Luka Modric plays 90 again in a thrilling 3-3 draw
Modric plays maximum minutes this international break
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Croatia were up against Poland in their fourth group stage game of the UEFA Nations League, after securing a comeback win against Scotland in the game before. Zlatko Dalic’s side were involved in a six-goal thriller against Poland, in an end-to-end game. Croatia now sit second in the table behind Portugal after picking up two wins and 1 draw from their four games so far.
Poland started without Robert Lewandowski and scored inside the first five minutes but it took Croatia just over 20 minutes to overcome the deficit and take a two goal lead in the game. Croatia’s Peter Sucic and Martin Baturina combined for two of their three goals in this game.
After a late first half goal, Poland managed to equalize after Barcelona’s Lewandowski provided an assist for Sebastian Szymanski in the 68th minute. The Polish side looked more likely to score the go ahead goal after drama at the end saw Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic get a red card in the 76th minute.
Luka Modric started the game and played the entire 90 minutes once again for his country. Modric’s importance and reliability for Croatia cannot be downplayed. Out of 363 games Croatia has played since gaining independence, Modric has featured in more than 50% of those games.
The 39-year-old had another decent showing on the pitch where he was seen orchaestrating play and disrupting opposition attack in a similar vein. He won five out of his eight contested duels, while completing 68 of his 75 pass attempts, creating a shot as well. His ability to read lines helped Croatia a bit in keeping things under control in a highly transitional affair.
Modric will now return to Real Madrid ahead of their upcoming La Liga game against Celta Vigo on 20th October.