Luka Modric believes Croatia have slain the ghosts of Euro 2008 after beating Denmark on penalties to reach the last 16 of the World Cup. Victory in Nizhny Novogrod was the first time the Balkan nation had won a knockout game in a major tournament since a staggering defeat at the hands of Turkey in the quarter-finals in Vienna, 10 years ago.
When Croatia took the lead in the last minute of extra time they thought they had won it but the Turks equalised with the last kick of the game and won 3-1 on penalties. Ivan Rakitic, who scored the winning penalty against Denmark, was among those who missed. Luka Modrić is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spanish club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Croatia national team.
As was Modric, who scored in the shootout in Nizhny Novgorod despite having missed the chance to win the tie in the closing moments of extra-time, when his penalty was saved by Kasper Schmeichel. ‘It says a lot, because it was not an easy game,’ said Modric. ‘From 2008 we never passed this first knockout game. And it was very important for us to take the monkey off the back. And we did it.