After the 2026 North America World Cup Round of 32 match against Portugal ended in defeat, Luka Modric (AC Milan) stood on the pitch for a while, gazing up at the sky. Modric, whose expression seemed to reflect a mix of emotions, only broke into a bright smile when his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) approached to greet him, congratulating his fellow player on the victory. He left the pitch after a heartfelt embrace with the teammate alongside whom he had once dominated Europe at Real Madrid. It was a symbolic scene marking the departure from the World Cup stage of a "legend" who defined an era as a world-class midfielder.
Modric's Croatia lost 1-2 to Portugal in the 2026 North America World Cup Round of 32 held at Toronto Stadium in Canada on June 3 (Korean time). Croatia took the lead through a goal from Ivan Perisic (Eindhoven) in the 53rd minute, but conceded consecutive goals to Ronaldo in the 68th minute and Goncalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain) in the 94th minute to lose the match.
Croatia, which finished runner-up at the 2018 Russia World Cup and third at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, was eliminated in disappointment in this tournament after meeting powerhouse Portugal in their first knockout round match.
This match is likely to be the last World Cup game for the legendary midfielder Modric. Modric has not publicly announced that this tournament would be his final World Cup.
However, born in 1985 and now 41 years old, it will not be easy for him to compete in another World Cup four years from now, making it highly likely to be his final tournament.
Having grown up in the youth team of his local club NK Zadar as a child, he joined Croatia's most prestigious club Dinamo Zagreb in 2002 at the age of 16. He then went out on loan to several teams to gain experience at the senior level, before returning to Dinamo Zagreb to develop into an ace.
His name began to become widely known on the European football stage in earnest after his 2008 move to Tottenham Hotspur in England's Premier League (EPL). Showing off his distinctive football sense in the EPL, one of the world's top football leagues, he rose to become a star representing the league.
Building on his performances at Tottenham, he then moved to the prestigious Real Madrid of Spain's Primera Liga in 2012, where his football career blossomed. Forming one of the world's finest midfields alongside Toni Kroos (Germany), he lifted the UEFA Champions League (UCL) title four times, delivering peerless performances.
He also always shone on the World Cup stage. At the 2018 Russia World Cup, he led his homeland Croatia to its first-ever World Cup final. Although they lost to France in the final to finish runner-up, he was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's most valuable player (MVP). That year, in recognition of his performances, Modric lifted the Ballon d'Or, which Lionel Messi and Ronaldo had shared between them for a decade.
Four years later at the Qatar tournament, he led Croatia to the semifinals, and in this World Cup, he reached his 200th international appearance—the fourth player ever to do so—in the second group-stage match against Panama, joining the ranks of the world's legends.
