According to 24sata, Modric hinted at a possible farewell to the Croatian national team after Croatia's loss to Portugal. He also criticized the use of VAR, believing that Croatia was treated unfairly by the referees.

After the match, Modric did not directly comment on his future, but Croatian media believe he was hinting at the end of his national team career.

We asked you about these situations (regarding the future and retirement)...

(Interrupting the question) Now is not the time to talk about this, you will know everything soon.

Talking about the match

We can divide this match into two parts. In the first half, we were not in good form and somewhat retreated, but in the second half, we played exceptionally well, one of our best performances. We could have ended the match sooner, but we couldn't. We missed many chances, and then something incredible happened. That's how it is, that's how it is. It's hard to say anything sensible in this emotional state after the game. I don't want to say the wrong thing. We can be proud of our performance in the second half, we deserved more. But that's football, that's football.

Talking about the disallowed equalizer

He (Matanovic) said he touched the ball, but we watched the replay and video, and it didn't show him touching the ball at all. If he didn't touch the ball, it's not offside.

What did Ronaldo say to you?

Nothing. We just had a normal chat, nothing special.

Are you disappointed?

Yes, because we deserved more. Some things went against us. If the situation were reversed (a Croatian player falling in the Portuguese box), that penalty would never have been awarded. I said from the beginning, I didn't like VAR when it was first introduced. It's useful in some ways, but they either use it incorrectly or selectively, for example, based on the strength of the team or some other factor.

If it's a hundred percent clear error, then there should be intervention. If not, if it's just an ambiguous situation, there's no need for intervention, and VAR can't play a role, because today it was clearly not a penalty. Both sides were pushing each other, and both fell. That's why you can't award a penalty in such a game. So I always say, VAR should only be used when the error is one hundred percent clear. If it's a situation where you can interpret it freely, then you have nothing to stand on. This really annoys me, and it always goes against us. But anyway, it's there.

Let's move on, we won't complain. But these kinds of things bother me a lot because they determine your fate, they determine your mood for doing anything, you give up, you fight, you struggle. Some young players come, and then you treat them like this, and you feel sad. And I always say, it always goes against us. But anyway, it's there. I don't want to talk about it now. We can be proud of our performance, proud of how we fought, proud of how we represented Croatia, especially in the second half. This is the Croatia everyone knows, this is why we are so respected and loved in the world. Nothing, let's move on. Now we need to readjust, and that's it.

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