Croatia must win to reach the round of 16 of the European Championship. Superstar Luka Modrić scores a spectacular goal to take the lead, which lasts until deep into injury time. Then Italy strikes. And in doing so tarnishes the history of the 31 craziest seconds of this European Football Championship.
At the end of these almost 100 minutes, all that remains is disbelief. Joy on one side, pain on the other. Here are the Croatians, doomed to win, with their ageing superstar Luka Modrić, who misses a penalty that was only awarded after minutes of studying the video, but then scores the lead just 31 seconds later. There are the Italians, the defending champions, who face elimination from the European Championship if they lose, and who equalize deep in injury time with the very last move and a shot into the corner.
When referee Danny Makkelie blew the final whistle moments after the game-changing goal, the Vatreni sank to the ground in defeat, while the Azzurri sank into celebration. If this football match between Croatia and Italy were a film, the script would quite rightly be described as completely over the top. This 1:1 (0:0) will find its place in the history of the European Football Championships for a variety of reasons – the fact that Modrić crowned himself the oldest goalscorer in the tournament’s history with his goal in the 55th minute at the age of 38 years and 289 days is at best a side note, at least in the stadium in Leipzig on this Monday evening.
With only two points and a miserable goal difference due to the 0-3 opening defeat against Spain, Croatia is dependent on massive support to somehow reach the round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams in the group. As in the 2-2 draw against Albania, the 2022 World Cup third-place team and 2018 World Cup finalist led deep into injury time and still failed to hold on to their lead. But the craziness of this summer evening was already building up long before Mattia Zaccagni’s last-minute goal. In 31 seconds, spanning the 54th and 55th minutes.
Donnarumma wins the first duel, Modrić the second
Italy’s Davide Frattesi had previously played the ball with his hand, and Makkelie immediately put his hand to his ear to signal to the vehemently protesting Croatian: the video assistant is already looking at it. Makkelie has to go to the sidelines to make the final decision and watch the scene again himself. Meanwhile, the Croatian fans are whistling their lungs out because they obviously recognized a crystal clear handball, no matter how far away they are from the action. Then the referee also blows his whistle – and points unmistakably to the penalty spot.
Captain Modrić grabs the ball and takes responsibility. He has become dispensable at Real Madrid, and was not in the starting eleven in the knockout rounds on the way to the Champions League title. There is also discussion within the national team as to whether the 38-year-old is not already too far removed from the class of his earlier days to still be given a central role by coach Zlatko Dalić. The penalty confirms all those who share this view: Italy’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma anticipates the shot into the bottom right corner and prevents the deficit.
But the joy doesn’t even last a minute: the Croatians win the ball back and launch a new attack, which ends in Ante Budimir shooting from close range. Donnarumma is there again, but this time he can’t clear the ball to the side, only forward. There, of course, is Luka Modrić. He shoots to take the lead and sends teammates, coaches and fans alike freaking out. Even before the “bad shot or strong save?” discussion can begin. These are the craziest, most absurd 31 seconds of this European Championship. Anyone who had predicted such a scene would almost certainly have been laughed at.
Modric chews on his jersey, then Italy strikes
Ultimately, this final matchday of Group B potentially offers the chance to be Modrić’s last major appearance for the Croatian national team. He will be wearing the Vatreni jersey for the 178th time, the fiery ones, whose fans will be living up to their name in Leipzig and lighting a few pyrotechnic flares. There is even talk of him ending his career, as Modrić’s contract with Real Madrid expires in a few days and his future is still uncertain, even though there have recently been increasing signs of another season with the Royals. “I would also like to be on the pitch forever. But at some point I will stop. I don’t know when I will stop,” he says.
If it really was his last game for Croatia, there is another image that will be remembered in all memories alongside the 31-second madness: the anxious Modrić. Deep into the eight-minute stoppage time, the stadium control switches to the camera that shows the playmaker, who was substituted in the 80th minute. He stands in front of the substitutes’ bench. Visibly tense. He pulls up his shirt and puts the hem in his mouth. Probably to relieve stress, to somehow reduce the tension in the hope that his colleagues on the field will maintain the lead in the final moments.
A few seconds later, Zaccagni receives the ball on the left side of the penalty area, aims to the top right corner and scores past Dominik Livaković, who is stretching in vain, into the goal and straight into the heart of the Croatians. 1:1. Italy jumps back to second place and is safely in the round of 16, Croatia falls back to third place and only two points, which is barely enough to overtake two other third-placed teams in the group and also advance to the knockout round. The fans of the Squadra Azzurra can hardly believe their luck, while the Croatian supporters do not want to understand what has just happened. Their heroes line up for one last long ball in front of the Italian goal, but referee Makkelie blows the whistle before the pass can be made.
What’s next for Luka Modrić?
Zaccagni is the man of the evening, but Luka Modrić is still named man of the match. The official photo shows him with a stony expression – the vote was of course taken before the equalizer, which was only officially announced in the stadium after the game had already been whistled. Anyone who now suspects an escalation in view of the frustration is wrong: the Croatian footballers slowly trudge into the red and white stands and are applauded. They gave everything they could, and it was not enough. The three preliminary round matches against Spain, Albania and Italy have shown that the era of the golden generation is very close to its end. This also includes Ivan Perišić, who once played for Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Munich in the Bundesliga, but as a substitute cannot prevent the almost certain elimination from the European Championship.
Everything looks so good in the early stages: Italy let Croatia control the game, Modrić moved from the center to the wing, and in the fifth minute Donnarumma just managed to deflect a shot from Luka Sučić around the goal. The Vatreni fans kept the volume high, although the game turned a little. The defending champions grew stronger and missed their best chance to take the lead in the 27th minute when Alessandro Bastoni’s header was stopped by a brilliantly reacting Livaković. Modrić sometimes dropped between the center backs to get the ball, but was only able to make a few impacts.
In the 60th minute, after the missed penalty and the ecstasy of the opening goal, he cleared two Italians in midfield and earned himself a yellow card. However, the 2018 World Footballer of the Year was denied a last hurrah like his Real teammate Toni Kroos experienced in the German team. The deficits are now too great, which also led to Modrić only being on the field for an average of around 48 minutes in his 46 appearances in all competitions in Madrid. In just six of these games he played from kick-off to final whistle.
Shortly after the game, Modrić left it open whether he would continue or not. The fact that he and the rest of the team went for a short round of applause could mean that the game will continue after the European Championships. But it could also mean that the 38-year-old simply needs a little more time to sort out his (footballing) future. Shortly after the final whistle, he consoled his teammates first and foremost, especially Leverkusen’s Josip Stanišić, who was kneeling in the center circle and seemed to be shedding tears. The 24-year-old is one of the faces that could shape the post-Modrić era, but that hardly anyone wants to think about right now. The crazy, insane scenes of those 100 minutes are too much of a lingering impression.