Toronto: Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has indicated that veteran midfielder Luka Modric has likely made his final appearance in a FIFA World Cup, expressing deep disappointment regarding the conclusion of the team's tournament run following a 2-1 defeat against Portugal on Thursday, according to a report from Reuters.

Reflecting on the match during a post-game press conference after Croatia was eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 32, Dalic noted that the fixture signalled the conclusion of a significant chapter for one of the nation's most decorated footballers.

"Well, this was probably his last World Cup," Dalic said of Modric, as quoted by Reuters. "And I'm sorry that it ended this way."

Despite the poignant conclusion to the tournament, the Croatian manager maintained that the national squad is entering a phase of strategic transition rather than a prolonged competitive decline. He emphasised the integration of emerging young prospects within the national setup who demonstrated considerable potential during the high-stakes match.

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"I'm not afraid for the future of the Croatian team," Dalic stated. "We have a lot of young players coming in, and some of them have shown the quality today."

He characterised the current transition as the completion of an extraordinary competitive era for Croatian soccer, while highlighting that the program will now focus on reconstruction ahead of the upcoming international tournament cycle.

"We've come to an end of a wonderful era," Dalic noted, as quoted by Reuters. "And some new beginnings await us."

When questioned about his continued tenure as the head coach of the national team, Dalic deferred a definitive answer.

"God knows what will happen in the next World Cup, but we'll talk about it in Croatia," he said.

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Portugal overcame an early deficit to secure a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over Croatia during the Round of 32 match. Substitute forward Goncalo Ramos scored the decisive goal by converting a header during stoppage time, advancing the side managed by Roberto Martinez into the Round of 16.

Croatia originally established an early lead courtesy of a strike from Ivan Perisic, who secured his status as the country's most prolific World Cup goal scorer in history. Cristiano Ronaldo subsequently levelled the match by converting a penalty kick following a formal video assistant referee (VAR) review.

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Croatia had two apparent goals disallowed due to offside infractions, including an equaliser scored in the final minutes of extra time, allowing Portugal to preserve its advantage and secure an all-Iberian Round of 16 matchup against Spain. The outcome concurrently concluded Modric's career in the World Cup competition.

With inputs from ANI