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A Hollywood scenario of wonder, imagination and madness is happening with Luka Modric in the Euro 2024 tournament
Real Madrid legend Luka Modric may well be Croatia’s best player in history, and it would take a significant amount to dent his legend in his home country, but a missed penalty to send Croatia out of potentially final tournament ever would not have been fitting. As is always the case with Modric though, he can never be counted out, not even in Euro 2024.
After a handball penalty was given on VAR review, Modric took on the responsibility from the penalty spot – bearing in mind that Croatia are almost guaranteed to go out if they do not win. Things did not go to plan though, as Gianluigi Donnarumma got down well to save his penalty.
He did so again to make another save just moments later, but who else, Luka Modric, was on hand to fire into the roof of the net. 38 years young, Modric usually rises above his stature when the big moments arrive.
Goalkeeper & Defence
Gianluigi Donnarumma (8/10):
It looked like the goalkeeper’s heroics were going to go to waste, which would have been so harsh on Donnarumma, who made some fantastic stops, the pick of which was his penalty save from Modric.
Matteo Darmian (6/10):
Brought into the team to form a back three that looked so comfortable until the penalty sparked chaos. Darmian, though, was decent for the most part.
Alessandro Bastoni (6/10):
Rather damningly, Italy’s most dangerous weapon, but twice failed to put away two great chances. Hoovered up possession for Italy but also appeared to duck out of the way of the cross that led to Modric’s goal.
Riccardo Calafiori (8/10):
The benefits of playing the versatile Bologna defender on the left-hand side of the back three were there for all to see, as he created two chances in the first half alone before creating the equaliser with a characteristically brilliant break into enemy territory.
Midfield
Giovanni Di Lorenzo (5/10):
Credit where it’s due, he recovered well from being torn to shreds by Nico Williams, winning plenty of duels. His passing wasn’t great, though, and he was too slow to react on Croatia’s goal.
Nicolo Barella (6/10):
Caused Croatia problems with his precise and progressive passing in the first half but his influence faded in the second half – when Italy needed their best midfielder most. Still, he kept running – and perhaps more importantly – keeping the ball moving right until the end.
Jorginho (6/10):
A much, much better display from the Arsenal man (which wasn’t hard after his shocker against Spain!). He helped Italy take control of the game after a sluggish start, but he was sacrificed in the dying stages as Italy pressed for an equaliser as he was offering nothing offensively.
Lorenzo Pellegrini (4/10):
The only midfielder to really get into dangerous areas in the first half, while he also made a couple of timely interceptions, but he was withdrawn at the break after giving the ball away nine times in 45 minutes.
Federico Dimarco (3/10):
A shockingly ineffective display from the highly-rated Inter wing-back, who contributed little defensively and absolutely nothing going forward before being hauled off before the hour mark
