Luka Modric says his Croatia side must keep their feet on the ground despite booking their place in the World Cup knockout stages by playing the “perfect” match against Argentina.
The Real Madrid midfielder, the Croatia captain, led by example once more in the 3-0 victory in Nizhny Novgorod on Thursday night, rounding off a characteristically composed display by scoring his team’s second goal.
Modric struck in the 81st minute, feinting to find space at the edge of the Argentina penalty area before curling an unstoppable shot Willy Caballero. Dominant throughout, Modric was later voted the man of the match.
Asked afterwards if the goal was the best he had scored, Modric said it was one of his finest with the national team, but he preferred instead to focus on the team performance.
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“For me what’s more important is our victory and that’s it,” he said. “It’s an amazing feeling. Before the game we knew that to beat Argentina we have to play the perfect match and we did it. We are so happy to be in the next round.”
Asked if the manner of the win – Croatia outplayed a muddling Argentina – sent a message to the rest of the teams competing in Russia, Modric said: “I don’t know. We don’t have to think about this. We don’t have to enter into some kind of euphoria.
“We have to stay calm, we have to continue with what we are doing at the moment and just stay with two feet on the floor and think about next opponent.
“We don’t need to look now and talk about crazy things. We have to be calm and continue doing the things that we are doing. We have a great squad, a great team and a great belief about us. Hopefully we will continue to play the same way.”
With two wins from two, Croatia need only a point from Tuesday’s match with Iceland to seal top spot in Group D.
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Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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