Croatia are through to the last 16 of the World Cup after a stunning and rampant 3-0 victory over Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Nizhny Novgorod – a victory which leaves Argentina in serious danger of exiting the group stage.
On a night where Argentina were in desperate need of inspiration from Lionel Messi much like Portugal have encountered in the recent group stage fixtures potentially in with a chance of qualifying thanks to the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo. Argentina and Jorge Sampaoli needed something similar from their magician but it wasn’t to be as Croatia expertly stifled much Argentina’s Messi-led attacks hassling and harrying the Barcelona man before he could even reach the 18 yard box.
It was a plan that was executed to perfection. While Messi was unable to lead his nation to victory, it was another man who the onus fell on to come up with the goods when Croatia needed him most and that man was Real Madrid’s very own magician Luka Modric. A mesmerizing performance from a man who’s contributions to the game very strangely goes under the radar. The silent magician amongst a Real Madrid team full of superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, his midfield partner Toni Kroos, Marcelo and Karim Benzema.
But tonight, Modric’s performance was worldwide and the Croatian can finally get the praise he deserves. Much has been made of Croatia’s chances as the ‘dark horses’ in this World Cup, and a man finally capable of leading a team on his own – I mean, literally, he is the captain of his country. Modric maybe the silent killer amongst the Real Madrid team but for his beloved nation Croatia, he is the leading light, the main man, the captain. Against Argentina, Modric’s performance overshadowed what was supposed to be a magic night for Lionel Messi and co but the Real Madrid man stole the limelight with a performance for the ages.
Just check out the stats below:
Croatia are a team filled with similar talents and experience: Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic, Mario Mandzukic to name a few. Plus there’s the up and coming footballers such as Modric’s Real Madrid team-mate Mateo Kovacic, Ante Rebic who plays his club football in Germany for Eintracht Frankfurt, Marcelo Brozovic who plays for Inter Milan. These are players tasked with filling the void which will be left by Luka Modric when he eventually retires. They may have to wait a while because if Modric can perform like he did tonight, Croatia may just need him again for the next Euros at least.
33 in a couple months, Modric has shown time and time again why he should be placed in the same bracket as the Xavi’s and the Iniesta’s and rightly so. On Thursday night, he was head and shoulders above everyone else along with Ivan Rakitic as players masterfully dominated Argentina’s midfield. When they had the ball, they were mesmirizing, constantly dissecting an Argentina defence who were awful night. It was as if Modric and Rakitic had relived the biblical miracle of Moses parting the Red Sea. It was a joy to watch. Have a look at the pass Modric threaded for Rebic when he blazed over the bar, like knife through butter. Truly wonderful.
Not to forget the second goal which all but ended Argentina’s faint hopes. All but ended Messi’s desperation to finally lead out his team to World Cup glory after their suffering four years ago at the hands of Germany in Brazil. When Modric picked up the ball outside of the box, you knew he would try and find that little yard of space granting him the opportune moment to put Argentina to the sword and that he did. Majestic.
What a performance from Modric. Forget Ronaldo for a moment – as much as he would despise it – much of Real Madrid’s European success over the last few years has been because of the brilliance of Luka Modric. His defensive contributions, his work of the ball and the ability to find pockets of space in the middle of the park to hurt the opposition; that he did to devastating effect.
It will be interesting to see how Croatia fare for the rest of the tournament now they are through to the knockout stages, if Modric and co are gonna perform like that then you cannot take away the fact that this summer maybe Croatia’s opportunity to shine – their opportunity to prove that they are worth those ‘dark horse’ plaudits. Luka Modric will be central to those lofty ambitions. Magnificent performer.
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