Luka Modric is 40 years old. By all accounts, the 2026 FIFA World Cup surely has to be his swansong in international football, or even the professional game as a whole.
But the same thing was also believed ahead of the previous tournament, and the midfielder led Croatia to another semifinal.
Even today, when contemporaries Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been away from elite European football for more than three years, Modric is with Serie A giants AC Milan.
The one constant throughout Modric's career has been his relentless ability to challenge first impressions. At club level, he arrived at powerhouses like Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid and was welcomed with harsh criticism, but left the former as a star and the latter as an undisputed legend.
It is the same story with his national team. His first World Cup experiences ended in total disappointment, and when it seemed like those would define his stint, he changed the course of history to emerge, without the shadow of a doubt, as the greatest footballer in the history of Croatia.
As such, this (final?) experience represents a new opportunity for the No. 10 to defy destiny once again. Longtime teammates like Ivan Rakitic, Marcelo Brozovic and Dejan Lovren have gradually bowed out, as has his Real Madrid midfield partner Toni Kroos, but he has decided to stay on to become the leader of a new generation of Croatian players for whom he is their guiding light. On the pitch, though, he is still making a sound case to carry on with his contribution.
Croatia, from surprise to disappointment
Croatia's young World Cup history, which came to be after gaining independence from Yugoslavia in the early 1990s in the midst of a brutal civil war, moves in extremes. Their six tournament appearances have led to only two outcomes: podium finishes or group-stage exits. Their presence is guaranteed though, as they have only failed to appear at the world stage once since being admitted as a FIFA member in 1994.
Modric was raised under the shadow of the terrifying situation Balkan countries faced during his childhood, which fed into the sense of belonging to his motherland. In a letter he published on The Players' Tribune he mentioned the day he was first gifted the checkered red and white shirt, right in time for France 1998, as one of his most cherished memories. That team, built on stars like Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki and Davor Suker, made a historic debut, where Germany and Netherlands were dispatched and the hosts were pushed to the edge on the way to an unimaginable third place.
When the midfielder was called up to his first World Cup squad in 2006, the outlook was not as exciting. Four years later, in South Korea and Japan and with many changes to the team -- but still counting on Suker and his strike partner Alen Boksic -- Croatia could not get out of a group consisting of Mexico, Italy and Ecuador. Ahead of the Germany tournament there were still some heroes of 1998 in the squad, such as Igor Tudor and Dario Simic, but they once again fell way below expectations. Modric saw his first minutes against Japan and Australia, but he was not able to avoid another early exit, this time even more humiliating due to their opponents.
In the following years, Modric established himself as the star of a Croatia team whose talent did not equate to their results. Under the guidance of Slaven Bilic, another '98 squad member, they failed to make it to South Africa in 2010 after finishing third in their qualification group, one point behind Ukraine. Later, with Niko Kovac at the helm, they did enough to appear at Euro 2012 and back at the World Cup in 2014, but failed to get out of their group in either competition. Time was running out for him and other talents like Rakitic, Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Perisic to leave their mark, just like their predecessors had done.
Russia 2018: Breakthrough
It all pointed toward the story remaining the same in 2018. A chaotic qualifying process, where Croatia failed to beat Iceland, Turkey and Finland, led Modric, now captain, to express his lack of trust in manager Ante Cacic, who was replaced on a short-term basis by Zlatko Dalic. The team did just about enough to get into the World Cup, and ended up in a tough group with Iceland again, Nigeria and Argentina. But there was disruption in the camp during the early days in Russia, as a dispute over refusing to play on the opener against the Super Eagles got striker Nikola Kalinic kicked out of the squad, so the team had to compete for the rest of the tournament with a man down.
Still, the game against the Albiceleste represented a key turning point. Dalic's men took advantage of a Jorge Sampaoli-led side in an even bigger state of chaos than their own, and dominated from start to finish. Modric was instrumental throughout, and even scored a belter with a mid-range shot that Willy Caballero could not reach. Croatia finished a World Cup group stage with a 100% record for the first time ever, and nothing could stop them after that.
As the stages progressed, the team earned a reputation for fighting every game until the end in the face of adversity. They faced extra time in each and every round: first they needed penalties to overcome Denmark's defensive solidity, and then they repeated the feat against hosts and surprise package Russia, in a classic that ended 2-2 with Danijel Subasic was once again the hero from 12 yards.
The semifinals were reached once again, and this time a talented, hopeful England team awaited. A brilliant Kieran Trippier free kick put the Gareth Southgate-led team in front, who struggled to hold on to their slender lead against the Croatian siege during the rest of the game. That perseverance paid off thanks to a Perisic header, and late into extra time, Mandzukic latched onto a loose ball in the box, put it in the back of the net and took his country to their first-ever World Cup final.
France turned out to be a step too far for Modric & Co., as reflected by the 4-2 scoreline, but the No. 10's efforts were handsomely rewarded with the Golden Ball, given to the competition's best player. A few months later he would go one further and win the Ballon d'Or, thus breaking with the decade-plus-long hegemony of Messi and Cristiano.
A relentless Modric in Qatar ... and one last shot?
Four years later, expectations had changed. This new Croatian generation had already etched their names in history, and with much of the core intact arose an opportunity to improve upon what the Boban, Suker and Prosinecki crew had achieved. At 37, Modric had already carved an undeniable career at Real Madrid, having just won his fifth Champions League with the club at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Once again, Dalic's men were handed a tough draw with Morocco, Belgium and Canada. And once again they passed the exam, leaving another brilliant generation of Red Devils players on the way. Back in the knockouts, Croatia wore their fighting reputation on their sleeve once again, first to avoid a potential upset at the hands of Japan on penalties and then for themselves to upset Brazil, one of the favourites, thanks to Bruno Petkovic's extra time equaliser and Dominik Livakovic's shootout heroics once again.
The semifinal saw Modric and company taking on Argentina again, but this was a completely different team to the won they had walloped four years earlier, and they fell victim to the reverse result in a game best remembered for 35-year-old Messi's humiliation of young Josko Gvardiol. Still, Croatia achieved the immortality they were chasing after in the third-place playoff, where they faced Morocco again, but this time the North Africans had taken out Spain and Portugal consecutively. Apart from the bronze medal, Modric also took the Bronze Ball as the third-best player of that tournament.
Now with the 2026 campaign about to begin, many of the colleagues that joined Modric on this glorious process got gradually phased out, upon understanding that their time at the top had come to its logical conclusion. Modric, however, defies logic. In his 40s and upon the prospect of becoming the first Croat to appear at five World Cups, his technique never left him, but neither did his work rate, to the surprise of many observers.
As if his achievements, quality and the barriers he broke through were not enough to cement his legacy, now he wants to prove that he can still contribute all of that at a time where most of his peers are already enjoying retirement. Whatever happens at the next World Cup, he has already made history.