MODRIĆ DISAPPOINTED AFTER CROATIA’S ELIMINATION: VAR Is Always Against Us, It Wasn’t a Penalty, It Wasn’t Offside!

Croatia captain Luka Modrić did not hide his disappointment after his team’s defeat to Portugal in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32, nor his frustration with several refereeing decisions.

“We can divide the match into two parts. In the first half, we weren’t at our best. We sat too deep, but in the second half we played a truly phenomenal game.

“It was one of our best performances. We could have finished the job earlier, but we simply didn’t manage to,” Modrić said, as quoted by Hina.

“We missed too many chances, and then some things happened that are unbelievable to me. It’s hard to say anything smart right now. I don’t want to say something wrong. We deserved much more,” he added.

Croatia failed to reach the World Cup Round of 16 after losing 2-1 to Portugal in Toronto.

Ivan Perišić gave Croatia the lead in the 53rd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot in the 68th minute, and Gonçalo Ramos scored the winner for Portugal in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.

Modrić also commented on Joško Gvardiol’s goal in the 13th minute of stoppage time, which was disallowed for offside.

“The referee said that Matanović touched the ball, but we’ve watched the replays. Nowhere can you see that he touched it. So in my opinion, if he didn’t touch the ball, then it wasn’t offside,” Modrić said.

The Croatian player did NOT touch this ball and the goal should have counted!

One of the greatest robberies in World Cup history. pic.twitter.com/lHvmwq2HWK
— Hater Report (@HaterReport) July 3, 2026

The Croatian captain admitted that there was enormous disappointment in the dressing room after the final whistle.

“I think we deserved much more, but certain things went in their favor. That penalty… I believe that if the situation had been reversed, VAR would never have intervened. I said from the very beginning, when VAR was introduced, that I didn’t like it. Later it proved useful in some situations, but it’s being used incorrectly, or selectively, or depending on the size of the team,” Modrić said.

In his view, VAR should only intervene “if it’s a 200 percent clear mistake, not when it’s in a gray area.”

“There wasn’t a penalty today. You can’t award something like that in a match of this magnitude. That’s what frustrates me, because it always goes against us… We won’t use that as an excuse. We move on. But these things bother me because they decide destinies, they decide your emotions after everything you do, everything you sacrifice, everything you fight for. It hurts,” Modrić said.

He emphasized that Croatia could be proud of its performance against a strong opponent.

“We can be proud of the way we played, the way we fought, and the way we represented Croatia, especially in the second half. That’s the Croatia everyone knows and the reason why we’re so respected and admired around the world. Now we need to reset,” Modrić said.

He also compared the defeat to Portugal with Croatia’s heartbreaking loss to Turkey at the 2008 European Championship.

“I don’t know what could be harder than 2008. It will be difficult for anything to surpass that. This one hurts too, but that’s football. Wins and losses are part of what we do. That’s what makes the game so fascinating and why everyone loves it—because it’s full of emotion,” Modrić said.

Finally, Modrić was asked about the future of his international career.

“This isn’t the right time to talk about that. You’ll know everything very soon,” Modrić concluded.