Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric shared 222 appearances together at Real Madrid. They won Champions League titles. They defined an era. On Wednesday in Toronto, they’ll share a field one last time — only this time, one of them is going home for good.
Portugal and Croatia meet in a last-32 knockout match at BMO Field, and the stakes couldn’t be tighter. Ronaldo, 41, knows this is almost certainly his final shot at the World Cup. Modric, 38, has already said he’ll retire from international football after this tournament ends. For both men, it’s now or never.
The match itself carries extra weight because of the recent history between the two sides. These teams have traded blows in recent tournaments, but this is the knockout stage. There’s no second chance.
Ronaldo has been uneven so far in North America. He bagged two goals against Uzbekistan in the group stage, which briefly quieted the critics, but he went scoreless in Portugal’s other two matches — including a blank against Colombia where he barely got a sniff. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has now gone eight straight World Cup knockout games without a goal, despite taking 29 shots in that span. That drought is getting loud.
Modric, meanwhile, just keeps running. He led Croatia to the 2018 final. He dragged them to third place in Qatar. At 38, he’s still the first guy on the team sheet. Croatia haven’t made the knockout rounds this deep since 1954, which is a wild stat on its own, but Modric has a way of making the impossible feel routine.
Belgium kicked off the knockout stage with one of the wildest comebacks you’ll ever see. Down 2-0 to Senegal with five minutes left in regulation, Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scored in quick succession to force extra time. Then in the 125th minute, referee Said Martinez pointed to the spot on a controversial penalty call. Tielemans stepped up and buried it. Belgium moves on. Senegal goes home wondering what just happened.
England needed Harry Kane to bail them out against DR Congo after falling behind inside seven minutes. Brian Cipenga’s early goal had Thomas Tuchel sweating through his jacket, but Kane leveled in the 75th with a header and then absolutely ripped a shot into the roof of the net in the 85th. England survives, but they’ll need way more than that against Mexico at the Azteca in the round of 16.
Spain rolled through the group stage without conceding a single goal, which is impressive. But they also looked kind of boring doing it. Lamine Yamal scored in his first World Cup start against Saudi Arabia, then went quiet. The 18-year-old came in with a minor injury and hasn’t quite found his Euro 2024 rhythm yet. Luis de la Fuente’s team meets Austria next, and if Yamal can get going, Spain becomes a real problem for everyone else.
Back to the main event. Ronaldo vs Modric. Portugal vs Croatia. One rivalry. One winner. One legend walks off the field knowing there’s no next time. The rest of us just get to watch.
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