Real Madrid veteran continues to sparkle for his national team with latest performance against France | OneFootball

After their 1-2 win over Villarreal, Real Madrid are not going to return to action for quite some time as it was their last game ahead of the March international break.

However, there will be no dearth of entertainment for the Merengue fans as several players from their team are set to play for their respective national teams in this break.

This was the case last night, as up to four Real Madrid players featured in the UEFA Nations League quarter-final match between France and Croatia. Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Eduardo Camavinga played for the French side, while Luka Modric once again pulled the strings from the midfield for the Croats.

Modric and his team got the better of the Blues in this game and emerged as 2-0 winners in the first leg of the tie. The veteran midfielder, despite his 39 years of age, was once again immense for his national team and put in another impressive shift from the middle of the pitch.

His most notable contribution was his long ball to Ivan Perisic, as the winger took full advantage of this pass by crossing the ball to Ante Budimir, and the striker got the ball into the back of the net despite Mike Maignan getting a hand to his shot.

But beyond this contribution that led to a goal, Modric also helped his team, both with and without the ball. The Real Madrid midfielder showed his usual skill with the ball, and as Sofascore statistics show, enjoyed a passing success rate of 87% as he completed 48 of his 55 attempted passes.

He also put in 1 key pass, attempted 4 crosses, of which only 1 was accurate, and attempted 8 long balls, successfully completing 4 of them. The midfielder also completed 2 of his 3 attempted dribbles. While the fans have started to expect such numbers from the Croat, it needs to be mentioned that getting these statistics was not an easy task against a side as good as the French national team.

Meanwhile, he was also essential for his side on the defensive end of things and helped his team keep a clean sheet in such an important game. Modric frequently faced off against his Real Madrid teammate, Kylian Mbappe, in this game, and won 6 of his 10 ground duels in total. Furthermore, he also made 2 clearances, 6 interceptions, and 2 tackles in this match.

Thus, despite being the oldest player on the pitch, the Croatian magician was once again key for his national side, and the fans would definitely have enjoyed seeing the legend still making the difference for their side after decades of playing at the highest level.