Kasper Schmeichel and opposite number Danijel Subasic were superb in penalty shootout saving five shots between them
MESSI gone. Ronaldo gone. Iniesta gone. Ozil gone.
Luka Modric? He’s still here. But only just.
So, all those fans getting giddy at the idea of England strolling to the World Cup final had better think again.
Because the magician from Madrid is masterminding Croatia’s charge to Moscow.
He could have saved his country a whole lot of anxiety if he had buried an extra time penalty to prevent this pulsating match entering the second shoot-out of the afternoon.
It was Modric’s immaculate through ball which sent Ante Rebic clear and drew the 116th minute foul from Mathias Jorgensen.
But his spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Kasper Schmeichel and you wondered if another World Cup giant was about to leave Russia prematurely.
Yet Modric did not hesitate to put himself forward again for the shoot-out and this time he coolly drilled his spot-kick straight down the middle.It was desperately cruel on Schmeichel, who saved three penalties in front of his emotional dad yet still ended up on the losing side.
So even if the Three Lions survive tomorrow’s encounter with Colombia then get through the quarter-finals, there is still the likely prospect of Croatia waiting for them in the semis.
First they have the small matter of Russia to take care of in Sochi on Saturday.
But with Modric pulling the strings at the heart of the team, you would not want to bet against Zlatko Dalic’s side against the host nation.
It was 20 years ago that the legendary Croatian team of Suker, Boban and Prosinecki reached the World Cup semi-finals in France.
Now it is Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic and Perisic threatening to go one better and create a new generation of Balkan heroes.
Yet if the final result was eventually what we had all expected, nobody would have predicted the madness of the first four minutes in the beautiful Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.
Denmark boss Age Hareide had promised that his team would take a more attacking approach after edging their way through the group stages by scoring just twice.
Yet Croatia still failed to heed the warning and fell behind to the quickest goal of the tournament after just 57 seconds.
Jonas Knudsen’s huge throw into the box was allowed to reach Jorgensen lurking at the far post, where the Huddersfield defender stabbed a hopeful shot towards goal.
Keeper Danijel Subasic looked to have it covered but made a complete pig’s ear of his attempted save and bundled the ball in off the base of the post.
It was the worst possible start for Croatia but within three minutes they were level thanks to some equally comic defending from their opponents.
Henrik Dalsgaard had time and space to clear his lines but hammered the ball straight into the face of team-mate Andreas Christensen standing no more than two a couple of yards away.
The unattended Mario Mandzukic could barely believe his luck as the ricochet landed right at his feet for his first goal of the tournament.
Yet Denmark, unbeaten in their previous 18 games stretching all the way back to October, 2016, were not going without a scrap.
Christian Eriksen’s slide-rule pass created a 27th minute opportunity for Martin Braithwaite which Subasic did well to block.
And Spurs schemer Eriksen was desperately unfortunate when his clever chip struck the angle of post and bar just before half-time.
Eriksen’s duel with Modric was worth a few thousand roubles of anyone’s money as two of the game’s master craftsmen probed for an opening. Modric’s immaculate control and ability to find time in even the most congested areas will be a major concern for Gareth Southgate if his England team do face Croatia in the last four.
Boss Dalic had feared the possibility of a prison sentence hanging over Modric’s head would inhibit his performances here in Russia.
The Real Madrid star has been charged with perjury relating to evidence he gave in a court case surrounding his £15.8million move from Dinamo Zagreb to Spurs back in 2008.
But Modric has denied all those charges and certainly does not appear to be a worried man.
In fact his only concern seems to be confirming his status as the outstanding star of this tournament.
And with all his main rivals for the Golden Ball falling by the wayside, the path is clear for the four-time Champions League winner to finally get the international recognition he deserves.
