Modric and Ronaldo face off with a World Cup on the line

Modric and Ronaldo, one of them walks away

Portugal. Croatia. Toronto. And the certainty that one legend goes home.

Your round of 32 matchup against Portugal is a straight shootout between two careers that have defined a generation: Luka Modric, 40, and Cristiano Ronaldo, 41. No other fixture carries this weight.

Roberto Martinez did not pretend otherwise. "Let's hope this isn't Ronaldo's last dance," the Portugal manager said (1). The full quote in Kicker was even sharper: "I hope it's not his last game, but we don't know" (2).

Modric has been playing as though he were 20. Petar Sucic backed him to continue indefinitely. But nobody around the squad is ignoring what this match means. A World Cup knockout game between two captains who have nothing left to prove, and everything left to chase.

Croatia got here by beating Ghana 2–1. Petar Sucic scored early. Keith Hackett later called the tournament's officiating bar "set too high" after Ante Budimir was denied a clear penalty in that match. It did not matter. You are through, and the biggest game of the tournament so far is waiting.

Fan reactions

A stat is making the rounds on r/soccer: Tielemans' late penalty was the first World Cup match-winning goal in extra time since Mario Mandzukic scored for Croatia against England in 2018. Every other ET match since, seven of them, went to penalties. Fans are noting the symmetry as Croatia heads into another knockout moment.