Philadelphia, June 28: Luka Modric lined up for a corner kick intent on trying to float the ball to the top of the 6-yard box. Nikola Vlasic jumped high among the scrum and headed it in for a goal – good enough to advance Croatia in the World Cup and give Modric a slice of tournament history.
The 40-year-old Modric became the oldest player in World Cup history with an assist, and Vlasic and Petar Sucic scored to help Croatia earn a spot in the knockout round with a 2-1 win over Ghana 2-1 on Sunday.
“I told him after the game, you play like you’re 20 years old,” Sucic said. “He was incredible today. He runs a lot. He goes into every duel. He was incredible with the ball. He is our leader; he is our best player and we’re so happy he can lead us in this World Cup. He can play until he wants, he’s so good.” Ghana had already secured advancement from the group stage for the first time since 2010.
Vlasic headed home Modric’s corner in the 83rd minute to score the winner and put Croatia back in contention after it finished third in 2022. The win means Croatia finished second behind England in Group L, with Ghana third.
“On the goal, I think I needed to do a block,” Vlasic said. “But the ball arrived to me so I shot it with my head. It’s not like it was some action but thank God the goal went in and we won the game.” Modric at 40 years, 291 days set the assist record back to records kept since 1966.Modric won the Ballon d’Or in 2018, the only time from 2008-21 that Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t win it. He played in his 200th international game in this World Cup and remained the best player for the Vatreni in this tournament. (AP)
