The Vatreni are unlikely to reach the knockout stages of the tournament after conceding a last-gasp equaliser to Italy in their final Group B fixture on Monday (25.06.24) although the legendary midfielder has vowed to continue his career.

Modric - whose goals seemed to have secured victory for Croatia - said: "I’d like to keep playing forever but there probably will come a time when I have to hang up my boots.

"I’ll keep playing on but I don’t know for how much longer."

When asked if it could be his last appearance for his country, the Real Madrid star replied: "We’ll see, it’s not for those stories now."

Modric described the result against Italy - which sent their opponents through to the last 16 at Croatia's expense - as "cruel" and questioned the decision to add on eight minutes of injury time at the end of the game.

The veteran said: "I don’t know what to tell you, football is sometimes cruel, that was shown to us today, what is, is there.

"We didn’t deserve this goal, I don’t know where the referee gave eight minutes to extend. How you should fall, that’s how we lost today. I know it’s not a consolation."

Modric did become the oldest player ever to score at a European Championship but admits that the record is scant consolation with his team on the cusp of elimination.

He said: "The title means nothing to me when it didn’t help the team.

"We fought like lions, but football was cruel to us. They conceded two goals in the last seconds. It’s hard to describe this, it will take time to come to our senses."