Croatia 1-1 Itay: Cruel blow leaves Modric’s future uncertain

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic shared his captain’s pain at how the game ended.

His side were poor against Spain, but conceded a 95th-minute equaliser against Albania in their second Group B game, before this latest last-gasp blow.

“It really hurts,” said Dalic. “It will still hurt over the coming days and months.”

But the 57-year-old questioned the amount of additional time, adding: “You can’t have eight minutes of added time after that game.

“It’s a nonsense, there weren’t too many breaks in play, there weren’t too many fouls to justify that.”

Once the dust has settled, then the post-mortem will begin on this Croatia side.

For years they have been considered underdogs who have taken on, and beaten, more established teams to reach the World Cup final in 2018 and the semis four years later.

But many of their star players, including Modric, are in the twilight of their careers, leaving questions marks over what this Croatia side could look like by the 2026 World Cup.

But that is a question for another day as Croatia, for now, wait for confirmation of their fate as the remaining group games are played.

“I hold my hands up, I am the one to blame if we haven’t made it through,” added Dalic.

“I simply want to thank my players for everything they’ve done, it didn’t work out and that’s the way it is.”