The final World Cup for four legendary European veterans

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There were many veteran players at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Lionel Messi, preparing to lead Argentina into another final, has naturally stood above the rest.

For several other icons, however, the tournament brought a much less romantic ending.

These were not experienced substitutes selected to calm younger teammates or protect a narrow lead. They were players approaching or already beyond their 40th birthdays, yet their countries still expected them to carry an enormous competitive burden.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modrić, Manuel Neuer and Edin Džeko arrived as living monuments of their national teams. The World Cup demonstrated that monuments can still inspire, but they cannot always keep pace with modern tournament football.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the most obvious example. At 41, he started throughout Portugal’s campaign and completed every match apart from the round-of-32 victory over Croatia, when he was substituted late in the game.

There were still flashes of the familiar brilliance. His technique, movement inside the penalty area and competitive instinct have not disappeared. No serious observer can erase what he has achieved or deny his place among football’s greatest players.

The problem was what Portugal had to sacrifice to accommodate him.

Ronaldo no longer has the mobility to lead an aggressive press or repeatedly stretch an elite defence. Portugal possessed one of the tournament’s most talented squads, but its attacking structure still had to be adapted to a relatively static centre-forward.

His presence was commercially invaluable. Stadiums filled to watch him, broadcasters followed his every movement and the tournament benefited from another chapter in the career of its most recognisable active player.

The sporting return was less convincing. Portugal’s talented generation ultimately became part of Ronaldo’s farewell tour rather than a team capable of competing seriously for the trophy.

His participation was controversial even before the tournament began. Ronaldo received a three-match sanction after his red card against the Republic of Ireland in qualifying, but the final two matches were suspended for a one-year probationary period. Having served one match, he was therefore available from Portugal’s opening World Cup fixture.

The decision complied with FIFA’s disciplinary ruling, but it inevitably created the impression that one of the tournament’s biggest commercial attractions had received unusually favourable treatment.

Manuel Neuer presented a different but equally uncomfortable case.

The German goalkeeper had already retired from international football, partly to manage his workload and extend his club career with Bayern Munich. He did not participate in Germany’s qualifying campaign, yet Julian Nagelsmann brought him back for the World Cup.

Neuer is one of the greatest goalkeepers the game has produced. His influence on the modern interpretation of the position is beyond dispute. At his peak, he changed where a goalkeeper could stand and what he could do with the ball.

At 40, however, the decision to restore him ahead of Oliver Baumann was difficult to justify from the perspective of continuity and dressing-room harmony. Baumann had helped Germany qualify, only to lose his place when the grand stage arrived.

Germany were eliminated by Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32. Neuer set a national record with his 23rd World Cup appearance, but the milestone did little to soften another disastrous German exit.

Nagelsmann subsequently left his position, while Neuer retired from international football for a second time. A glorious national-team career ended with the feeling that its final chapter never needed to be written.

Luka Modrić was a more complicated case because Croatia still did not possess an obvious replacement for him.

At 40, Modrić could still see passing lanes before anyone else and control space with a football intelligence that age cannot remove. His quality remained evident throughout the tournament.

The difficulty came when matches reached the highest physical intensity. In the second half of Croatia’s opening game against England, the tempo increased sharply and Modrić could no longer follow it in the way he once did.

He remained useful in more controlled matches, but asking a 40-year-old midfielder to serve as the engine of a national team at a World Cup was always going to be demanding.

His farewell came with the painful elimination against Portugal. Croatia must now confront the problem it has postponed for years: replacing the greatest midfielder in the country’s history.

Modrić’s decline is not an accusation. It is simply time doing what time eventually does to every footballer.

Edin Džeko deserves a different assessment. Bosnia and Herzegovina do not possess Portugal’s extraordinary depth or Germany’s vast selection pool. For the Dragons, leaving their captain at home would have been much more difficult to defend.

Džeko contributed throughout qualification, accepted his responsibility, and remained an example for younger teammates. Even at 40, his commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina could never be questioned.

His minutes at the tournament, nevertheless, showed the physical reality. He was substituted in the 63rd minute against Switzerland, at the same point against Qatar, and after 51 minutes in the round-of-32 meeting with the United States.

Bosnia performed well without him against Canada, while their collapse against Switzerland came after he had left the pitch. Džeko was not the team’s problem, but he was no longer capable of being its complete solution.

For Ronaldo, Neuer, Modrić and Džeko, this was almost certainly the final World Cup. For some, it may also mark the end of international football altogether.

They carried their countries for years, accumulated records, and created memories that will survive long after their final appearances. Their presence in North America was understandable, emotional, and commercially attractive.

Whether it was always the correct sporting decision is another matter.

Football struggles to say goodbye to its greatest players. Supporters want one final goal, coaches trust familiar names, and federations understand the value of recognisable faces. Sometimes, however, extending a farewell only makes the ending more painful.

This World Cup did not diminish their legacies. It merely confirmed that even the greatest careers eventually reach a match they cannot win.