Fates of Modric and Messi show what makes World Cup so beautiful also makes it brutal

Chris Jones is in Qatar covering the men's World Cup for CBC Sports.

On Tuesday night in Doha, at a heaving Lusail Stadium, Lionel Messi and Luka Modric shared a hug before their men's World Cup semifinal. One would finish his great international career by moving on to the final. The other would be left to play for third place.

Ninety minutes later, after Argentina had beaten Croatia, 3-0, their respective fates had been decided — one partially, one more fully.

Messi, 35, might yet win the only trophy that has eluded him, when Argentina faces one of Wednesday's semifinalists, France or Morocco, in Sunday's final.

Modric, 37, will never win a World Cup.

The game didn't really feel like a showdown between two teams. It felt like a contest between two men, each wearing his iconic No. 10, each carrying the hopes of his country on his shoulders, each having announced that he will never play on the sport's biggest stage again.

When Messi lashed home a penalty in the 34th minute, Modric's head fell, as though he'd dropped something on the grass. After Julian Alvarez scored a wonder goal five minutes later, Modric looked up at the moonlit desert sky instead.

When Messi and Alvarez combined for a third goal in the 69th minute, Modric put his hands on his knees, stood back up, and clapped once before tucking his long hair behind his ears.

He knew the fight was over.

It's unfortunate, and more than a little sad, that his last World Cup journey has been overshadowed by Messi's more popular navigation. Modric has been a fantastic player, and Croatia has been a remarkable team.

For a country with fewer than four million people to reach a men's World Cup final in 2018, and now a semifinal four years later, defies rational explanation.