Euro 2016: Luka Modric wondergoal sees Croatia beat Turkey

Luka Modric scored one of the greatest goals of his career to give Croatia a 1-0 victory over Turkey in their Euro 2016 opener.

Modric volleyed home a dropping ball from outside the area on 41 minutes with a dipping, technically perfect shot that wrong-footed Turkey goalkeeper Volkan Babacan.

And Ante Cacic's side really should have added to their lead as they utterly dominated the second half, with skipper Darijo Srna slamming a free-kick against the crossbar and Ivan Perisic heading a Mario Mandzukic cross against the woodwork.

Croatia's much-heralded midfield trio of Ivan Rakitic, Modric and Milan Badelj dominated possession, while the Inter Milan pair of Marcelo Brozovic and Perisic offered a constant threat down the flanks.

Turkey, in contrast, were subdued, with lone striker Cenk Tosun superbly shackled by the former Manchester City defender Vedran Corluka, who had to leave the field four times after a first-half cut on the head repeatedly opened up.

One crumb of comfort for Turkey coach Fatih Terim, however, will be the bright cameo of Emre Mor from the bench.

The 18-year-old Borussia Dortmund forward is the third-youngest player at Euro 2016, behind Portugal's Renato Sanches and England's Marcus Rashford, and his one-touch play provided a spark of creativity for Turkey in the final 20 minutes.

Croatia meet the Czech Republic in St Etienne in the second Group D match on Friday, while Turkey face the holders Spain in Nice later the same evening.

2' - CHANCE! Rakitic gets in front of Hakan but sees a round the corner volley from Srna's cross from the right drift just wide.

23' - CHANCE! Brozovic heads wide from 15 yards from Srna's cross from the right. The Croat captain is a constant threat down that flank.

28' -SAVE! Subasic clutches the ball gratefully from Ozan's header from Gokhan Gonul's cross from the right. That almost crept over the line.

41' – GOAL! Turkey 0-1 Croatia. Modric slams home a high ball from Selcuk's clearance from 35 yards into the corner of Babacan's goal. What technique from the Real Madrid man, although the goalkeeper should really have saved that.

48' – CHANCE! Volkan Sen sees a well-struck volley from the edge of the area blocked by his own team-mate Tosun.

51' - HITS THE BAR! Srna hits the bar from 20 yards with the set-piece, with Babacan well beaten.

54' – CHANCE! Srna shoots wide with his left foot from Babacan's unconvincing punch from Perisic's low cross from the left.

61' – CHANCE! Brozovic sees an effort from Mandzukic's header down from Srna's throw just over the bar.

73' - HITS THE BAR! Perisic heads a whipped Mandzukic cross from the right against the bar from 5 yards!

Former Croatia coach Slaven Bilic and current national team captain Darijo Srna both agree that the 2016 vintage are superior to the 1998 team that made the World Cup semi-finals. Yet bookmakers are happy to take on Ante Cacic's side, making them 25-1 shots despite a 10-0 warm-up win over San Marino and a usual starting eleven containing a European Cup winner, a La Liga winner and a Serie A winner from last season.

Real Madrid's Luka Modric, Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic of Juventus may be the star men, but there is quality throughout, with Inter's Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic making up a strong front five.

Darijo Srna (Croatia) The 34-year-old, a veteran of Euro 2004, was a constant threat for The Vatreni down the right with his crosses from the by-line.

The Shakhtar Donetsk defender says this team is the best of his 14-year international career – but his knowledge and experience is a crucial component of Ante Cacic's impressive squad, and his set-piece quality is as good as anyone in the tournament.

Croatia have lost just one of their last seven group games at the European Championship (W5, D1)

The defeat is Turkey is first in nine competitive games (W5, D3, L 1) since a 2-1 home defeat to the Czech Republic in October 2014.

Turkey have now lost all four of their opening games at European Championships.

Turkey: Babacan 5. Gonul 6, Topal 6, Balta 6, Erkin 6, Tufan 6, Selcuk Inan 6, Ozyakup 6; Calhanoglu 6, Arda Turan 7, Tosun 5. Subs: Sen 6, Burak 6, Mor 7.

Croatia: Subasic 6, Srna 8, Corluka 7, Vida 7, Strinic 7, Modric 8, Badelj 7, Brozovic 7, Rakitic 7, Perisic 7, Mandzukic 6. Subs: Pjaca 6, Kramaric 6, Schildenfeld 6.