Some football games are all about tactics, rivalries and trophies. Some transcend sport all the same. Thursday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto is the latter type as it is the last match between two of football’s greatest players— Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Modrić worked with his team for more than a decade with Real Madrid CF and were at the helm of one of the most successful periods in the club’s long-standing history of football with each other. They won four UEFA Champions League titles together, many Club World Cups, UEFA Super Cups and domestic titles and formed the kind of memories that will define generations of football.
And now fate has brought them together once again— but this time as foes.
Both veterans are playing what is widely expected to be their last FIFA World Cup match and Thursday’s match could well be the last time the two Real Madrid legends are on the same World Cup pitch. More than that, only one of them will survive the dream of winning the one major trophy that has eluded both extraordinary careers.
Both Portugal and Croatia have acknowledged the challenge that awaits and refused to blame Toronto’s heat wave for the problem. Environment Canada has said temperatures could reach 35°C with humidity so high that it feels as close to 44°C in the lead up to kick-off.
Portugal midfielder Vitinha dismissed any suggestion that the weather should become a talking point.
"I do not like to talk about this, or make it an excuse."
Instead, Vitinha said Portugal has to improve after a mixed group-stage campaign. The Seleção did win the knockout rounds after a strong victory against Uzbekistan but struggled against DR Congo and Colombia and there was little margin for error.
"We know there is hardly any room for mistakes, if any," Vitinha said. “I hope that the collective group will perform better.”
The goal now is that Ronaldo’s World Cup journey continues for at least one more match.
"We have a lot of motives to want to win tomorrow.”
Vitinha also paid tribute to Modrić and described the Croatian captain as one of football’s greatest role models.
"He's a great reference for all football players and even more so for me. It's a pleasure to play against him and hope tomorrow he’ll be a little bit sadder than me."
On the other bench, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić expects the match to be decided in midfield.
"We have to reduce the errors to a minimum because they will punish us just as England did. We need to raise the level of responsibility in the midfield," Dalić said, recalling Croatia’s 4-2 defeat to England earlier in the tournament.
But aside from the tactical battle, Ronaldo and Modrić will be in the spotlight.
Few football players have had careers as decorated as the two. Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football and one of the greatest goalscorers in the game and Modrić was the first player in over a decade to break the hegemony of Ronaldo and Messi by winning the 2018 Ballon d’Or.
They conquered Europe with Real Madrid in the process. They also took their countries to new heights— Ronaldo took Portugal to UEFA European Championship and UEFA Nations League, while Modrić took Croatia to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final and the 2022 World Cup semifinals.
But the dream for both men is not over: winning the FIFA World Cup.
That dream lasts for only one of them at least until Thursday.
When the final whistle is blown in Toronto, one legendary career will continue for at least another match, and the other will probably bring the curtain down on a remarkable World Cup journey. Across the globe, football fans will see the final World Cup meeting between two Real Madrid legends, two Ballon d’Or winners and two of the greatest players of all time— a final goodbye that can only be described as football history.
