Croatia lost 1-2 to Spain in the fourth round of the League of Nations at Poljud, but a meeting took place in the stadium's bowels that drew attention. Marko Livaja descended to greet former teammates, among whom he first spoke with Andrej Kramarić.
The pair were soon joined by Luka Modrić, who greeted Liv with the words 'How are you, dear friend'. Modrić and Liv then embraced, and Modrić also greeted Liv's wife and children.
Liv, 33, is the captain of Hajduk. He has played 21 matches for Croatia, scoring four goals and providing two assists. He contributed to the 2022 World Cup and the bronze medal win in Qatar.
For a time, he was not part of the national team due to issues with coach Zlatko Dalić. After an incident in June 2023 in Rijeka, he stepped away from playing for the national team. The main incident occurred on 5 June 2023, during the first open training session of the national team at the Rujevića stadium, where a group of spectators in the stands were verbally abusing Liv.
Liv stopped the training, walked towards the stands and entered into a verbal altercation with the provokers. Security, police and teammates had to intervene to calm the situation. The day after the incident, Liv, in agreement with coach Zlatko Dalić, decided to leave the national team camp, and a few months later he officially retired from playing for Croatia.
Despite this, Liv has come to support his former teammates. Croatia is currently in third place in their group with England and the Czech Republic.
