Modric: "The best team doesn't always win"
In the post-match interview, World Cup MVP Luka Modric questioned the referee and clearly felt hard done by, but recognized the incredible achievement of reaching the World Cup final.
Pride: "I'm leaving with a feeling of pride for what we achieved, but it's not easy to lose a final. We fought until the end, we didn’t give up, not even at 4-1. We cannot blame anyone.”
World Cup MVP: "Of course I like the recognition, but I would have liked to have won the World Cup. It could not be. In the next few days we will celebrate this achievement, which is very big, but now it is bittersweet, we are sad.”
Referee: "I didn’t see the penalty but Perisic told me it was not intentional. Others too tell me it wasn’t. In the first goal it was not a foul and that affects you. We dominated France and then this penalty comes, you have to fight and work the counterattack. But we cannot change what happened."
Croatia deserved more: "I think we deserved more in the final but that's football. We should be proud for never having surrendered."
World Cup 2022: "It is too early to talk about this issue. I have to rest and talk with my family."
Achievement: "With what we did, we leave with our heads held high. We have been so close and that it is not easy. We deserved more but the best team doesn’t always win. That's why football is the best sport in the world, although it's not easy when you lose."