Two celestial bodies orbited each other, a thousand cameras waited with bated breath, pausing for them to come together. As Luka Modric, destroyed after a soul-crushing defeat that ended a scintillating two-decade-old international career, acknowledged the wishes of his Portuguese rivals, Cristiano Ronaldo did his customary handshakes, the relief writ large all over his face. The snickometer, a microchip in the ball, a technology introduced at Qatar 2022 but not the most commonly used tool, had just disallowed Croatia’s late equaliser in the Round of 32’s biggest draw to help Portugal win the thriller 2-1 in Toronto.
Portugal vs Croatia
Ronaldo had converted a penalty past the hour mark before being substituted, and Goncalo Ramos’ injury-time header took Portugal through to a mouth-watering Round of 16 meeting with old Iberian foes Spain, the European champions. But for now, it was about Ronaldo and Modric. The ageless Croatian had said before the World Cup that he would retire after the showpiece event. Katia Aveiro, sister of the indefatigable Portuguese, had all but confirmed that this would be her brother’s “last dance”. As the shadows grew longer in Ontario, the two masters, clubmates once, rivals now, finally greeted each other after it was won and lost. A hug, a couple of words, a moment of mutual appreciation, it summed up all those years of toil they had put in together. Ronaldo arrived at Real Madrid in 2009 and Modric joined four years later. Together they forged a unit that won the storied Spanish club four Champions League titles in five years.
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Modric was among the chief architects behind the unbelievable stardom that Ronaldo went on to achieve during those years. The Croatian master may not have always received his share of accolades; the high point came in 2018 when he edged out Ronaldo for the Ballon d’Or after winning the Champions League and scripting a memorable World Cup campaign in which Croatia finished runners-up to France. Ronaldo, then at Juventus, might have believed he deserved the prize. But eight years later, on Thursday, the bitterness, if any, seemed a thing of the past. For now, it was a moment to bask in the mellow light of what remained of the day. Modric, 40, typically played his part, pulling the strings for Croatia. From passes from deeper positions to whipping in crosses, he seemed desperate to take this Croatian golden generation, now in its twilight, one step further. But ever-changing technology in sport had the final call. A moment that could have been one of genuine joy would now forever be etched in Modric’s mind as the scar that finally brought the curtains down on a terrific career. When Josko Gvardiol bundled the ball in, the cameras immediately caught Ronaldo sitting on the sidelines. If the goal stood, he knew it would have been very difficult for Portugal to pull it back in extra time. Croatia would have had all the momentum in the world, and Portugal would have found it very difficult to match the tireless Croatians in midfield. In the coming week, the test gets sterner, with a brilliant Spain standing in the way. Martinez will have his plans on how to make the best use of the old master, who usually saves his best, remember that terrific hat-trick in 2018?, against the Spaniards. And a large part of the footballverse (which may include old mate Modric too) will be hoping that Cristiano Ronaldo still has one more dance left.
