2008. He was named Man of the Match. Modrić was forced to miss the crucial fixture against Spain on 21 June because of a minor muscle injury. However, Croatia won and topped the group, but lost to Portugal 0–1 in extra-time in the round of 16. 2016–2018: Golden Ball of the 2018 World Cup For Croatia's 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, Modrić became the new team captain, following Darijo Srna's retirement. Croatia started the campaign well; however, following 1–0 defeats to Iceland and Turkey and a 1–1 draw with Finland (in which Modrić made his 100th appearance for the national team), Croatia seriously compromised their qualification for the tournament. This caused Modrić to publicly state his lack of confidence in coach Ante Čačić. Čačić was soon replaced by Zlatko Dalić ahead of Croatia's final qualifier against Ukraine away, which Croatia won 2–0 and won a place in the play-offs. Modrić scored a penalty in the 4–1 victory over Greece in the second qualifying round, enabling his team to qualify for the World Cup. Croatia were placed in Group D alongside Argentina, Iceland and Nigeria. During the tournament, Modrić—along with Ivan Rakitić and Mario Mandžukić—were referred to as Croatia's second "Golden Generation". In Croatia's opening win against Nigeria, Modrić once again successfully executed a penalty kick and was named Man of the Match. He also scored in Croatia's subsequent 3–0 win over Argentina with a long-range shot from 25 yards (23 metres), also being named Man of the Match. After also featuring in the final group stage match, against Iceland, his performances in the first round of the tournament saw him ranked by FourFourTwo, The Daily Telegraph and ESPN as the best player of the group stage. In the round of 16 against Denmark on 1 July, with the score tied at 1–1, Modrić created a goalscoring opportunity for Ante Rebić in the second half of extra-time, who was brought down in the penalty area; Modrić proceeded to take the penalty, but his strike was saved by Kasper Schmeichel. However, Modrić managed to score his spot-kick during the ensuing penalty shoot-out and Croatia advanced to the next round following a 3–2 victory on penalties. In the quarter-finals against hosts Russia on 7 July, Modrić provided an assist in extra-time for Domagoj Vida from a corner kick, and once again scored in the victorious penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw; he was