Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic saluted skipper Luka Modric after he shook off the disappointment of missing an extra-time penalty to help his side seal a shoot-out victory over Denmark. The Real Madrid midfielder failed from 12 yards with the sides locked together at 1-1 after 120 minutes in their last-16 clash in Nizhny Novgorod, but converted from the spot at the second time of asking as goalkeeper Danijel Subasic saved three Danish penalties to lay the foundation for a 3-2 win.
The strain of opportunity certainly weighed heavy on Sunday.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Dalic said: “He took the responsibility as a true captain. He scored and it speaks volumes about Luka.
“He said he wanted to take one in the penalty shoot-out – can you imagine what would have happened had he not scored? This shows the qualities of a great player and Luka is a great player.”