Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Petar Sucic described Luka Modric as “incredible” after he helped Croatia beat Ghana 2-1 to seal second place in Group L and a spot in the last 32 of the World Cup.
Croatia headed into their clash at Philadelphia Stadium level with England in the group, and Sucic handed them the lead in the 31st minute with a brilliant shot from distance.
But after threatening an equaliser, Ghana got themselves level through Derrick Luckassen’s 73rd-minute strike, but it would be Croatia who had the final say in the match.
Modric’s corner was headed in off the post by Nikola Vlasic seven minutes from time, helping Croatia secure a date with Portugal in the knockout stages on July 3.
With his assist, Modric, aged 40 years and 291 days old, became the oldest player on record (since 1966) to provide an assist at the World Cup. It was also his 22nd appearance at the tournament, while he also won his 200th cap against Panama last time out.
Since his World Cup debut in 2006, only Cristiano Ronaldo (25) and Lionel Messi (29) have made more appearances in the competition than Modric, though Sucic believes that the Croatia captain still has plenty more in the tank.
“That’s his character and his energy. He was to be substituted a couple of times. But he was getting better and better,” Sucic said.
“He knows this is his last World Cup, and he is trying to leave with his best impression. I told him after the game, you playing like you’re 20. He was incredible today.
“He runs a lot. He was so good with the ball. He’s our leader, our best player, and we are so happy that he can lead us in this World Cup. He can play until he wants.”
40 – Aged 40y 291d today, Luka Modric has become the oldest player to provide an assist at the World Cup on Opta record (since 1966).
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 27, 2026
Modric also finished with team-high totals for chances created (four), touches (102), accurate passes (82) and passes in the final third (21), earning praise from Zlatko Dalic.
“Luka was truly fantastic,” Dalic said. “He made an assist and stopped a goal twice. That’s his character and his energy. He never gave up.
“He’s been substituted a couple of times [in the first two games] but he is getting better and better. He was a role model of how things should be.
“He is aware that this is his last World Cup, and he’s trying to do his best. I hope he stays healthy as long as possible.”
Croatia’s win sees them reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for the fourth time, doing so on each of the last three occasions (2018, 2022, 2026).
But despite defeat, Ghana also progressed to the last 32 as one of the best third-placed teams, with a tie against Group K winners Colombia their next encounter.
For the third time in their history, Ghana have reached the knockout stages of a World Cup, though Carlos Queiroz questioned whether the expanded 48-team competition had enhanced the tournament.
“With so many teams qualifying for the World Cup, I think the value of the competition in terms of being rare to be in the World Cup, is, in my opinion, still debatable,” he said.
“Even the qualification matches in Europe and Africa, they start to lose significance, meaning, because everybody is qualified.”
On Ghana’s defeat, Queiroz said that defensive mistakes cost his side, but believes the team will learn from those errors in the next round.
“The best thing about this game is what we learned from the game. We learn a lot of things in terms of our evolution, our progress,” Queiroz added.
“We have a clear picture about the performance of some players, what we can do differently in the next coming games.”
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