Modric's talent and Budimir's hammer propel Croatia towards the Euro Cup

The talent of Luka Modric and the hammer of Ante Budimir propelled Croatia towards the European Championship in Germany after beating Armenia (1-0). The Madrid player emerged, once again, as the lucid game director of a team that sealed a direct ticket to next summer's championship.. The victory was cemented in the last breath of the first half, when the Osasuna striker opened the scoring with a header after a splendid pass from Borna Sosa.

The match was dominated by Croatia, but without exercising consistent control. Armenia, with a very populated defense and dangerous counterattacks, avoided a new goal from the Croatians in the second period. Intentional shots by Marcelo Brozovic and Lovro Majer did not find a reward. A short victory, but enough to fulfill the aspirations of the group led by Modric, who played the full 90 minutes.

This will be the seventh time that Croatia has qualified for a Euro Cup, where it already reached the quarterfinals during the 1996 and 2008 editions.

In the other match in Group D, Wales tied (1-1) with Turkey, with goals from Neco Williams and Yusuf Yazici. The British enter the play-offs, while Vincenzo Montella's men close as leaders.

Three-way draw

Croatia, finalist in the last installment of the Nations League, was the last team to qualify directly for the 2024 Euro Cup. The other 20 that had already qualified for the championship were: Germany (host), Spain, Scotland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Netherlands, England, Italy, Slovenia, Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Albania, Denmark, Switzerland, Romania, Serbia and the Czech Republic.

The tournament will be completed with three more teams that will emerge from a play-off in which 12 teams will participate, divided into three groups.. The winners of each of these groups will be classified. The teams that have already entered the play-off are: Wales, Poland, Estonia, Israel, Bosnia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Greece and Luxembourg. The other two places will come from a draw between Finland, Ukraine and Iceland that will be held this Thursday. The playoff playoffs will be held on March 21 and 26.

The draw for all groups of the Euro 2024 will be held on December 2 (6:00 p.m.) in Hamburg, one of the venues of the championship. Among the main absences, Erling Haaland's Norway stands out, the top scorer in the five major leagues.