Sunday’s Nations League Final presents perhaps the last chance for Croatia’s golden generation to lift major silverware.
They may be a country of just 4million people, but Croatia have flirted with the top echelons of international football for almost two decades.
When they face Spain in the final of international football’s newest competition, their motivation will be obvious.
The era of Luka Modric (37), Ivan Perisic (34), Domagoj Vida (34), Marcelo Brozovic (30) and Mateo Kovacic (29) may never again get the chance to win a trophy for a nation that punches so proudly above its weight.
Croatia were Euro 2008 quarter-finalists, knocked England out on the way to the 2018 World Cup Final in Russia, and defied the odds again to finish third at Qatar 2022. History suggests this is a chance they must take.
With Ivan Rakitic and Dejan Lovren having already retired, Croatia are already being forced to evolve.
Spain are also cultivating a new generation, but find themselves further along that evolutionary cycle. Gavi (18), Pedri (20) and Ansu Fati (20) represent the remarkable and enviable talent they are bringing through.
Croatia’s talent pool is smaller, and their production line less widely admired. The reins therefore still find themselves in the hands of Modric and Perisic, senior internationals for 17 and 12 years respectively, and with 291 caps between them.
Spain reached the final in dramatic circumstances on Thursday night. An 88th-minute winner from former Stoke and Newcastle flop Joselu saw them beat Italy in Enschede, the Netherlands.
On Wednesday, Croatia recovered from conceding a 96th-minute leveller to win 4-2 in extra-time against the Dutch in Rotterdam, with Modric scoring the fourth from the spot.
A new era for Spain is blossoming nicely, but this feels like last chance saloon for Croatia.
