Watch: How Luka Modric’s assist and last-minute penalty masterclass sent Croatia into UEFA Nations League final

Croatia and Netherlands put on a thrilling rollercoaster of a match at De Kuip in Rotterdam, taking their UEFA Nations League semifinal all the way to extra-time before one team pulled clear and booked a spot in the final with a 4-2 victory. Having already had gone ahead in extra-time through a fantastic bottom corner finish by striker Bruno Petkovic, Croatia sealed the deal through a coolly taken Luka Modric penalty. The Real Madrid legend was as calm as could be, scoring the 116th-minute penalty with finesse and accuracy into the side netting, having sent the Dutch keeper the wrong way.

Croatia continued to make waves and punch above their weight in international football, having finished runners-up and third place in back-to-back World Cups, and now preparing to face the victor of Spain and Italy in the Nations League final to try and claim their first ever international trophy. Modric has been the leader of a fantastic generation of Croatian players, who continue to outperform expectations under coach Zlatko Dalic, with the midfielder even being awarded the Ballon d’Or in 2018 for his excellence in the World Cup that year, where he won the tournament Golden Ball to boot.

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The Netherlands, who finished in second place to Portugal in the inaugural Nations League finals in 2019, were attempting to qualify once again in front of their home crowd. They took an early lead with a well-take finish by Borussia Dortmund striker Donyell Malen, and would take the lead into half-time.

However, soon after half, Modric would be dragged down in the box by Cody Gakpo. Croatia’s striker Andrej Kramaric stepped up to take that penalty, and safely went up the middle to equalize. Just over fifteen minutes later, Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic would scuff his shot from a whipped cross, but it was enough to beat Bijlow in goal, giving Croatia the lead on enemy turf.

There was more to come, however, right towards the end of regulation time. Facing down the barrel of elimination, the Netherlands flooded the box with bodies in pursuit of an equalizer. A loose ball fell to Noa Lang, who slotted a 96th-minute equalizer, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Netherlands had famously scored an injury-time equalizer in their World Cup contest against Argentina as well, before going on to lose in the penalty shootout against the eventual champions.

Petkovic’s long-range effort and Modric’s penalty would leave the last-minute equalizer as a post-script to the match, however, as Croatia dumped the Dutch out of the playoffs on their own turf. They will now await the winner of Spain and Italy — a rematch of their semifinal from the 2021 Nations League playoffs, in which Spain pulled through against the European champions to set up a final against France.