Modric Turned 40 and Then Set Up the Winner Croatia Are Through in 2026
Everyone will point to Nikola Vlasic’s header as the moment that settled this match. They are missing the real story, which is the 40-year-old who delivered the corner that made it possible.
Croatia beat Ghana 2-1 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on June 28, 2026, in their Group L finale at the 2026 World Cup. Petar Sucic scored in the 31st minute, Derrick Luckassen equalised for Ghana in the 73rd after a VAR review confirmed the goal, and Vlasic headed home from Luka Modric’s corner in the 83rd to win it. Croatia finish second in Group L behind England. Ghana go through as third-placed finishers, though they leave Philadelphia knowing they came within seven minutes of sending Croatia home.
The first half was tight, careful, and at times simmering with intent on both sides without ever catching fire. Croatia controlled the ball at a 53-47 percent clip but created almost nothing of substance. Vlasic hit the post in the 17th minute with a right-footed effort from 26 yards. Marin Pongracic headed over from a corner in the 21st. Antoine Semenyo went close for Ghana in the 40th, cutting inside and dragging a shot just past the left post. The xG at half-time told the story: both sides had generated barely anything.
Then came the goal that broke the deadlock, and it was worth the wait.
Mateo Kovacic picked the ball up in midfield and played a short pass to Sucic on the edge of the box in the 31st minute. Sucic took one touch, opened his body slightly, and drove a low right-footed shot from 30 yards that threaded between two defenders and found the bottom left corner. The xG on that chance was 0.04. Goalkeeper Benjamin Asare had no time to react. Sucic had scored his second international goal, and the way he hit it suggested the first was not a fluke.
Ghana came out differently after the break, more direct, more urgent. Manager Carlos Queiroz brought on Fatawu Issahaku and Kojo Peprah Oppong at half-time, adding pace and physical presence in wider areas. Ivan Perisic was booked in the 68th minute for a foul as Croatia began to struggle to contain the pressure. Zlatko Dalic responded by bringing on Igor Matanovic for Ante Budimir at the 66th minute, but Croatia were sitting deeper and Ghana could smell something.
The equaliser arrived in the 73rd minute. Marin Pongracic fouled Thomas Partey just outside the box, giving Ghana a free-kick on the right. Substitute Ernest Nuamah, on the pitch for less than two minutes, floated a precise delivery to the near post. Luckassen arrived from six yards and side-footed it low into the bottom right. The ground erupted. VAR spent four minutes checking for offside before confirming the goal. Ghana were level. Luckassen was the second-oldest Ghana player to score at a World Cup, at 30 years and 359 days.
For ten tense minutes, it looked like Ghana would finish this group stage the stronger team. Croatia were shaky, reactive, and beginning to look like a side that had run out of answers. Dalic took off Kovacic in the 78th minute and brought on Mario Pasalic, the move that immediately changed things. Pasalic forced a stunning save from Asare in the 82nd with a powerful left-footed drive that the goalkeeper tipped onto the bar and behind for a corner.
Modric walked over to take it.
Aged 40 years and 291 days, Modric clipped a perfect inswinging delivery to the near post. Vlasic timed his run, got in front of his marker, and headed it down and into the bottom left, the ball kissing the inside of the post on its way in. By the time Asare turned his body the goal was already scored. The data said Opta had no record of an older player assisting at a World Cup since 1966. The eyes just said: of course it was him.
Croatia saw it out with Josko Gvardiol and Marco Pasalic coming on at the 88th minute to add fresh legs and defensive security. Kojo Peprah Oppong picked up a yellow card in added time for a foul on Igor Matanovic. Ghana pushed, ran, kept going, but the final whistle arrived before they could find a way through.
Strip away the noise and this was a match Croatia should not have won based on the underlying numbers. Their xG of 0.42 compared to Ghana’s 0.64. Ghana created the better chances, made the better second-half substitutions, and had the momentum for twenty minutes between the 60th and 83rd. On any other day, they finish second in this group.
Modric played those 83 minutes like a man who had been doing this for two decades and had no intention of stopping. Which is, of course, exactly what he has been doing.
At 40, he is still the reason Croatia are dangerous from a dead ball. That corner was not fortunate or mishit. It was the product of someone who has delivered ten thousand of them and knows precisely where it needs to land. Vlasic got the goal. Modric built the moment that allowed it to exist.