Beau Dure 

Portugal v Croatia: World Cup 2026 last 32 – live

Minute-by-minute report: It’s Cristiano Ronaldo v Luka Modric for a place in the last 16. Join Beau Dure to see who comes out on top
  
  

Cristiano Ronaldo is hoping to add World Cup glory to his long list of trophies.
Cristiano Ronaldo faces former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric as Portugal and Croatia aim to qualify for the last 16. Photograph: Leonardo Ramirez/Eyepix Group/Shutterstock

Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s more on today’s matchup:

Can you remember what you were doing on 1 March 2006? Perhaps you were at Anfield, watching England beat Uruguay 2-1. You might have seen Switzerland put three goals past Scotland at Hampden Park.

Or you might have watched Luka Modric make his debut for Croatia. They beat Argentina 3-2, with Lionel Messi scoring his first international goal. The same evening, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in a 3-0 Portugal victory against Saudi Arabia, no doubt dreaming of the day he would live and work in the country.

While he and Messi have dominated football discourse since then, Modric has been there throughout too. In a more metronomic, less flashy, passing-more-often-than-scoring kind of way, granted, but as another constant presence at the top level.

The trio are in an elite group of four men who have accumulated at least 200 international caps. Claim a bonus point if you can name the other.

You can read the full article below:

 

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