Luka Modric is still available to play for the Croatia national team, the Croatian Football Federation said on Saturday, putting an end to speculation that the veteran midfielder would end his international career after participating in the 2026 World Cup.
Modric, captain of the Croatia national team, turns 41 years old on Wednesday, and has been participating with the national team since 2006. He played more than two hundred international matches, and helped the team reach the 2018 World Cup final.
Slaven Bilic, who returned to coach Croatia for the second time after the team was eliminated from the round of 32 in the 2026 World Cup, said: “Luka’s decision makes me very happy, as we are all aware of what he offers to Croatia, whether on or off the field.”
Modric, who spent most of his football career with Real Madrid, joined Italian Milan last year.
Croatia is a guest of the Czech Republic, then hosts England, and faces Spain twice in the European Nations League between September 26 and October 6.
Mercedes driver George Russell proved that he is the strongest competitor by recording the fastest time in the final free trials of the Italian Grand Prix in the Formula 1 World Championship on Saturday, while his title rival and former teammate Lewis Hamilton finished second for Ferrari, the team that enjoys the encouragement of the local fans.
Russell, who is second overall and level on points with Hamilton but 2-1 ahead of him in wins, set the fastest time of 1 minute 22.219 seconds on the fastest track on the calendar and one of its most historically valuable.
As for Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, who is seeking to achieve his sixth victory in the Italian Grand Prix in Monza to set a record, he was 0.226 seconds slower in the “Temple of Speed”, which is an aerodynamic circuit where drivers seek to take advantage of the air drag of other drivers to increase their speed.
Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli, the first Italian in 73 years to lead the championship at Monza, finished fourth. Max Verstappen, the race winner for Red Bull in 2025, came in third.
Antonelli, who has a 59-point lead over Russell and Hamilton, is scheduled to start from the end of the grid due to engine-related penalties, giving his rivals a great opportunity to close the gap with the leaders.
Russell was also fastest on Friday after Ferrari occupied first and second places in the first tests.
Lando Norris, the current world champion and McLaren driver and winner of the last two races, finished fifth, 0.406 behind the fastest, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was sixth.
Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad finished seventh followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri, while Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto completed the top ten.
Hamilton and Verstappen almost collided in an accident at the end of testing after Hamilton overtook a Red Bull at the Parabolica corner before the Ferrari eventually veered off the track, causing stewards to take notes.
"He's the one who caused this," Verstappen said via the team's communication service. “Max held me back,” Hamilton said.
The top 12 drivers were all less than one second ahead of Russell.
Spaniard Cesc Fabregas, coach of the Como team, praised the maturity and mental strength of his players, after the team overturned a goal deficit against its host Genoa to a huge 4-1 victory, on Friday evening, in the third round of the Italian Football League.
Genoa took the lead with a surprise goal through Milutin Osmajic in the 19th minute, but Como maintained his calm and stuck to his style of play, before scoring 4 consecutive goals through Martin Baturina, Assane Diaw, who scored two goals, and Nico Paz, as the team continued its strong start to the season.
Fabregas said after the match: “I think you enjoy when you do things well, give everything you have and play the right way.” Every coach, club and team has its own path and identity, and we try to stick to ours. The players perform well in various stages of the match.”
He added: “When you lose your concentration for two seconds, you are punished, but we responded in the best way, and showed maturity and mental strength to put the match back on track.”
He explained: “My message is always that we must be ourselves, and it does not matter what happens in the match. I lost a lot of matches when I was a player, some of them even though we were playing well, and some of them when we were playing poorly, but the most important thing is to remain ourselves in these situations.”
He continued: “There may be days when we do not win because we lack quality in the last pass or because of a lack of luck. There are a million things that can go well or badly, but on the day I see something that we were not prepared for, or a departure from our principles and identity, then I feel angry.”
Fabregas added: “Fortunately, I see my team being calm and with the right mentality. "We can win or lose, but we have to maintain our identity."
The match witnessed the first appearance of newcomer Moise Kean with Como, as he participated from the bench and contributed to the fourth goal after providing an assist to Assane Diaw, who scored his second goal in the match.
Fabregas praised Kane, but pointed out the Italian striker's need to develop some aspects of his performance. He said: “There are many things that need to be improved, such as pressing the way we perform and movements, but we all know that Moyes has quality.”
