Petar Sučić has turned three World Cup group-stage matches into a clear statement for Croatia: one goal, one assist, and a growing role at 22. He has done it without the noise that follows most players at this level, and that has left him looking less like a prospect than a fixed part of the side.
He said he does not have an Instagram account, an X account or a TikTok account. “I don’t have a social media profile. There’s no particular reason. I don’t like wasting my time on social media. It’s certainly a useful tool, but you can spend up to five hours a day on it. I much prefer real life. We’re constantly in the spotlight, constantly scrutinised by the media and journalists. After a match or a training session, I need to relax, unwind and spend time with my family. That’s the main reason why I’m not on social media.”
Zlatko Dalic on Sučić
Zlatko Dalic has already pushed the point further. “Sucic is one of those players who have very quickly become indispensable to the national team - perhaps the quickest of all. He plays very well. He has good technical ability; he’s hard-working, and he’s got character and quality. He won the title with Inter. He helps Luka in defence, and we know what he brings in attack. His hard work has paid off.”
That assessment fits the numbers. In three group-stage matches, Sučić delivered the final ball once and finished one move himself, which is the kind of output Croatia needs from a midfielder who is being asked to do more than just circulate possession. He was established as Croatia's new metronome in the World Cup in the US, and the production matched the label.
Luka Modric and the present
Luka Modric was even more direct after the run of games. “He played a phenomenal match. He’s proving that he’s the present of this national team, not just the future. He just needs to carry on like this.”
That is the complication in Sučić’s rise. He is 22, yet he is already being spoken about in the language usually reserved for established leaders, not emerging players. Croatia is being asked to move through the Modrić era while Sučić is still early in his international run, and his World Cup output is the strongest sign yet that the handover does not have to wait.
Portugal and Croatia
His first international goal came in October 2024 in a Nations League match between Croatia and Poland that ended in a 3–3 draw. Martin Baturina set it up, then scored his first goal for Croatia two minutes later from a Sučić assist, and the pair are still flatmates in the national team. For a midfield that needs its next leaders now, that connection has already shown it can carry weight.
Ahead of Croatia's clash with Portugal, Sučić is no longer just part of the argument about the future. He is already producing in the present, and Croatia will need that same line of play when the tournament pressure rises again.
