatic match in the second series of Group B matches of EURO 2024.
On June 19 at Volksparkstadion (Hamburg), Croatia had a vital match with Albania. Coach Dalic fielded the best possible lineup, with Modric – Kovacic or Brozovic leading the Croatian midfield.
However, Albania showed that they are still an unpleasant opponent. In the beginning of the match, the 2018 World Cup runner-up faced many difficulties against an opponent that was rated weaker.
Just in the 12th minute, Croatia’s net vibrated by a name playing in the Czech Republic tournament. Midfielder Qazim Laci made a sudden inroad to open the scoring for Albania against Croatia.
After losing 0-3 to Spain, Luka Modric and his teammates almost fell into a situation where they had to win against Albania, or even win big, if they did not want to be at a disadvantage in the final series of matches.
The “cold water” Croatia received early in the match forced them to raise their squad. Modric, Kovacic or Brozovic still play hard, but Albania plays well.
Croatia’s attack was quite deadlocked, depending on Perisic’s ability to penetrate. Age greatly affects this winger’s performance.
For most of the first half, Albania was the better team. They created 6 shots, 2 clear scoring opportunities and 2 shots on target.
Meanwhile, Croatia, despite being behind early, could not create any good opportunities. Modric missed too many passes, while Kovacic or Brozovic appeared weak compared to their opponents.
Modric played poorly compared to Albania’s disciplined midfield.
Kovacic faced many difficulties against Albania’s disciplined midfield
In the second half, the Croatian team used more crosses and long shots. Opportunities are starting to open up for the team that reached the 2018 World Cup final.
However, the quality of Croatia’s final shots was still quite poor. They have not been able to equalize the 0-1 loss against Albania. It wasn’t until the 74th minute that Kramaric scored a clever shot to help Croatia tie the score 1-1 against Albania.
The equalizer helped Croatia play more freely and begin to create many scoring opportunities towards Albania’s goal.
In the 76th minute, Budimir skillfully handled a cross inside, causing Gjasula to score an own goal. The situation reversed too quickly for Croatia. And they started dreaming about a victory that would be important for their ticket to the next round.
However, Croatia’s slackness at the end of the match made them pay the price. In the 90+5 minute, Gjasula redeemed himself by penetrating the penalty area and scoring a shot into the Croatian net, bringing a valuable point to Albania.
On the field, Croatian players collapsed. They came very close to winning but dropped 3 valuable points. With this draw, Croatia only has 1 point after two matches. They will enter the match against Italy in the final round with many worries.