Luka Modrić didn’t say “NO” to playing at the 2026 World Cup. He smirked instead and threw his hand up in the air in typical Croatian fashion.
I chatted with Luka in Pasadena last night after Real Madrid’s 3-2 friendly victory over AC Milan at the Rose Bowl. He had an awesome 40-yard assist to Vini to win the game too. When asked about playing for Croatia at the next World Cup in 2026, here’s what Modrić said:
Ante: “…see you back here in Los Angeles for the World Cup in 3 years!”
Luka: “Ha! That’s a long time from now!” (with a smirk😏)
But he didn’t say NO, folks. He did not say NO. Planting seeds in Luka’s head. That’s all we need to be doing at this point. I hope the guy plays until he’s 50. Still has the goods!
Modrić strength, power and agility will be intact over the next 3 years.
His intelligence keeps on increasing.
Actually he has been over played at Real Madrid over the years.
Let these young guys give their minutes for Madrid.
Modrić 60/30 splits with game off here and there will work for Euro ‘24.
CSR earning its keep with money access to moments with Modrić!!
[…] Croatian Sportsa Ante Kvartuč, koji živi u Los Angelesu, rekao je Modriću da će se ponovno vidjeti na istome […]
[…] Croatian Sportsa Ante Kvartuč, koji živi u Los Angelesu, rekao je Modriću da će se ponovno vidjeti na istome […]
Ante, good job with the question. He easily could have said “Hey, I ain’t going to be around then (2026) and slipped with the answer (yes, he’s a veteran and unlikely to tip his cap, but still possible).
At this point, it looks like he’ll play game-to-game and continue until he feels he can’t contribute.
He’s really dedicated to the nation and knows we wouldn’t have even qualified for the last World Cup without him.
Dinamo wins 4:0
One for Petkovic, and Ivanusec with a hat trick.
Complete dominance by Dinamo.
700 mill offer for mbappe
What a bloody joke friends
This is getting so nuts
Why a joke?
Yes, really sad how many knee injuries we have had to deal with lately. Modric is an anomaly.
it’s 100% impossible for Modric to know whether he’s going to play competitive futbal in 2026, I can tell you with certainty there’s nothing to read into in this brief conversation…it would have been better to ask him something about 2024 considering its right around the corner.
there are all sorts of body types in this world. Luka has been blessed to remain injury free for the majority of his career but with that said, you never know when nagging injuries can begin to appear! there are soo many little tendon or ligament and muscle flare ups that can nag a player and make them ever 10%-20% less agile, less explosive or just force them to play with an injury so this is why the older these players get it becomes harder for them to recover.
for the moment, Luka seems to be in great health and with this new season about to begin, I just hope he can maintain his agility, keep his muscles healthy and not play as many minutes…this way he might have a chance to keep going!
Awesome job Ante!
I am 100% convinced Luka will be there at World Cup 2026. He may not be on the field though?
If he is still capable of playing some minutes, and he is still contributing, it would be nice to convince him to play- keep planting those seeds.
I often thought Mandžukić left too early. I figured that he likely felt like his peak performance ability had passed, and he made way for others, but I think he still could have been the best man for the job a while longer.
Modric will be like Ibra.
Just keep playing until he can’t anymore.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Modric last until age 41 just like Ibra did.
God willing- he is already proving to be incredibly resilient.
Maminjo, in resoonse to your post regarding young players now being picked up earlier / too soon from the HNL due to our World cup success:
I just had a co worker of German descent tell me that “Croatia has less than 4 million people and that they have all the best players”.
A few months ago, an Italian co worker (born and raised in Rome) told me ” Croatia has all the best academies”.
I repeat, they said these things to me, and not me to them.
Therefore, in my mind, it should also be easier for Dinamo and Hajduk (at the very least), to attract more young talent from abroad to help fill the void.
I am not sure what their academies look like in Croatia, but after seeing that in wetern Canada, there is an absolutely insane amount of money spent on kids. Academies that combine elite hockey development with education, and the amount of players in them is unbelievable. A good number of the children live away from home with billet families.
Therefore, I think that both Dinamo and Hajduk could bring kids in younger, develop them on a pay to play system, and there would not only be opportunity for the kids to move on to the youth leagues, the HNL, and beyond, but also opportunity for the HNL teams to sign these players first.
There has been some goals floating around from past tourneys online as normal
But I just saw the first goal with mandzo header against Ireland
It takes a fortunate bounce to make it out to him but he has to adjust very quickly and puts great power on it his header to bury it
I’m not sure anyone can do this right now with the head. Not even Perisic
But ya super goal , he wasn’t always scoring but he was so important
And ya i thought he would stick around some longer
He seemed to kind of just die off at The end
Must have been inquiries
All the more reason why luka is so special
If your game is based on strength and speed. The wall comes fast.
Well done Ante. Keep the pressure on Luka. 😁