Philadelphia, June 28 -- Veteran midfielder Luka Modric continued to defy age while rising star Petar Sucic etched his name into Croatia's FIFA World Cup history as Zlatko Dalic's side defeated Ghana 2-1 to secure a place in the Round of 32.

At 40 years and 291 days, Modric became the oldest player on record (since 1966) to register an assist at a FIFA World Cup, delivering the decisive corner that Nikola Vlasic headed home in the 83rd minute to seal Croatia's second Group L victory on Saturday (Local Time).

The Croatian captain's milestone came after another history-making contribution from 22-year-old Sucic, whose spectacular long-range strike in the first half made him Croatia's second-youngest goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup. At 22...