A World Cup is always a farewell gala. But so many legends as this time have probably never experienced their last dance together. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric are the most prominent.
Three superstars – but there are a few other really big names who, at a mature football age of more than 40, will almost certainly be on the big stage for the last time: Mexico’s goalkeeping legend Guillermo Ochoa (40) is one of them, as is his German colleague Manuel Neuer, who is the same age – he is even scheduled to be number 1 again.
Egypt’s hero striker Mo Salah, who turns 34 on June 15, is also coming to an end in his great international career. The same applies to Senegal legend Sadio Mané, 34, or the Belgian Kevin De Bruyne (34). For 40-year-old Bosnian Edin Dzeko, who has just shot FC Schalke back into the Bundesliga, the World Cup farewell is clear – with Messi and Modric it is imminent, with Ronaldo you never know.
In what form will Messi and Ronaldo travel?
Messi. Ronaldo. Modric. What else can we expect from this trio? How will they travel to the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico? What kind of season did they have and what role do they play in the plans of their coaches? Is there something still missing from their magnificent CVs as national football treasures? An overview.
Modric – Still the central figure
In his older days, Luka Modric has settled into the quarterback position in his club. At AC Milan, the Croatian legend was absolutely set in the central defensive midfield last season and was in the starting line-up 32 times until he suffered a broken cheekbone on April 26th.
He lost some of his goal threat at Milan; only two goals and three assists contributed to the club dramatically missing out on the Champions League at the end of the season and the sporting management being completely replaced.
Croatia’s Luka Modric celebrates – he is still in the national team
Classic Croatian number ten
In the Croatian national jersey, Modric continues to play a position further forward, he wears and embodies the classic number ten. And he just proved that he is still a goal threat in the final test against Slovenia, when the 40-year-old scored from 20 meters away to give the team a 1-0 lead wearing a black face mask in the 2-1 win. His coach Zlatko Dalic is already known for relying on old warhorses such as Ivan Perisic, Mateo Kovacic and Ante Budimir. Modric is still his captain and fixture – and will probably play his 200th international match on June 24th in the second group game against Panama.
The fact that the game designer with perhaps the best outer instep in football history has won the Champions League six times but only the Ballon d’Or once is due to his bad luck in having celebrated his career at the same time as Messi (eight times) and Ronaldo (five times). But he almost led a country with fewer inhabitants than Berlin (currently around 3.8 million) to the World Cup title: In 2018, Croatia made it to the final, but failed 2-4 to France.
Messi – worried about his muscles
Lionel Messi is together with Diego Maradona “Greatest of all times” in Argentina, but is going into his sixth World Cup with worries. On May 24th, the soon to be 39-year-old suffered a strain in his left thigh and only watched from the bench in the 2-0 friendly win against Honduras. National coach Lionel Scaloni encourages the home fans: “Leo is making good progress, it looks very good. And at the moment many of our players are not yet 100 percent fit.” He was used in the dress rehearsal against Iceland – and scored.
Nevertheless, it is not yet clear what Scaloni’s plans are for his captain. Lautaro Martínez is currently in the central position, while Julian Alvarez is still struggling with the effects of a sprained ankle. Messi could start either as a joker or as a hanging leader – his form before the injury was absolutely outstanding. In 14 Major League Soccer games this year for Inter Miami, he scored 12 goals and assisted on seven. In the last five games alone he was directly involved in twelve (!) goals.
Lionel Messi still carries Argentina’s hopes
As is well known, Messi, who turns 39 two days after the second group game against Austria, is no longer under the great pressure of winning the title: at the bizarre World Cup in Qatar, he led Argentina to the title – his winning photo with the black sheikh’s robe “Bischt”, which was hung around his neck by Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is still well remembered.
Ronaldo – His coach is an ardent fan
So many debates have already taken place about CR7. Is he taller than Eusebio in Portugal, is he the “GOAT” par excellence, is he better than Messi? Is he too old for a big tournament? Is there just too much about him? Does the Ronaldo hype sometimes hinder the development of other players in Portugal’s national team? Of course, every fan and expert is entitled to have their opinion on this, but the national coach ultimately has the say: Roberto Martínez is a self-confessed CR7 fan and has always been paid back by his superstar.
Cristiano Ronaldo is celebrating – there is still no way around him
Martínez raves about the man who played his first World Cup with Messi in the summer fairy tale in Germany in 2006: “I have worked with many players who won the Champions League or the Ballon d’Or and lost their ambition the next day. Ronaldo embodies a completely different mentality. I can also imagine him playing in his seventh World Cup in 2030 at the age of 45 – he would have earned it.”
Winning goal in Nations League semi-finals against Germany
He has definitely earned his regular place in the Portugal attack, not only through his legendary status, but also through current performance records. The fitness miracle just celebrated the championship with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and scored 28 goals in 30 games. “CR7” scored five times in five appearances for Portugal in World Cup qualifying.
Almost exactly a year ago he led Portugal to win the Nations League, he scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Germany and also scored in the final triumph against Spain. What the 2016 European champion is still missing is the World Cup triumph – he is now making his sixth attempt.