Luka Modric isn't finished yet! Croatia's talisman is still capable of damaging England's World Cup dreams at 40

In the lead-up to England's semi-final showdown with Croatia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, repeated references were made to the fact that Zlatko Dalic's ageing side had been taken to extra-time in their two previous matches. The feeling was among certain sections of the English press that fatigue might be a massive factor in the game at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Luka Modric didn't appreciate the narrative at all, and both he and the other thirty-somethings in the Croatia squad used it as a source of motivation in his country's come-from-behind win in Moscow.

"We proved everything was different to what people were saying - especially English journalists and television pundits," the former Tottenham ace told ITV immediately after the Croats dug deep once more to defeat the Three Lions 2-1 after extra-time. "All these words from them, we were reading and we were saying 'OK, today we will see who will be tired.' As I said, they should be more humble, and respect opponents more.

"They underestimated Croatia tonight and that was a huge mistake." It's unlikely to be repeated ahead of Wednesday's World Cup rematch in Dallas, even though Modric is still captaining Croatia at 40 years of age.

We thought we'd seen the last of Modric in the international arena after Croatia's devastating Euro 2024 group-stage exit at the hands of a desperately poor Italian team.

Modric had put his team a goal to the good in what was essentially a last-16 play-off at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, after slotting home the rebound from his own missed penalty. However, by the time he went to pose for the obligatory photo that comes with winning the Player of the Match award, Modric bore a haunted look on his face, as a 98th-minute winner from Mattia Zaccagni had simultaneously sent Italy through to the knockout stage and Croatia out of the tournament.

It was hardly the happy ending to an illustrious international career that Modric envisaged - and it was testament to his popularity that nobody else wanted it to finish that way either.

In Modric's post-match press conference, Italian journalist Francesco Repice pretty much spoke for everyone else in attendance, and true football fans watching around the world, when he thanked the midfielder for "everything you have shown, not just tonight but in your career" and implored him to "never retire"!

The then-38-year-old replied, "I'd like to keep playing forever, but there probably will come a time where I’ll have to hang up my boots. I'll keep playing on for now, but I'm not sure for how much longer."

Rather remarkably, Modric still isn't sure when he'll hang up those boots - as he's even more remarkably still performing at an incredibly high level.