Modric defying Father Time as Croatia again reach World Cup semi-finals
Brazil were minutes away from securing their place in the World Cup semi-final. Neymar scored a superb individual effort at the end of the first half of extra time and they seemed destined to progress to the next round, only for Bruno Petkovic to strike late on to take the game to penalties. From that moment, there was a psychological shift.
Croatia are penalty shootout supremos. Ahead of Friday's quarter-final meeting with the pre-tournament favourites, Croatia had won all three penalty shootouts they'd competed in at a World Cup. Brazil must have feared the worst when full time in extra time was called. Rodrygo stepped up and saw his spot kick saved by Dominik Livakovic, and once Nikola Vlasic tucked past Alisson; it was Croatia's to lose.
Stepping up for the crucial third penalty was midfield maestro Luka Modric. The 2018 Golden Ball winner must have known there was huge pressure on his shoulders to beat Alisson, but he didn't show it, coolly sending the Liverpool goalkeeper the wrong way. As many nervous Croatians watched on, Modric was the calmest person at the Education City Stadium, though that is to be expected from the experienced midfielder.
Even at 37 years of age, Modric is still controlling play in the middle of the park, and impressively, showing the stamina that many felt may have deserted him at this stage of his career. He has played all but 25 minutes of Croatia's progression to the World Cup semi-final, an impressive feat considering they have been taken to extra time in both knockout games, this despite the energy-sapping Qatari heat.
At the time of writing, he ranks third for tackles and interceptions combined (20) and it's worth noting that those above him in this metric - Achraf Hakimi and Jurrien Timber - are defenders. Only Rodrigo De Paul (24) has won possession in the midfield third more times than Modric (23). He's getting about the pitch to protect the Croatia backline with ease, again proving that age is but a number. What's key still is that when he does win the ball, he is looking to set Croatia on the frontfoot. For a player in the twilight years of his career, the easy thing to do would be to shift possession on and conserve his energy, yet Modric gets his head up and looks to pick out those ahead of him in the final third.
A return of 128 forward passes is fourth most at the 2022 World Cup so far, and only compatriot Marcelo Brozovic (129) can better that return of midfielders. What's key to note is that Brozovic's job at the base of Croatia's midfield three is to dictate the tempo from the middle of the park and play the passes to help transition from defence to attack, so it's no wonder he ranks highly for forward passes and total passes (476).
Modric by comparison would usually be there to win the ball and then carry forward to help open up angles in attack, yet there has been a clear change to his approach for the national team compared to previous years. In Russia 2018, for example, Modric averaged 1.5 successful dribbles per 90, and returned a success rate of 83.3%. Fastforward to 2022, and that has dropped to 0.2 dribbles per 90, and a success rate of 12.5%, suggesting that his age is starting to take its toll as he doesn't have that burst of pace to burst past an opponent that we saw four years ago.
Nevertheless, he has tailored his game accordingly, and that means Modric is still able to dominate games, which shouldn't come as a surprise given his overall quality. That being said, Croatia's semi-final meeting with Argentina could prove Modric's toughest test at the World Cup.
Argentina are a quality side, but outside of Lionel Messi, they have laboured in Qatar to an extent. Of course, Messi is the ideal player to pry apart any resolute backline, his wonderful assist for Nahuel Molina's first half opener against the Netherlands on Friday night a case in point, and if the Argentina captain is given the opportunities to create for teammates or go for goal, chances are he'll make you pay.
But as Australia showed in the opening 35 minutes in the last-16 tie, before Messi sprung into life, remain compact and Argentina struggle. Croatia are levels above Australia in that regard, and their hard working midfield trio is vital to that. What makes Argentina tick, however, is that they have the hard working midfield trio of their own in De Paul, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister, three players who buzz about in the middle of the park that allows Messi free reign of sorts.
These three won't give Modric and co. a moment's rest, and that will go some way to disrupting Croatia's approach play. The Vatreni are yet to face a midfield as high-energy as Argentina's at the World Cup, and so how Croatia get the better of Lionel Scaloni's three first choice options in the middle of the park could prove key to their progression to the final.
Yet, what Modric, Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic boast in abundance is winning experience, and there is no side better at the World Cup than grinding down opponents than Croatia. In what is Messi's international swansong, that same can be said of Modric, who continues to defy Father Time to shine in the Croatia midfield. The style may have changed from Russia 2018, yet the vastly experienced Real Madrid star is again showcasing his importance in what could prove to be his own last dance for the national team.
