PHILADELPHIA – Death, Taxes, and an aging Croatia overperforming at World Cups. There are a few certainties in life, but after defeating Ghana 2-1 in Philadelphia on Saturday, Croatia are off to Toronto after coming in second place in Group L, where they’ll face the second-placed team of Group K, Portugal.
While it’s not a surprise that Croatia was survived the group, they still pushed to win it all despite an opening game loss to England, making the Three Lions have to win on their final day to take top spot. While the attack revolved around the ageless midfielder Luka Modric, who took 102 touches and was everywhere for the squad, it’s clear that he also has support in the younger members of the Vatereni, such as Petar Sucic, who opened the scoring with a stunner from outside the box.
The Inter man has gained the habit of scoring from distance, and he has quite a good teacher for that at Inter in Hakan Calhanoglu, a noted specialist from distance and Turkiye international. One of the youngest players in the squad, he’s growing in confidence to pick his spots and do what is needed to push his team to victories in the biggest moments. These two goals were the first ones that Ghana allowed during the tournament, as this team can score.
“Yeah, for me it doesn’t mean [anything] that I’m the youngest because I came outside to play like everyone,” Sucic said. “And for me, it doesn’t matter how much age you have; you need to do your best job on the pitch. And of course, I like to score good goals, and of course, after training we practice a lot… Hakan is one of the best in that.”
When players like that are put around Modric, who has unbelievable vision to be their general from deep, it’s a recipe for success. Modric created four chances and nabbed an assist on Croaita’s second goal as well. A national hero, there’s nothing that Modric can’t do, and it’s clear what he means to the team.
“I tell him after the game, you play like you are 20 years old. He he he was incredible today,” Sucic said with a smile. “He runs a lot, he goes in every duel. He was so good with the ball. Yeah, he is our leader, our best player, and we are so happy that he can lead us also in this World Cup, and he can play until he wants. He’s so good, and yeah, we are happy with him.”
Having a generation of Croatian players who have gone on runs for the national team in Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic, and Dominik Livakovic means it’s so much easier for young players to come into the national team setup and know exactly what they need to do. And even at 40, when you think you’ve seen it all, Modric can still impress his teammates.
“Luka was unbelievable today, I swear it seems like he tuned the time 10 years before and really one of the best performances that I’ve seen him do in a Croatia shirt,” Vlasic said.
Depending on who they land in the next round, it could be a tough road for Croatia, but they aren’t going to worry much about that, especially after ensuring that they won a game where technically a draw would’ve been enough to get them through to the next round. Pride for the shirt is always important, especially when it’s one as iconic as the checkered pattern that Croaita dons.
“In the end, it’s the World Cup, so you need to do your best, and you play for the national team, you need to go, and every game you want to win,” Sucic said.
We’ve seen squads, even veteran squads, fracture at the World Cup after a disappointing loss to start the campaign, but there’s been no such problem in Zlatko Dalic’s squad. Anyone could be benched and make their way into the lineup and score a goal because it’s about the badge and the team, not the individual.
“Everybody is training well, waiting for the opportunity. I didn’t start the first game. I went in maybe, I don’t know, 12 minutes, 30 minutes. Second game, I didn’t go in,” Vlasic said. “But you always believe, you always wait for your chance, train well, and wait for the coach to call you in. So I’m really happy that the coach, in such an important game, he put me in the game. So it tells you that he really trusts me. So I’m really happy about that.”
That balance and knowing roles is critical, and it offers a view into how Croatia was able to outperform expectations consistently. They’ll need to continue to do it facing tougher opposition, but for now, the job is done and they can rest and recover.
