Spain are "free to dream" of Euro 2024 glory but must ensure they remain humble after maintaining a perfect record through the group stage, says coach Luis de la Fuente.
La Roja topped Group B – thought by many to be the most difficult group at the tournament – with nine points and no goals conceded, beating Albania 1-0 in their third match on Monday despite resting most of their star players, courtesy of Ferran Torres' goal.
They have become just the second team to win all three group-stage matches at a Euros tournament to nil, after eventual champions Italy at the delayed 2020 edition.
It is also the first time La Roja have ever gone through an entire group stage at a major tournament (World Cup or Euros) without conceding.
With his team now being tipped as one of the favourites to lift the trophy for a record-breaking fourth time, De la Fuente has warned against complacency.
"We are all free to dream, but we have to keep our feet on the ground. Being considered favourites doesn't guarantee you anything," De la Fuente said.
"We welcome the fact that people value the work we are doing and recognise the talent of this generation. Winning all three games, with clean sheets in all three, it's extremely difficult.
"But let's not get carried away. We know how things work in Spain. One day you're at the top and the next day you're worthless."
Spain's last-16 tie will be played at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne on Sunday, though they must wait to discover the identity of their opponents.
They will face a third-place finisher from Group A, D, E or F, meaning their foes will not become clear until the final two groups have concluded on Wednesday.
That does not sit well with De la Fuente, who added: "Now we will have to spend a night awake because of the short time we have to study the next opponent.
"Of course we have room for improvement, it's a principle that we have established in the dressing room. We are not satisfied and this group is very ambitious.
"But in any case, we'll be mentally prepared and ready to go all out to overcome this tie. Of course we will."
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan hopes the team's "dream" run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals will serve as inspiration to young people across the country.
Afghanistan will face South Africa in their first World Cup semi-final on Wednesday after edging out Australia to escape the Super 8s with an eight-run win over Bangladesh.
This is Afghanistan's seventh participation at the T20 World Cup, with the first three all ending in the group stage before they reached the Super 10s in 2016 and the Super 12s in 2021 and 2022.
Speaking after finishing with figures of 4-23 in Monday's dramatic, rain-affected win over Bangladesh, Rashid said: "I think the semi-final is going to be a massive, massive inspiration for the youngsters back home in Afghanistan.
"We have done it at under-19 level, but at this level we haven't done that. Even the Super 8s was the first time for us. It's an unbelievable feeling.
"It's like a dream for us. It's all about the way we had started the tournament. The belief came when we beat New Zealand [in the second group match].
"I don't have any words to describe my feelings. Definitely back home everyone is so, so happy about this."
While Afghanistan will go into the semi-finals as underdogs, Rashid sees no reason why they cannot go even further.
"We are capable, as long we keep things very simple, and I think in the whole competition so far we kept things simple," he said.
"There were some tough times but we didn't let ourselves down and we always tried to come back stronger."
James Rodriguez sees plenty of room for improvement for Colombia despite overcoming Paraguay in their Copa America opener, in which he laid on two assists.
Colombia sit top of Group D after the opening round of matches, with Crystal Palace duo Daniel Munoz and Jefferson Lerma netting in a 2-1 win in Houston and Brazil later failing to join them on three points as they drew 0-0 with Costa Rica.
Former Real Madrid man Rodriguez teed up both of his team's goals, becoming the first player to assist twice in a Copa America group-stage match since Peru's Andre Carrillo in 2019 (versus Chile). Rodriguez now has 30 assists in 101 career games for his country, with five of those coming in the Copa America.
He also led all Colombia players for chances created (three), passes in the final third (17) and crosses (10), as well as ranking second for touches (80) and passes completed (53), both behind Davinson Sanchez (81, 55).
The victory made them just the fourth CONMEBOL team to record nine straight wins across all competitions, after Brazil (12 times), Argentina (three) and Peru (once).
However, Colombia did not have things all their own way as Paraguay attempted more shots (12 to 11) and created a higher expected goals figure (0.82 xG to 0.63), leading Rodriguez to call for more.
"I am very happy, it was very important to start well today against a tough opponent like Paraguay," he told reporters after Monday's victory.
"In the second half we could have done better, but things are corrected better when the team wins, it's all much easier."
The NRG Stadium, home to the NFL's Houston Texans, was a sea of yellow for the game as Colombian fans packed into the venue, leaving Rodriguez awestruck.
"It's beautiful, they are supporting us a lot," he said of the huge Colombian contingent. "There is still a long way to go and we are going to go game by game."
Colombia go to Phoenix for their second match against Costa Rica on Friday, before taking on Brazil next Tuesday at San Francisco's Levi's Stadium.
Former England strikers Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have defended their criticism of the Three Lions' "terrible" displays at Euro 2024 after Harry Kane said pundits should be more supportive.
England have four points ahead of their final Group C fixture against Slovenia, though they were uninspired as they laboured to a 1-0 win over Serbia and a 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Their performance in the latter match was fiercely criticised, with Lineker describing the display as "s***" on his 'The Rest is Football' podcast.
England captain Kane hit back at those comments on Sunday, pointing out ex-players like Lineker failed to win international silverware and telling them to be more "helpful".
On Monday's edition of the podcast, Lineker said of Kane's response: "I thought he answered it fine.
"There was one bit there where he says we have responsibilities as ex-England players, that we should know better and that we never won anything or words to that effect.
"Fine, he's absolutely right. But I will say one thing; the last thing in the world we want to be is downbeat and critical.
"We want the England team to perform well on the pitch. The best punditry of all is when England play well."
Shearer was also scathing of Gareth Southgate's team after the Denmark game and has refused to back down, saying: "It's important we never get personal. That's the most important thing.
"They were terrible and we have to say that. If England were brilliant we'd say they were brilliant, that's the way it is.
"As a player you always get the right of reply on the pitch. I have no problem with what we said, I wouldn't take anything back we said.
"England were really poor. I think the vast majority of the country, and even the boys in the squad, will know they were awful against Denmark. There were hardly any positives."
Novak Djokovic will only play at Wimbledon if he feels he has a chance of winning the tournament, with a decision on his involvement to be made before Friday's draw.
Djokovic tore the medial meniscus in his right knee at the French Open earlier this month, withdrawing ahead of a scheduled quarter-final against Casper Ruud.
He underwent surgery on the injury less than three weeks ago but still travelled to SW19 on Monday and was seen out on the practice courts.
However, the Serbian will only participate if he feels he has a realistic chance of an eighth Wimbledon crown, which would equal Roger Federer's all-time record.
"I didn't come here to play a few rounds," Djokovic told BBC Sport. "You can never know 100% what is going to happen at a tournament, but I'm going to make a decision based on the feeling that I have.
"If I know I can play close to my maximum or at maximum, then I'll play. If not, then I'll give somebody else a chance to play."
Asked if his maximum meant a title push, Djokovic replied: "That's why I'm here.
"I don't plan to retire or for this to be my last Wimbledon. The injury happened at an unfortunate moment but it's part of the sport."
Having gone through a two-hour session with bandaging on his affected knee on Monday, Djokovic added his recovery is going well and said he will give himself as much time as possible to make a decision.
"It's been going well. Rehab is going in the right direction every single day, a few per cent better and better. That's what's giving me hope and encouragement," he said.
"I still have a week left, which is plenty of time. I'm going to give my best to have a clear understanding of where I am before the draw is made, and we'll take it from there.
"I'm taking things gradually. I'm not pushing myself 100% yet but I'm hoping that's going to come in the next few days."
Dorival Junior bemoaned a lack of end product after Brazil were frustrated in a goalless draw with Costa Rica in their Copa America opener on Monday.
Despite enjoying 73.5% of the possession and firing off 19 shots to their opponents' two, Brazil failed to win their first game at a Copa America for the first time since 2016.
The Selecao's 49 final-third entries throughout the match were the joint-most since such data began being recorded in 2011, alongside their own tally versus Paraguay in 2019, yet they only registered a paltry three shots on target.
The result means Brazil have lost early ground on Colombia, who lead Group D following their 2-1 win over Paraguay earlier on Monday.
Speaking after the game, Dorival said: "We rotated the ball well, went from side to side and got our attackers one-versus-one.
"We have a smaller field and that makes it easier for those who defend and difficult for those who attack. Vini received the ball with two men on him and a third approaching.
"We tried with Savio and were successful in some moments. The detail and definition were lacking, but freedom was given, everyone had the opportunity.
"We lacked some in-depth moves. It was the aspect that we intensified the most in training, this dirty work to find space between the opposing lines.
"Our ball recovery was impressive. In my opinion, what was missing too much was that we failed to do this job of spreading the opponent's backline more."
Vinicius Junior endured an underwhelming performance, being replaced by future Real Madrid team-mate Endrick with 71 minutes gone after failing to record a single shot and only managing five touches in the Costa Rica area.
Asked about the decision to withdraw the winger, who shone as Madrid won a Champions League and LaLiga double in 2023-24, Dorival said: "We put him on the side, on the inside, we didn't find the way with either.
"He was well marked and we had to look for a solution, to make a change.
"I believe the game was well played within a context. We played closely, we created good chances, but we weren't happy with the finishing.
"The games will be like this, we have to find ways to improve. It is natural that if the result does not come, questions arise, but I know what we are developing."
Afghanistan reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the first time and eliminated Australia from the tournament with a dramatic eight-run win over Bangladesh.
Afghanistan entered the final game of the Super 8s requiring a victory to join England, India and South Africa in the last four, while Bangladesh themselves could still qualify via net run-rate with a handsome win.
Both Bangladesh and Australia might have been positive regarding their prospects when Afghanistan reached just 115 in their innings.
Even Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 43 came off 55 balls as they made slow progress, before the opener handed Soumya Sarkar a simple catch off a 17th-over delivery from Rishad Hossain, who impressed with figures of 3-26.
It was the Bangladesh innings that brought the drama, though.
Repeated rain stoppages meant they were left chasing a series of revised targets, and the losses of Najmul Hossain Shanto (5) and Shakib Al Hasan on back-to-back third-over balls, the latter for a golden duck, made their chances of qualification unlikely.
However, they could still send Australia through with any victory, and opener Litton Das did his best to do so, making an unbeaten 54 as wickets tumbled around him.
With Bangladesh nine runs from victory but with just one wicket remaining in the 18th over, it was Naveen-ul-Haq who sealed Afghanistan's place in the last four.
He joined captain Rashid Khan on four dismissals by trapping Mustafizur Rahman lbw, ensuring Afghanistan will face South Africa in a historic semi-final in Trinidad on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Farooqi earns a slice of history
While Afghanistan captain Khan (4-23) and Naveen (4-26) hogged the headlines on a historic day for the team, team-mate Fazalhaq Farooqi also had an outing to remember. He trapped Tanzid Hasan lbw for the first wicket of the Bangladesh innings, his 16th wicket at this year's tournament.
That drew him level with Sri Lanka's PW Hasaranga (in 2022) for the most wickets in a single edition of the T20 World Cup, and he will look to take the record outright against South Africa later this week.
Jose Ramirez broke a tie with a solo home run in the sixth inning to help the Cleveland Guardians record a sixth consecutive win with Monday's 3-2 victory over the suddenly slumping Baltimore Orioles.
Ramirez had a run-scoring single earlier in the game in support of Tanner Bibee, who tossed six solid innings before three Cleveland relievers protected the one-run lead and send the Orioles to a season-high fourth straight loss.
Bibee (6-2) struck out seven while allowing two runs - one earned - on five hits to win his second straight start.
After Ramirez's 431-foot blast off Cade Povich gave the Guardians a 3-2 edge, Tim Herrin and Hunter Gaddis threw a scoreless inning each before Scott Barlow struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth for his second save of the season.
The Guardians grabbed an early 1-0 edge as their first three hitters reached base off Povich. Steven Kwan led off the game with a single and Andres Gimenez drew a walk before Ramirez brought in the first run with a base hit.
Baltimore countered in its half of the first when Gunnar Henderson stroked a lead-off double and crossed the plate on Ryan O'Hearn's one-out single.
Back-to-back doubles by Gabriel Arias and Bo Naylor in the top of the second put Cleveland back ahead, but the Orioles tied it in the third with an unearned run.
After Adley Rutschman reached base with a double, the standout catcher advanced to third on a fielding error by Guardians' first baseman Josh Naylor before scoring on Anthony Santander's sacrifice fly.
Povich (0-2) took the loss after surrendering three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Lynn, Donovan help Cardinals stay hot
Lance Lynn yielded one run over 6 2/3 strong innings and Brendan Donovan collected three hits as the surging St. Louis Cardinals ran their winning streak to four games with a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
The Cardinals have now won nine of 12 after taking the opener of this three-game series, though they had to hang on after Atlanta scored twice off star closer Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning.
St. Louis had built a seemingly comfortable lead by scoring four runs off Atlanta starter Spencer Schwellenbach in the third inning, all coming with two out.
Alec Burleson began the rally with a double that brought in Michael Siani with the game's first run. Willson Contreras, activated from the injured list prior to the game, then plated Burleson with a single in front of another base hit by Nolan Gorman. Donovan then singled to right to score Contreras for a 3-0 advantage.
Donovan was later thrown out trying to steal second, though Gorman would cross the plate before the tag was made for the Cardinals' fourth run.
That was enough for Lynn (3-3), who gave up a solo homer to Austin Riley in the fifth inning but just three other hits over his outing. The veteran right-hander struck out five without a walk.
Helsley converted his 27th straight save opportunity to begin the season, though it didn't come easy as he walked Marcell Ozuna to begin the ninth before allowing a single to Matt Olson. Another walk would load the bases with one out to set up Ramon Laureano's run-scoring single that cut the lead to 4-2.
Olson scored on a sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Travis d'Arnaud to get the Braves within a run, though Hesley would strike out Zack Short to end the game.
Schwellenbach (1-3) struck out six over five innings but permitted all four St. Louis runs on eight hits.
Phillies turn rare triple play in rout of Tigers
Bryce Harper went 3 for 5 with a homer and five RBIs and was part of a rare triple play turned by the Philadelphia Phillies in an 8-1 rout of the Detroit Tigers.
The Phillies also got a very good start from Aaron Nola (9-3) en route to their third straight win. The right-hander held the Tigers to one run and six hits while striking out six without a walk over seven innings.
Nola also snared a line drive off the bat of Matt Vierling with the Tigers threatening in the third inning, then threw the ball to Harper at first base to double off a runner for another out. Detroit's Zach McKinstry was also running from third on the play and was thrown out as well when Harper relayed the ball to third baseman Alec Bohm to complete the triple play.
According to Major League Baseball, it was the first 1-3-5 triple-play (pitcher-to-first base-to-third base) in an MLB game since 1929.
The Phillies had a 4-0 lead at that point thanks to a big first inning that began when Kyle Schwarber reached on a fielding error by shortstop McKinstry. Trea Turner then doubled before Harper sent both runners home with a double of his own to open the scoring.
Bohm then drilled a pitch from Casey Mize over the left field wall for his first of four hits on the night, with the two-run homer giving Philadelphia a 4-0 advantage.
Detroit got on the board in the fifth when McKinstry doubled and scored on Carson Kelly's single, but Harper's three-run homer off Tyler Holton in the sixth increased the Phillies' lead to 7-1.
Harper also scored Philadelphia's final run in the eighth by coming home on a double from Bohm, who finished 4 for 5 with three runs batted in.
Mize (1-6) registered a career-high 10 strikeouts in just 4 1/3 innings, but was tagged for nine hits while surrendering four runs - three earned.
It took 30 years for the Florida Panthers to win their first Stanley Cup.
For Paul Maurice, the wait was nearly as long.
Sam Reinhart's tie-breaking goal late in the second period held up as the Panthers captured the NHL's most coveted trophy for the first time with Monday's 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of a memorable Stanley Cup Final.
Carter Verhaeghe also had a goal and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots - including all nine he faced in the third period - to also give Maurice his first Stanley Cup after nearly 2,000 combined regular-season and play-off games as a head coach.
Maurice is in his 26th season leading an NHL team, the longest wait of any head coach in the four major North American professional sports leagues before winning his first championship.
While Maurice and the Panthers' long streaks came to an end, another continues on as the Oilers' loss marks the 31st consecutive season a Canadian team has not hoisted the Cup since the Montreal Canadiens' win in 1993.
Edmonton was also bidding to become only the second team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup after losing the first three games of the best-of-seven finals, a feat the Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished in 1942.
Oilers' captain Connor McDavid still took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the play-offs after setting an NHL post-season record with 42 points. The superstar centre is just the second skater on a losing team to win the award, joining the Philadelphia Flyers' Reggie Leach in 1976.
McDavid recorded a pair of four-point outings in Games 4 and 5 to help Edmonton extend the series, but the three-time Hart Trophy recipient was kept off the scoresheet by a stout Florida defensive effort for a second straight game in Monday's finale.
Brazil began their Copa America campaign with a frustrating goalless draw against Costa Rica at the SoFi Stadium.
The Selecao dominated large periods of the Group D clash. Marquinhos saw a goal ruled out following a VAR review, while Lucas Paqueta rattled the woodwork from distance.
Yet despite enjoying just under three-quarters of the possession and registering 19 shots to their opponents' two, they could not find the breakthrough and failed to win their opening match in the competition for the first time since 2016.
Dorival Junior's side subsequently lost early ground on Group D leaders Colombia, who beat Paraguay 2-1 earlier in the day.
Brazil quickly asserted their authority on proceedings in California as they sought the game's opening goal.
Rodrygo steered a shot wide following a jinking run into the penalty area, while Raphinha was denied by Patrick Sequeira after latching onto a diagonal ball over the top of the Costa Rica defence.
The Selecao thought they had broken the deadlock on the half-hour mark when Marquinhos applied the finishing touch after Rodrygo glanced Raphinha's free-kick towards the far post, only for the strike to be ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
Rodrygo fired narrowly over in first-half stoppage time and, then on 63 minutes, Lucas Paqueta saw his ferocious 25-yard drive crash against Sequeira's left upright.
Dorival withdrew the quiet Vinicius Junior in favour of Endrick and Savinho for the final 20 minutes, and both looked dangerous upon their introductions.
The latter's cross almost saw Costa Rica defender Haxzel Quiros head into his own net with his blushes spared by Sequeira, who then beat away Guilherme Arana's fierce volley.
Savinho was involved again in stoppage time as he teed up one final opportunity for Bruno Guimaraes, who bent his first-time shot narrowly wide to compound a frustrating start to the tournament for the nine-time winners.
Selecao stutter on return to States
It is fair to say Brazil do not boost particularly fond recent memories of playing in the United States in recent years.
After all, the Selecao crashed out in the group stages when the Copa America was last held in this nation eight years ago.
Neymar, who was part of that side, watched on from the stands having been ruled out of this tournament through injury.
Try as they may, his team-mates just could not break down their opponents and turn their dominance into the elusive goal, with just three of their 19 attempts on target.
Fresh from playing a starring role in Real Madrid’s LaLiga and Champions League double, Vinicius Junior was unable to inspire his nation – his tallies of 45 touches and 23 passes were the lowest recorded by any of Brazil’s outfield starters.
On a brighter note, Marquinhos made his 16th Copa America appearance – with only Dani Alves (19) and Thiago Silva (18) playing more times for the Selecao in the competition since 2000 – though a VAR review prevented him from marking the occasion with a goal.
Another clean sheet for repellent Costa Rica
Costa Rica were heavy underdogs on their return to the Copa America for the first time in eight years.
Not since 2004 have Los Ticos progressed from the group stages of this competition, but they certainly know what it takes to claim a scalp on the big stage.
Exactly 10 years ago, they beat Uruguay and Italy to top Group D, which also featured England, on the way to reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.
Fast forward a decade and Joel Campbell, who was part of that side, came off the bench for his 140th cap as his nation halted a run of nine successive defeats by Brazil.
More impressively, Costa Rica have kept clean sheets in each of their last four competitive games.
Their failure to record a single shot on target for the first time in a Copa America match since 2011 will be a slight concern, but that defensive stubbornness will stand them in good stead as they look to progress in this tournament.
Lionel Scaloni empathised with Lionel Messi after the Argentina captain spent another birthday "away from home".
Messi, who turned 37 on Monday, and his team-mates are preparing to resume their Copa America title defence against Chile on Tuesday.
The reigning champions, who began their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Canada, celebrated their skipper's big day by presenting him with a cake.
Messi wrote on Instagram: "Thank you so much for all the greetings and congratulations! Another year that coincides with my birthday being with the National Team, so celebrating a little bit more and we keep getting ready for our next game."
And Scaloni understands it must be difficult for the Inter Miami forward not to have the opportunity to celebrate with his family.
"I know how hard it is for him to be away from home on his birthday," the head coach told reporters during his pre-match press conference.
"We try to make sure he has the best time possible with his team-mates. We are used to it. He knows he has a whole country behind him.
"The important thing is that Messi is here. He trained normally and is fit to play [against Chile]."
Messi was part of the Argentina side that lost to Chile in successive Copa America finals on penalties in 2015 and 2016.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or briefly retired from international duty following the latter, in which he missed his spot-kick, but overturned his decision before eventually leading his nation to Copa America and World Cup glory in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
And Scaloni insisted Argentina are not out to avenge those defeats when they lock horns with La Roja at the MetLife Stadium.
"There is nothing left of [those finals]. Just as it is with last year’s World Cup, it's history. There's no point in going back.
"We have played many matches with these types of characteristics. We will face the match as it happens."
Emma Raducanu is thrilled to have "rekindled" her love for tennis, with the former US Open champion admitting she is "in a lot better spirits on and off the court".
The world number 168, who had not played since the Madrid Open in April, marked her return from injury with a run to the Nottingham Open semi-finals just over a week ago.
Last year, Raducanu underwent wrist and ankle surgery that, at one point, confined her to a mobility scooter, but she has prioritised fitness over competition during the 2024 season.
Having missed the French Open to focus on preparing for the grass-court season, she has also opted not to participate for Great Britain in the forthcoming Olympics.
The 21-year-old is now stepping up her preparations for Wimbledon, which continue when she faces Sloane Stephens in Eastbourne on Tuesday.
And Raducanu will enter the contest against her fellow former Flushing Meadows champion with a real spring in her step.
"I really feel like I'm in a lot better spirits on and off the court," she told BBC TV. "It's a nice feeling for me because it hasn't always been the case.
"I'm very happy to have rekindled the love for tennis and just enjoying the challenges that come with it and not getting so down about it, just trying a way to go around.
"I'm just really grateful to have this feeling again because it's something that I feel like I've been missing in a way for the last few years.
"I haven't felt this good about my tennis and excited about it and passionate for a long, long time."
France's progression to the Euro 2024 knockout stages was confirmed on Monday, without Didier Deschamps' side kicking a ball.
Les Bleus sit second in Group B - behind the Netherlands having scored a goal less - with four points from their opening two matches, ahead of facing Poland in Dortmund on Tuesday.
However, the two-time European champions will approach the game safe in the knowledge they are assured of a place in the last 16.
With Hungary and Croatia finishing third in Group A and Group B with three and two points respectively, even a defeat against Poland would see France advance as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Deschamps' side are the only European nation to qualify from the group stage of all seven major international tournaments (World Cup and European Championship) since 2012.
Luka Modric conceded he cannot go on forever as he was left to rue Italy's "cruel" last-gasp equaliser against Croatia, which leaves their hopes of progressing to the Euro 2024 knockout stages hanging by a thread.
The 2018 World Cup finalists looked set to finish as Group B runners-up behind Spain after Modric's 55th-minute strike - just moments after Gianluigi Donnarumma saved his penalty - put them a goal to the good in Leipzig.
However, there was to be a late twist when, in the eighth minute of stoppage time, substitute Mattia Zaccagni curled past Dominik Livakovic to snatch a share of the spoils - and second place from under Croatia's nose.
Amassing just two points, having also conceded a stoppage-time equaliser against Albania, Zlatko Dalic's side failed to win any of their group games at a European Championship for only the second time - also achieving the feat in 2004.
They can still qualify for the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams, but are relying on England beating Slovenia by a three-goal margin in Group C on Tuesday.
That means Modric could well have played his final match at a European Championship where, aged 38 years and 289 days, he became the oldest scorer, and only the second player after Cristiano Ronaldo (five) to find the net at four editions.
The Real Madrid midfielder is uncertain about his future.
"I'd like to keep playing forever, but there probably will come a time when I must hang up my boots," he said. "I'll keep playing on, but I don't know for how much longer.
"That was very stressful. We kept battling right until the end but, unfortunately, football was merciless with us tonight. It was cruel above all today, but also in our last match. when we also conceded a late goal.
"But that's part and parcel of football. Often, it gives you plenty of smiles, but on other occasions, it makes you very sad as it did today, losing in the manner we did.
"It's hard when you lose like this to find the words to describe how you feel. Of course, we need to bounce back. But that's the way it is.
"And as I said earlier, perhaps it's unfair because we all really fought for Croatia right from the first whistle until the last, and the result is what it is.
"The footballing gods don't necessarily always smile on us, but we should be proud of the way that we represented our country tonight."
Team-mate Luka Ivanusec added: "I'm empty, we don't know what to say. Until the last minute, we have everything. We are disappointed."
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