The team makes their debut in the competition against Spain at the Olympiastadion Berlin on Saturday.
Modrić, whose contract with Madrid expires at the end of the month, is anticipated to sign a one-year extension following teammate Toni Kroos’ decision to retire this summer.
“You’ll know that very soon,” Modrić told ESPN Argentina when asked if he will renew with Los Blancos, who he won a sixth Champions League with earlier in June.
“Right now I’m focused on Croatia. When the time comes, everyone will know, I can’t say more.”
Luka will be participating in his ninth major tournament with Croatia in Germany this month. His debut was at the 2006 World Cup, also held in Germany.
If he qualifies for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, he could potentially extend his tally to 10 major tournaments, even at the age of 40.
“I’m at an age where I’m day-to-day and can’t think ahead too much,” he added when asked if this could be his last tournament for his country.”
“I know I don’t have a lot of football left, I’m at the end of my career. How much more I don’t know.”
Throughout his career with Croatia, Modrić played a pivotal role in guiding his country to the World Cup final in 2018, which ended in defeat against France.
Additionally, he contributed to Croatia achieving a third-place finish in the same competition held in Qatar 18 months ago.
“I’ve always believed in myself, but I’ve always said if someone gave me a piece of paper and said ‘Write down what you want to achieve in your career,’ I definitely would’ve been afraid to write all this down,” he said in a news conference.
“I didn’t expect all this to happen. After all these years, though, here I am.”
Modrić’s longevity career in international football is in stark contrast to the young age of Spain winger Lamine Yamal. At just 16 years old, Yamal is on track to become the youngest player to participate in the finals if he plays against Croatia this weekend.
Barcelona’s Yamal was not even born when Modrić took part in his first major tournament in 2006.
“It makes me feel old when I hear things like that,” Modrić said when the age difference was pointed out to him. But what I can say is that age doesn’t matter. Whether you are young or old, the most important thing is what you show on the pitch.”
“[Yamal] has done incredible things this season. Everyone sees him as a big threat for this Spain side. He has enormous potential and an incredible career ahead of him.”
There is much excitement in Spain over the promise of Yamal and his young winger counterpart, Nico Williams. Despite the praise from Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, he has yet to confirm whether they will be in the starting lineup against Croatia.
Spain Lamine Yamal And Nico Willams
“I think that is more important than the footballing side, they are young players, especially Lamine, he’s a kid with an incredible talent that only the chosen ones have,” he told a news conference Friday. “I like to say they have a gift from God, very few players have those attributes.”
“In terms of understanding the game, we’re trying to treat the situation normally, but also trying to explain by being humble he will develop much more. If there are bad moments things can fall away fast and there’s huge criticism. That goes at the clubs as well. We’re reinforcing the education and training from the clubs. They are special footballers, that makes them different from the rest.”
“But in those positions Ferran [Torres] and Ayoze [Pérez] have done fantastic things in training, everyone is in great form and fired up. You might take it for granted that Nico and Lamine play tomorrow. You might think it’s a surprise if they don’t but it wouldn’t be for me.”
Croatia and Spain are part of a challenging Group B in the tournament, alongside current champions Italy and Albania. A strong start will be crucial for both teams when they face off in Berlin on Saturday.
