Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic and Portugal’s Roberto Martinez paid respect on Thursday to Luka Modric, who almost definitely played his last World Cup match.
Following Croatia’s agonising 1-2 loss to Portugal in Toronto, Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of football’s greatest stars, shared an emotional moment as their international journeys appeared to draw closer to a close.
“This was probably his last World Cup, and I’m sorry that it ended this way. He has shown his quality and his character and of course he was leading Croatia until the very end,” AFP quoted an emotional Dalic as saying.
Martinez commended the Croatian great for having “inspired millions of kids.”
“His example is going to stay in the folklore of football forever,” Portugal’s coach told reporters, highlighting Modric’s in-match thinking.
It’s not often that “we talk about that player that can put his foot on the ball and make a decision. I think Modric is the beautiful example of that.
“Depending on how the game goes, he finds the space, he makes the right call. It’s incredible to see him play,” Martinez said, praising Modric for playing “the game like a young man.”
Modric was the architect of Croatia’s remarkable run to the 2018 World Cup final and their third-place finish at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Croatian maestro and Ronaldo, teammates during a trophy-laden spell at Real Madrid that yielded four Champions League crowns in six seasons, have seemingly held off Father Time for years. But at the 2026 World Cup, both have shown signs that their glittering international careers are nearing their end.
Despite receiving criticism for his group stage performance, Ronaldo contributed to Thursday’s triumph by scoring an equalizing penalty in the second half.
Modric was named one of Croatia’s “key players” by Dalic on Thursday.
The AC Milan midfielder earned his 200th international appearance in a group-stage match last month, and was hoisted in the air by his teammates following the June 23 triumph against Panama.
