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World Cup stories: The last dance - Luka Modric
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This summer's World Cup will see some of the most revered players in the game head to North America, and with it being the biggest tournament of all time, there are superstar names at every turn.
Yet, 2026 will also see a changing of the guard, with several of football's most iconic faces competing on the global stage for one last time.
It's a last dance for icons such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne and a midfield icon who seems to live rent-free in Father Time's head, Luka Modric.
With 31 days left until the action kicks off in North America, we look back at the greatest Croatian to play the game and his legacy on football's grandest stage.
- Read next I 32 days - Ruud Gullit names his favourites to win the tournament, hopes for Netherlands
Modric's World Cup
The 2018 World Cup Final
Modric: Croatian royalty
For a relatively small nation, Croatia have punched above their weight ever since bursting onto the international scene at Euro '96.
Then, it was names like Davor Suker - a Golden Boot winner at the 1998 World Cup - Robert Prosinečki and Slaven Bilić who shone, but it wasn't just a day in the sun for the nation, no, it was about to get even better and led by their greatest ever.
Luka Modric made his World Cup bow at the 2006 finals in Germany, which was a rare blot on Croatia's World Cup copybook. Having only made his international debut in March of that year, 21-year-old Modric was reduced to just two substitute appearances as the Croats crashed out of the group stage.
Getty
A change in guard, though, brought Modric to the forefront, where in two decades he's never looked back. Bilic came back as the national team boss, and after denying England a place at Euro 2008, playing their role in Steve McLaren's regrettable umbrella decision, they returned to the World Cup stage in 2010 in South Africa.
However, once again they exited at the first hurdle, but Modric caught the eye. Now a key player in the Premier League with Spurs, the midfielder took all the plaudits and even made some pundits' team of the tournament despite only playing three games.
Four years later, and now a Real Madrid regular, Croatia frustrated again. They failed to qualify for the knockout stages for a third straight tournament, but the best was yet to come for both the team and the star man.
From Russia with Love
By the 2018 World Cup, Modric was now the national team skipper, and he would lead his nation to make history in Russia.
As the side's deep-lying playmaker and talisman, Modric shone brighter than anyone else at the finals, pushing his team all the way to the final and oh-so-nearly upsetting tournament favourites France.
A runner-up medal was joined by the Golden Ball for best player at the tournament, and his performances at the tournament saw him win football's biggest prize that year when he was named the winner of the Ballon d'Or, upsetting the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi trophy dominance for the first time in a decade.
Modric had etched his name into both Croatian football folklore as their best-ever player and World Cup history. Just rewards for a player, who rarely does anyone have a bad word to say about, both as a performer on the pitch and an ambassador for the game and his country.
Getty
One more run for Modric?
Many thought that after 2022, when Croatia once again somewhat overachieved by finishing third in Qatar, just missing out on the final, it would be Modric's swansong. But this dude's built differently.
Four years on, Real Madrid may have wished him well on his future endeavours after a spell in Spain where he won everything over and over again, but their loss has been AC Milan's gain - and continues to be Croatia's.
Now aged 40, and twenty years on from his first World Cup appearance, Modric will once again lead his country's charge on the tournament.
His move to Italy was seen as a downgrade, but before a minor injury curtailed the final weeks of the Serie A season, the midfield maestro had played the most minutes out of anyone in the Rossoneri squad.
Never one who needed pace, Modric's intelligence and influence have rarely waned since he first stepped into the limelight in North London, and for his country, it's as strong as ever.
Yet, even he can't go on forever. The 2026 tournament will be the last hurrah for our leading man, who will most likely go past the 200-cap mark before the end of the finals.
But don't expect him to ride off quietly into the sunset in the States. Whatever happens this summer and however far Croatia go, one thing is for certain: the man who will be front and centre of it, as always, will be the country's greatest ever sportsman.
Thank you, Luka. Let's have one more for the road.
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