Ten years ago, they met in the final of Euro 2016. One limped off the pitch in tears. The other lifted the trophy. And now, a decade later, at a World Cup in Canada of all places, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić are about to do it all over again.
Portugal vs Croatia. Round of 32. BMO Field, Toronto. This is the blockbuster nobody asked for and everybody needed.
Let’s start with the numbers, because they are nothing short of staggering. Ronaldo is 41 years old. Modrić is 40. Between them, they carry over 300 international caps and enough individual trophies to fill a shipping container. The fact that both men are not only still playing at a World Cup but captaining their countries in the knockout rounds is one of the greatest sporting stories of this generation. Don’t take it for granted. You may never see anything like it again.
Roberto Martínez’s side have been inconsistent — a breathtaking 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan sandwiched between a draw with DR Congo and a goalless bore draw against Colombia. When opponents sit deep and absorb pressure, Portugal have looked blunt. Ronaldo, who has scored twice in the tournament, has sometimes been a peripheral figure. Critics have whispered — not for the first time in his career — that the great man holds this team back more than he propels it forward. Those critics, for now, can wait.
Croatia come in with their own story. They were hammered 4-2 by England in their opener — a result that threatened to unravel their entire campaign. But this is Zlatko Dalić’s Croatia. They have been to back-to-back World Cup semi-finals and a final. They do not panic. They reset. They won their next two — 1-0 against Panama and 2-1 against Ghana — and arrived in Toronto sharp, focused, and quietly dangerous.
The central battle of this tie will be fought in the middle of the park — Joao Neves and Vitinha, Portugal’s young press-resistant engine room, against Luka Modrić and Mateo Kovačić, who between them carry over 300 caps. It is youth versus experience.
Speed versus wisdom. The future versus the past — and in football, the past has a habit of refusing to die.
Modrić, still the metronome of this Croatia side, will look to dictate tempo, slow the game down, and recycle possession with that infuriating elegance that has defined him for two decades. Gvardiol, arguably the best centre-back at this tournament, will be tasked with shutting down Rafael Leão and Pedro Neto — two of the most dangerous wide attackers in the world.
And then there is Ronaldo. Always Ronaldo. We have now reached a point in the tournament where inconsistency is simply unacceptable — every mistake could lead to elimination. Cristiano Ronaldo no longer has second chances; he must deliver in every game left in this competition. The stage. The history. The rivalry. If there was ever a match designed for him to rise to the occasion one last time, it is this one.
Back in Euro 2016, Portugal won 1-0 in the quarter-finals on their way to lifting the trophy. Ronaldo didn’t score that day either — but Portugal went on to become champions of Europe. History, as they say, has a way of rhyming.
Tonight in Toronto, one of football’s greatest rivalries writes its final chapter. One legend goes home. One legend moves on. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, the beautiful game reminds us exactly why we fell in love with it in the first place.
This is Ronaldo vs Modrić. One last time. Don’t miss it.
