Gvardiol shines at World Cup as Croatia wins 3rd-place match
By CHRIS LEHOURITES
AP Sports Writer
AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — Josko Gvardiol made a play to be Croatia’s next go-to guy in what may have been Luka Modric’s final World Cup match. Modric has been the key player for Croatia for more than a decade but he is now 37. Modric was again central to Croatia’s 2-1 victory over Morocco for third place but it was the 20-year-old Gvardiol that stepped up from the back. Gvardiol scored one goal and played in defense like a veteran rather than someone who was still the age of a high school student when Croatia lost to France in the 2018 World Cup final. He was named player of the match against Morocco.