With just three minutes gone, the diminutive Luka Modric turned Martin Stranzl inside out on the left flank and fed the ball to Ivica Olić, who was brought down in the box by René Aufhauser. Modric stepped up and rifled in. No other side has ever fallen behind to a penalty so early at a
UEFA European Championship; not the best lift for an Austrian team seeking their first major finals win since beating the United States at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Yet they responded well, and after weathering a storm the co-hosts began to boss possession. So dangerous early on, Luka Modric was now assigned to a role shielding Croatia's back line, trying to wrest back the initiative – he did not seem to play a misplaced pass. Good work Modric...
