Luka Modric, captain of the Croatian national team, blamed the decision to award Argentina a penalty for his team’s 3-0 defeat.
Croatia fell in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, forfeiting the opportunity to reach the dream final for the second consecutive edition.
“I think the first goal came from an incorrect penalty kick,” Modric said, referring to the penalty kick that was awarded to Julian Alvarez, the Argentine national team striker, which Lionel Messi successfully executed in the 34th minute.
The 37-year-old added, “I don’t think penalties like this can be awarded in matches like this.”
The owner of the number 10 shirt explained the negative impact of the penalty kick, declaring, “It made us play under pressure … I think it changed the whole match.”
And Modric went on, “Before the penalty kick, we were in control of the game. We may not have been a threat to the opponent, but we were in possession of the ball. But immediately after the penalty kick, we conceded the second goal.”
The owner of 161 international matches concluded his speech by saying, “We have one more match left, and we must do everything in our arsenal in order to achieve third place and make our fans happy.”
