In the early morning of June 26, Beijing time, the group stage of the European Cup continued, and the two matches in Group C started at the same time.
After two consecutive draws, the golden generation was ill-fated, with Croatia, ranked 9th in the world, drawing 2 and losing 1, with a goal difference of -3.
To finish third in the best four groups, Croatia can only hope that Portugal and England will have a worse third finish in their group, and if one of the two groups is third better than Croatia, the Plaid Army will be eliminated.
Croatia are third in Group C and need to meet multiple conditions at the same time, Slovenia 0-3 England, or lose to England by 4 goals or more; Serbia loses to Denmark, or Serbia wins 3-0 against Denmark, and wins Denmark by 4 goals or more.
The two games in Group C were lackluster enough. In the end, Denmark drew 0-0 with Serbia and Slovenia drew 0-0 with England. So far, the top three in this group have all entered the round of 16, and Slovenia, which is third in the group, has three points.
With Hungary, who are third in Group A, also on three points, Croatia no longer have to wait for Group F, with the Plaid Army finishing third in the two worst groups and missing out on the round of 16.
38-year-old Modric, 36-year-old Perisic, 32-year-old Brozovic, 31-year-old Kovacic...... Croatia's golden generation, who finished in the top three at two consecutive World Cups and finished runners-up in the UEFA Nations League, are getting older and it's time to say goodbye.