Luka Modric is set for what is being described as his fifth and final World Cup in 2026 after undergoing cheekbone surgery, a late-career turn that keeps Croatia’s captain at the center of another major tournament story.
The 40-year-old midfielder remains the reason so many are searching his name now. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be staged in North America, and Modric is part of a short list of global stars headed toward farewell tournaments, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, both expected at a record sixth World Cup. For Croatia, the question is not whether he matters. It is how long he can keep mattering at the level the team still needs from him.
That need has defined Croatia’s recent World Cup run. Modric played a key role in the team’s march to the 2018 final and helped it finish third in 2022, making him the face of the country’s most successful era on the sport’s biggest stage. Even now, Croatia still relies heavily on his playmaking prowess, and that is what makes his next appearance feel less like a ceremonial lap and more like a continuation of responsibility.
The complication is obvious. Surgery before a World Cup is not the kind of preparation any captain welcomes, especially one at 40 whose body has already carried him through two deep tournament runs. Modric is being framed as ready, but readiness for the squad list is not the same as being fully recovered for the demands that come with North America’s travel, heat and schedule. Croatia has moved toward the tournament with him in the picture, just as it has in recent years, and that dependence is the story’s sharpest edge.
That is what makes 2026 different from the past two World Cups. Croatia is not only managing a final act for one of its defining players; it is still asking him to shape the game. If Modric gets through the surgery recovery cleanly, his fifth World Cup could become both a farewell and one more reminder of how hard Croatia has found it to move on.
