Modric's penalty helps Croatia beat Portugal 2-1 in friendly

Luka Modric scored a penalty to help Croatia beat Portugal 2-1 while Spain thumped Northern Ireland 5-1 on Saturday in the run-up to the European Championship.

The friendlies were the last for Spain and Croatia before they open the tournament against one another on June 15 in Berlin. They are in a tough Group B along with Italy and Albania.

Spain fine-tuned their attack with a 5-1 rout of Northern Ireland. Pedri Gonzalez led the way with his first two goals for his nation.

Portugal have one more friendly – against Ireland on Tuesday – before starting the competition against the Czech Republic on June 18 in Leipzig. Portugal are the favorites in Group F, which also includes Türkiye and Georgia.

Cristiano Ronaldo never left Portugal's bench, with coach Roberto Martínez tapping Gonçalo Ramos to spear his attack.

Ronaldo joined Portugal on Friday after finishing his club campaign with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. The 39-year-old is set to make a record sixth appearance at a European Championship. The all-time leading scorer in men's international football with 128 goals, Ronaldo helped Portugal win the European title in 2016.

Modric beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa to open the scoring in the eighth minute at Portugal's National Stadium near Lisbon. The 38-year-old Real Madrid midfielder was sent to the penalty spot after Vitinha fouled Mateo Kovacic in the area.

Halftime substitutes Diogo Jota and Nelson Semedo linked up to equalize for the hosts in the 48th, with Semedo assisting the Liverpool forward to tap in.

Ante Budimir restored Croatia's advantage in the 56th minute after the Osasuna striker headed in a rebound from a strike by Mario Pasalic that Costa had done well to push onto the crossbar.

Costa twice denied Nikola Vlasic to save Portugal from a heavier defeat.

Modric was substituted in the 54th minute. His contract with Madrid is set to expire at the end of the month following a season when he lost his starting role in Carlo Ancelotti's side. But the former Ballon d'Or winner seemed to indicate he wants to continue playing for the Spanish club when he told fans during the celebrations of Champions League title No. 15 that he would see them "next season."

Northern Ireland's Daniel Ballard stunned Spain with a second-minute header, but Luis de la Fuente's team ultimately powered past their overmatched opponent in Mallorca.

Pedri scored twice in the first half for his first goals in his 20th appearance for Spain. The Barcelona midfielder, now 21, helped Spain reach the semifinals of Euro 2020 but had not played since the 2022 World Cup due to injury. He made his return in Spain's 5-0 win over Andorra on Wednesday.

Alvaro Morata, Fabián Ruiz and Mikel Oyarzabal, who put in three against Andorra, also chipped in with goals.