Croatia vs Denmark: Luka Modric seizes his chance at World Cup redemption and reverses history

Most players who cost their team the game in the World Cup never get a chance at redemption. A few very lucky ones do, but they have to wait years down the line. Because how often in a football career will anyone find himself on this stage, with his country’s success riding on his own ability to deliver under pressure?

Luka Modric only had to wait 15 minutes.

With five minutes of extra-time remaining here in Nizhy Novgorod, Modric had a penalty to put Croatia 2-1 up and surely into the quarter-final against Russia in Sochi next weekend. It was a penalty he had earned himself, from his own brilliant pass, and he wanted to be the man to take it.

Modric is a magical footballer able to make almost impossible technical skills – like that pass – look simple. But here, with the quarter-finals beckoning, his magic was reversed, and he made the simple look impossible. He froze and sidefooted a telegraphed penalty to Kasper Schmeichel’s left. He dived to save, at 11.26pm.

That would have been the end for many players. Modric will be 37 by the time of the Qatar World Cup and who knows what state he and the Croatia national team will be in four years’ time. A miss like this can attach itself to a player’s career and even his post-career life. Just ask Gareth Southgate.

But when the game finished 1-1 and was to be decided by penalties, Modric knew that he could not pass up his shot at redemption. Because who knows if he would ever get another? When might Croatia next be in the last 16 of the World Cup, with their half of the draw opening out conquerable in front of them?

So with Croatia 2-1 down, and Schmeichel looking hard to beat, Modric picked up the ball to face him again at the other end of the pitch. It must have felt like a lifetime for Modric since his miss, time to agonise over his career, his three World Cup campaigns, his four Champions League medals, and when he might ever get this close to the biggest prize of all again. He put this kick down the middle too, but Schmeichel dived out of the way. Modric was redeemed and it was only 11.41.

Had he missed there was no way Croatia could have won the shootout. They would have been 2-1 down but more importantly, they would have seen their hero humbled twice. As it happened, they were inspired by his resurrection. Danijel Subasic saved the next two, Ivan Rakitic scored and Croatia won 3-2.

After the celebrations came the tears, as Sime Vrsaljko and Dejan Lovren were among those crying at the end. Because Croatia are in the quarter-final, against a beatable Russia team, and who knows where they can go from here.

And by winning this game in the way that they did, and by overcoming their own neuroses, they suggested that maybe this year will not be like Euro 2016. For much of tonight it felt just like it would be.

Two years ago Croatia were in an almost identical position going into their last-16 match with Portugal in Lens. They were the best team in their half of an unbalanced draw. They had a winnable last-16 ahead of a comfortable quarter-final. And they should not be too troubled by the semi-final after that. Certainly not if they played like they did in the group stage.

That was the setup this time two years ago, precisely the same context for tonight. And that night in Lens they froze completely. Not creating a chance for almost two hours until Ricardo Quaresma scored on the break in the 118th minute. Modric left the pitch in floods of tears. Portugal beat Poland in the quarters, Wales in the semis and France in the final, lifting a prize that could easily have been Croatia’s had they not been weighed down by fear.

This game was not quite as bad as that, and each team scored an ugly clumsy goal in a strange opening four minutes. After then, though, the game settled like concrete, both sides terrified of what might happen if they let any more space, speed or energy into the contest. Nothing much happened for almost two hours until Modric’s brilliant pass, Jorgensen’s foul, and Modric’s missed penalty.

That would have crushed many players, not just tonight but for years to come. But Modric undid his own mistake, reversed his history, and now Croatia are in the quarter-finals. And on Saturday night in Sochi no one will care that his first penalty of this evening he hit straight at the keeper.