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’d face the second-placed team of Group K.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…
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2026-06-28 02:23:33
