39-year-old midfielder Luka Modric scored the only goal from a direct free kick as Croatia beat Poland 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League.
At home stadium Opus, Osijek on the evening of September 8, Modric played brilliantly. He played the full 90 minutes, touched the ball 136 times, passed accurately 94% with five passes creating opportunities and finishing twice.
In the 7th minute, Modric took a corner kick from the right wing and defender Duje Caleta-Car headed the ball close to the goal but it was not able to beat goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski. In the 21st minute, the Real Madrid player shot hard from outside the box and the ball went wide of the post.
In the 52nd minute, when Croatia was awarded a free kick near the penalty area, Modric shot with his right foot, sending the ball over the wall and into the top corner, forcing goalkeeper Skorupski to fly but still unable to block it. The 39-year-old midfielder ended his goal drought after nine matches in all competitions, helping Croatia earn their first three points in the Nations League this season.
Modric scored a free kick against Poland.
This was also the first time in 17 years that Modric scored directly from a free kick. After the match, he told the national television channel NovaTV : “I’m very happy because I finally scored a goal from a free kick myself. I also scored from a kick like this against Slovakia, but that time the ball hit an opponent and changed direction into the net. If I remember correctly, this is the first direct goal I scored from a free kick, since my time at Dinamo Zagreb.”
Modric has played 180 matches for the national team, equal to Spain’s Sergio Ramos, and only behind Cristiano Ronaldo with 214 matches for Portugal. In these 180 matches, Modric scored 27 goals, only behind Eduardo da Silva, Andrej Kramaric (29 goals), Ivan Perisic, Mario Mandzukic (33), Davor Suker (45) in the history of the Croatian national team .
“I couldn’t even dream that I would play for so long. We have to deal with each game, and we can’t think about the future. As long as I don’t feel the fire anymore, I will leave the team. Only I can feel the fire and make that decision,” he said.
Modric celebrates after scoring to help Croatia beat Poland 1-0 in the second round of Group A of the Nations League at the Opus Stadium in Osijek on September 8. Photo: AFP.
Coach Zlatko Dalic also said that Modric had a great match, from running, fighting, passing the ball to scoring, as if he was only 25 years old. He believes that his student will continue to wear the Croatian shirt for a long time if he maintains such high performance. The 57-year-old coach considers the victory the best gift for Modric – who celebrates his 39th birthday today, September 9.
In contrast to Modric, Poland captain Robert Lewandowski was lackluster. The 36-year-old striker played the full 90 minutes, shooting four times, with his biggest impact coming in the 70th minute – when he controlled the ball in the penalty area and then turned and fired a left-footed shot that hit the crossbar. Sofascore gave Modric a 9.3 – the highest score of the match, while Lewandowski received a 6.7.
