Modric Sets Euro Record But Croatia Faces Early Exit

A record, a standing ovation, and man-of-the-match honours.

Despite the praise, Croatian player Luka Modric was not in the mood to rejoice following what might have been his final appearance at a major tournament.

Modric became the oldest goal scorer at a European Championship on Monday when he scored against Italy.

In the end, it was insufficient to guarantee his team's participation in the competition. Italy advanced to the next round after a 1-1 tie thanks to a goal from Mattia Zaccagni in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

To stay at Euro 2024, Croatia needs an unlikely string of other outcomes to fall into place.

38-year-old Modric scored the first goal on a rebound in the 55th minute, just one minute after Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a penalty.

Ivica Vastic set the previous record when he scored for Austria against Poland during the 2008 European Championship at the age of 38 years, 257 days.

When Modric scored in the 80th, the crowd gave him standing ovations, and when he appeared for the news conference following the game, they cheered once more.

Modric was described as one of the most amazing players he had ever seen by an Italian journalist. He said he didn't have any questions, but instead asked that he never stop playing.

Modric seems truly touched by the complimentary remarks.

He answered, "I'd also like to keep playing forever, but I probably will have to hang up my boots at some point." "I'll continue to play." I'll keep going, so we'll see when I'm done.

At Real Madrid, where he has accumulated an amazing collection of medals since signing from Tottenham in 2012, including another Champions League and Spanish league triumph last season, Modric earlier this month extended his contract by an additional year.

Since making his Croatian debut in 2006 at the age of 20, under Zlatko Kranjcar, Modric has participated in 178 matches. Currently competing in his fifth European Championship, the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner. With his goal against Italy, he now has four goals in 16 tournament games.

However, Modric has had more success when playing for his country at the World Cup, helping Croatia place third in 2022 and get to the championship game in 2018.

Given the manner in which the match ended with the final kick, Monday's draw against Italy virtually guarantees Croatia's elimination in the coming days.

It was really demanding. We battled like lions till the very end. Football is harsh, though," Modric remarked. That's just a part of playing football. It can make you very happy at times, but it can also make you quite sad at times.

"This kind of loss is really challenging. It's difficult to put into words how my teammates and, most likely, the fans feel. Of course we have to recover.

The leader of the team, Luka Modric, found solace in the performance.

"Despite the harshness of this outcome, this is how Croatia portrays itself; we offered all for it. "It's football, but we deserved more," he remarked. "We should be pleased with the way we represented Croatia."

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.