AL RAYYAN, Qatar—In what may have been Luka Modric’s final World Cup match, Josko Gvardiol made a play to be Croatia’s next go-to guy.
Modric has been the man in the middle for Croatia for more than a decade, leading the team to the World Cup final four years ago and the semifinals of this year’s tournament. But at 37, his time at the top is surely coming to an end.
Modric was again central to Croatia’s 2–1 victory over Morocco for third place at the World Cup on Saturday, but it was Gvardiol that stepped up from the back at Khalifa International Stadium….