The blow to Croatia was devastating. Luka Modric was named the player of the match, but his expression said it all. Italy's goal left Croatia on the brink. Only a miracle will see them through to the knockout stages.

During the press conference, an Italian journalist used his opportunity to pay a beautiful tribute to the Croatian star.

"Thank you for everything you did tonight and throughout your career. Once again, you've shown yourself to be a top player by scoring despite missing a penalty. I just wanted to say this: never retire because you're one of the greatest players. Thank you."

These words elicited a wonderful response from Luka Modric. "Grazie," he replied in Italian before continuing in Croatian. "Thank you very much for your beautiful tribute. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart."

"I would like to play forever too, but there will probably come a time when I have to hang up my boots."

"I will continue playing, but I don't know for how long. But thank you very much for your words," concluded a grateful Luka Modric, who, at 38 years and 289 days, is the oldest player to score a goal in the Euro Cup.