Four years on from their improbable FIFA World Cup final appearance in 2018, Croatia have fallen in the semifinals in Qatar after a 3-0 loss to Argentina on Tuesday. Opposite No. 10 Lionel Messi was in inspired form to score one and assist another as La Albiceleste capitalized on some sloppy Vatreni error at Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail.
There could be little argument against the result from Zlatko Dalic’s side who were second best for most of the encounter as Lionel Scaloni’s men ensured that emotion would not get the better of them. However, despite the heavy loss, there were some flashes of magic from star man Luka Modric who may well have made his last major international appearance.
Now 37, and two years older than Messi, the Real Madrid man and his Croatian teammates were put in the shade by the South Americans. As evergreen as Modric is, it is difficult to see him playing on for two more years until UEFA Euro 2024 let alone the next World Cup in 2026.
That should take nothing away from the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner’s individual brilliance, though, which shone through on a couple of occasions as Kockasti bowed out. Up until his 81st minute substitution, Modric looked the most likely to make anything happen for Croatia who were surprisingly disjointed early on and made to pay for that.
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His team might have been trailing, but the man from Zadar still showed class of a similar level to Messi’s as he danced around Argentina players in an attempt to make things happen for his nation. Sadly, this Croat side was not on the same wavelength when it mattered most and the former Tottenham Hotspur and Dinamo Zagreb man was isolated in his technical and cerebral excellence.
A serial winner with Real as his five UEFA Champions League titles attest, there is nothing left for Modric to prove at club or international level yet he was still hungry to deliver a World Cup title. Third place will be of no shame if Croatia can secure it against the loser of France and Morocco’s Wednesday clash, but participation was not the recognition this creative genius sought.
Especially after the agony of the 2018 loss to Les Bleus which could now be demoted to the role of third-placed playoff if the Atlas Lions achieve the unthinkable, Modric does not deserve for his lasting memory to have been on the receiving end of a Messi masterclass but rather his long-lasting brilliance for Real and Croatia.
To win the Ballon d’Or back in 2018, despite not being on the winning team in Moscow, was testament to his singlehanded ability to lift Vatreni to the final. That he managed to maintain similar form for the best part of the next five years was nothing short of magnificent — as his standing ovation when he came off attested.
If this is to be the last we have seen from Modric in a red checkered shirt (and Croatia are always in a red checkered shirt in spirt, even if they were forced to wear blue on Tuesday) at an international tournament, then we should feel blessed to have witnessed a master of his craft in his prime for as long as we have done. Also, given the young Croatian talent emerging at present, a future without Modric need not look so dark.