Luka Modric, who is about to turn 36, officially ushered in the 7th major tournament of his national team career (3 World Cups, 4 European Championships), and he also surpassed the two honorary captains Serna (6 times) and Simic (6 times) to become the player who played in the most international competitions in the history of the team. But in such a landmark game, he could only witness the Englishman taking what he wanted at Wembley Stadium. At the moment of Sterling's goal, he looked helplessly to the side of the court, in sharp contrast with the home fans celebrating behind him, a scene that also made countless Magic Flute fans feel disappointed.
This time for the European Championship, Modric waited for his former friend Joel Luka, but the latter worked in Dalic's coaching staff as an assistant coach (former assistant coach Oric became the manager of CSKA Moscow). His former close comrades-in-arms Subašić, Mandzukic and Ivan Rakitic are no longer with him.
Although in the semi-final of the World Cup 3 years ago, Croatia narrowly defeated the "Three Lions" to advance, but with Modric's old teammates leaving one by one, the British media has not paid attention to the "Plaid Army". In a pre-match press conference, Modric publicly rebuked some Of England journalists and commentators for their arrogance. Visiting Wembley again after 14 years, he also hopes to fight back with a victory.
In this match, Croatia met in a 4141 formation, in terms of the specific position of the midfield, Brozovic dragged behind protection, Perisic and the original striker Karamarić were separated on the left and right wings, as for the captain Modric, he sat in the middle with Kovacic. On paper, this set of configurations is more eye-catching than when Vlašić and Brecarlo were on the floor, but Dalić's changes to individual positions did not have the desired effect. In particular, Kovacic's downturn put Too much pressure on Modric.
Prossina, who is a star in HTV, criticized Kovacic fiercely: "I respect Mateo, he has all the qualities, but in this game, he did not actively seek one-on-one and showed his strength enough to cope with the big scenes. I wish he could take the risk and not wait until Luca (Modric) solves everything, Matteo has the speed, the technology, he should have performed better. ”
Because his teammates were not strong, Modric could only frequently travel back and forth between the offensive and defensive ends, and his figure could be seen in almost any corner of the stadium. But even if it is as strong as the magic flute, it is also a fleshy body, including this game, he has made 60 appearances this season (national team + club appearances), and in the case of great attrition, the Croatian legend is no longer able to stop the opponent's attack, and can only watch As Calvin Phillips break through the defense of Gvadior and Charleta Char successively, giving Sterling a winning assist. But as the majority of fans said after the game: Modric has tried his best, this game, he is not a loser.