Ronaldo and Modric set to make more history but struggling to defy Father Time

[p]But both men are facing questions over whether their status as national heroes is now more of a burden than a boost to their countries' hopes of progressing far in the competition.[/p][p]Prior to this tournament, only Cameroon's Roger Milla had played in a World Cup as an outfield player after turning 40.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronaldo-cristiano/WGOY4FSt/"]Ronaldo[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/modric-luka/bZWyoJnA/"]Modric[/a], who won four Champions Leagues in six seasons together at Real Madrid, have long defied Father Time but have shown their age in what will almost certainly be [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/croatia-K8aznggo/portugal-WvJrjFVN/summary/stats/?mid=6BqAZhfn"]their final flourish on the global stage[/a].[/b][/p][embed guid="f29ca507-8865-4d1f-a23a-7d20c2dd60c7" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2069503539433414969" social-type="twitter" /][p]At 41, Ronaldo defiantly screamed "I'm back" after netting twice against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uzbekistan/EZYKKRMc/"]Uzbekistan[/a] as he became the first player to ever score at six World Cups.[/p][p]Yet either side of a 5-0 romp over a team ranked 60th in the world, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/d-r-congo-phn9mm8H/portugal-WvJrjFVN/summary/stats/?mid=4zTHJLbM"]failed to beat the Democratic Republic of Congo[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/colombia/G02s4PCS/"]Colombia[/a] and fell into a tougher section of the draw as a result.[/p][p][b]"It's already 23 years I've been a professional, and whenever things don't go well it's 'Cristiano, he's finished, he's old'," [/b]Ronaldo said earlier in the tournament.[/p][embed guid="a5ec2410-e702-47ae-8707-711c66719231" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2071187625063358698" social-type="twitter" /][p]The forward played every minute of the group stages, and outgoing Portugal boss Roberto Martinez shows no sign of taking the bold call to sit the five-time Ballon d'Or winner on the bench.[/p][p][b]"There is not an issue physically or mentally for Cristiano in today's game to play the 90 minutes," [/b]Martinez said after Ronaldo managed just two touches in the Colombia box.[/p][h2]Protecting Ronaldo's ego[/h2][p]After a slow start to the World Cup four years ago, Ronaldo was eventually dropped by Fernando Santos in favour of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ramos-goncalo/xfW2M1Tt/"]Goncalo Ramos[/a].[/p][p]The AC Milan striker immediately scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 demolition of Switzerland, but a 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals meant Ronaldo's time out of the side was short-lived, and Santos was removed as coach.[/p][embed guid="ee37ea15-1137-42b6-bc5b-0a5b412af96b" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2069662577928307069" social-type="twitter" /][p]The impression that Martinez is wasting a richly talented generation just to protect Ronaldo's ego grows with every pedestrian performance.[/p][p]Portugal's depth of midfield talent meant Paris Saint-Germain's Joao Neves and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/silva-bernardo/lUg03qcR/"]Bernardo Silva[/a], now of Real Madrid, started on the bench against Colombia.[/p][p][b]Yet even with one of the World Cup's strongest midfields behind him, Ronaldo's strikes against Uzbekistan are his only non-penalty goals in his past 14 games at major tournaments.[/b][/p][p]Modric, 40, similarly showed his age in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/croatia/K8aznggo/"]Croatia[/a]'s tournament opener, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/croatia-K8aznggo/england-j9N9ZNFA/summary/stats/?mid=b5qGuKMs"]which ended in a 4-2 defeat to England in Dallas[/a].[/p][embed guid="6ae9a12a-6ad2-4f67-8f27-978e0bac7a40" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2067367374982926572" social-type="twitter" /][p]Caught on his heels, Modric conceded a penalty when chopping down Noni Madueke for England's opening goal and was sacrificed by Zlatko Dalic before the hour mark.[/p][p]Croatia bounced back to celebrate Modric's 200th cap, edging past Panama 1-0.[/p][p][b]In doing so, Modric became the fourth man to reach a double century of international appearances, joining Ronaldo.[/b][/p][p]The AC Milan midfielder then provided the assist for Nikola Vlasic's winner as Croatia beat Ghana 2-1.[/p][embed guid="1e3d5722-4b74-4d5d-bac4-aa5bb1bc36b0" url="https://x.com/OptaJoe/status/2071005928665592295" social-type="twitter" /][p]Finalists in 2018, Croatia also reached the semi-finals four years ago.[/p][p]Modric was the driving force behind those incredible runs for a country of less than four million people.[/p][p]A likely last-16 meeting with Spain and one final shot at glory awaits the winners in Toronto.[/p][p]But for one of football's all-time greats, the World Cup curtain will come down in Canada.[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]