Euro 2024: Luka Modric dismisses retirement rumors following Croatia’s disappointing draw against Italy.

In a heartbreaking turn of events, Luka Modric has expressed his determination to continue playing after Croatia’s “cruel” 1-1 draw with Italy at Euro 2024. Despite scoring Croatia’s goal in the 55th minute, Modric was substituted 10 minutes before full-time, leaving him to witness Mattia Zaccagni’s late equaliser from the sidelines.

The draw meant that Italy secured second place in Group B, while Croatia’s two points are unlikely to be enough for them to progress as one of the four best third-placed teams. At the age of 38, Modric made history as the oldest goalscorer in European Championship history, but he dismissed retirement rumors and affirmed his commitment to continue playing.

“I’d like to keep playing forever but there will probably be a time I’ll have to hang up my boots,” said Modric, who was named player of the match. “I’ll keep playing on, I don’t know for how much longer.”

Modric also described the result against Italy as “unfair,” drawing parallels to Croatia’s quarter-final defeat to Turkey at Euro 2008. Despite taking the lead late in extra time, Croatia conceded an equaliser and ultimately lost on penalties.

“We kept battling right until the end but unfortunately football was merciless with us tonight,” Modric expressed. “It was cruel.. but that’s part and parcel of football.”

Reflecting on the game, Modric admitted that finding the right words to describe their emotions was challenging. However, he emphasized the team’s pride in representing Croatia with determination throughout the match.

“It’s hard when you lose like this to find the words to describe how you feel,” Modric said. “Perhaps it’s unfair because we all really fought for Croatia right from the first whistle until the last. We should be proud of the way we represented our country tonight.”

Modric acknowledged that the match against Italy was one of the most devastating experiences he has had in his career, rivaling the heartbreak of the Turkey game in 2008. He described it as a sad day for both the team and the Croatian national team.

To keep their hopes alive in the tournament, Croatia now rely on England defeating Slovenia by a margin of 3-0 or more, as well as Denmark securing a victory over Serbia.