To the delight of all football fans, Modrić has continued playing for the national team! Despite a virus and doubts over his availability, Luka Modrić opened the scoring in Prague and Croatia survived a late VAR storm to take a 2-1 Nations League victory over Czechia in Slaven Bilić's first match back in charge.
Marco Pašalić's 77th-minute header proved the winner, but it was the 41-year-old playmaker's 47th-minute opener that set the tone — a moment of technical clarity amid a scrappy night at Eden Arena.
Modrić defies illness to break the deadlock
A misplaced Czech pass in midfield became the trigger. Igor Matanović slid in to intercept, fed Modrić, and the captain surged into the box, sold his defender with a body feint, then curled a right-footed strike into the far corner from 14 meters.
It was his 30th international goal on his 203rd cap, making him the oldest goalscorer in Croatian national team history. The stadium responded with warm applause when he was substituted in the 76th minute, recognition of a performance built against the physical limits of illness.
Karabec answers before Pašalić pounces
Czechia's response came quickly. Adam Hložek beat his marker down the right flank after Vladimír Coufal launched a long throw-in, then cut a low ball back to the center of the box where an unmarked Adam Karabec wrong-footed Dominik Livaković with a first-time finish.
The home crowd pushed their team forward, sensing a point or more. But Croatia's decisive moment came in the 77th minute when Ivan Perišić delivered from the left wing and Marco Pašalić cut in front of his marker to power a downward header that slipped between goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček's legs.
VAR intervention silences Prague
The drama did not end there. Debutant Matěj Radosta appeared to equalize in the 79th minute, triggering an explosion of noise across Eden Arena, but referee Simone Sozza and the VAR team disallowed the goal after judging Adam Hložek to have been marginally offside ahead of Luka Vušković before providing the assist.
Heavy boos followed the decision, and the frustration lingered as Croatia closed out the result. Czechia finished with 44 percent possession and just two shots on target from five total attempts, while Croatia managed five on target from 16 shots and double the corners at six to one.
Both sides arrived with new head coaches after the 2026 World Cup — Bilić replacing Zlatko Dalić and Santi Denia becoming Czechia's first foreign coach — and the result gives Croatia an immediate three points in League A Group 3 ahead of fixtures against Spain and England. Czechia sit bottom with zero points, their home fortress dented on the first night of the new era.
Match Information
Competition: UEFA Nations League
Date & Time: Saturday 26 September 2026, 20:45 CET
Venue: Eden Arena, Prague
Referee: Simone Sozza
