‘It kills you’ – Luka Modric claims bad calls by the referee contributed to Croatia’s World Cup final defeat to France
Although it was a hugely entertaining contest, the spectacle was somewhat overshadowed by controversial decisions
Luka Modric claimed France were fortunate to have their first two goals awarded during Croatia’s 4-2 defeat to Les Bleus at the World Cup final.
It was an enthralling match at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow with both teams playing very high standards of football, but the contest was not short of controversy.
France took the lead when Mario Mandzukic diverted Antoine Griezmann’s free-kick into his own net but replays suggest the French perhaps should not have been given the set piece in the first place.
Ivan Perisic levelled the game with a great strike from the edge of the box before the winger was adjudged to have handled the ball in his own box after referee Nestor Pitana’s lengthy VAR check. Griezmann slotted home the resulting penalty to leave the Croatian camp incensed.
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Modric and Co. were chasing the game from that point and Paul Pogba rounded off a swift French counter-attack to give them a two-goal cushion.
Kylian Mbappe made it 4-1 before Mandzukic pulled one back but it was not enough to prevent Croatia from losing their first appearance at a World Cup final.
And Modric questioned the thinking behind awarding France their opening two goals in a game he felt Croatia were unlucky to lose.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s Ian Abrahams after the game, Modric said: “The second goal was a turning point. We were surprised it [the penalty] was given because of the free-kick the referee gave for the first goal which wasn’t a free-kick in my opinion.
“We recovered after the first goal and when we played our best football he gave a penalty and it kills you.
“I think we were unlucky to lose. We played well and I think we were the better team but sometimes better teams don’t win.
“We have to be proud with how we played but it wasn’t enough to win it.
The Real Madrid midfielder was awarded the World Cup Golden Ball at the final whistle but Modric suggested this was scant consolation at losing the World Cup final.
He added: “Winning player of the tournament is not that big a comfort because we lost in the end.
“I’m proud to receive this nice award but what I wanted to achieve was a trophy for Croatia but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
However, Modric was optimistic for the future, suggesting the team could use this performance to build on for future tournaments.
Modric said: “This is certainly a big thing for us. We need to build on this because it’s been a great tournament and this should be the way we perform.
“Somehow we need to enjoy it because this has been the most successful tournament in Croatian football history and one of the biggest in Croatian sport overall.”
