Falling short will sting but, if this is the end for the Croatia midfielder, the past three weeks have only served to enhance his legacy
It began in Basel, an era ago, with a Lionel Messi goal. Only Luka Modric will know whether it wound down, in this monstrous and dystopian supplement to Doha, with exactly the same thing. At the end there was a hug from an old clubmate, Ángel Di María; then a more meaningful conference, arm around the younger man’s shoulder, with his dear friend Mateo Kovacic. Neither of them had been able to do quite enough this time and that is an achingly rare lament.
Modric and Croatia have long exceeded whatever should naturally be expected and, when the dust settles, they will know the same was true in Qatar. If his 81st‑minute departure turns out to have been a final action at this rarefied level, it was still some way to go.
