Luka Modric was tormentor-in-chief when Nigeria and Croatia clashed in their opening group D match at the World Cup, and the Croats spot kick in the 2-0 win has been voted the most popular memory from games played in Kaliningrad at the tournament.
Modric’s 71st minute penalty was a result of William Troost-Ekong’s grappling Mario Mandzukic inside the box.
Modric fiercely dispatched the kick, striking the ball into the bottom right corner and sent the Eagles goalie Francis Uzoho the wrong way.
According to FIFA, fans in Kaliningrad voted overwhelmingly for the penalty that sealed three points for the Vatreni.
The votes are in!????️
…and the most popular #WorldCup memory from Kaliningrad is…
????????@lukamodric10‘s penalty versus ????????@NGSuperEagles!????
????????https://t.co/WspqzTecmX pic.twitter.com/WfpB4k59Pi
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 1, 2018
That single show of class by the Croatia number 10 beat Xherdan Shaqiri’s late winner against Serbia, Adnan Januzaj’s fantastic strike against England and Iago Aspas’s leveler against Morocco – all in the group stages.
Modric, who emerged best player at the tournament, saw his goal come up 47 percent of over 6,000 votes cast.
Shaqiri 30 percent, Januzaj 15 percent and Iago Aspas got 8 percent of votes in the polls.
