Luka Modric becomes oldest player to provide assist at World Cup

Luka Modric, at 40 years old, has become the oldest player to record an assist in World Cup history. The Croatian captain, playing in his fifth World Cup, added yet another milestone to a career that refuses to end quietly.

Born on September 9, 1985, Modric is doing things on the pitch that most players his age can only do on a PlayStation. While his contemporaries have long since retired to punditry desks and Instagram lifestyle content, the midfielder is still threading passes at the highest level of international football.

A career that keeps defying the calendar

His first tournament appearance came back in 2006. Since then, he’s been a fixture at every World Cup: 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, and now 2026.

The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is widely expected to be Modric’s final chapter in international football.

As of June 23, 2026, Modric has earned 200 caps for Croatia and scored 29 goals.

The weight of what came before

In 2018, he captained Croatia to the World Cup final, where they finished as runners-up. His individual performances earned him the Golden Ball, awarded to the tournament’s best player.

Four years later, at the 2022 World Cup, he picked up the Bronze Ball. Croatia finished third that year, losing in the semifinals but winning the third-place playoff.

What this milestone actually means

World Cup records are measured against nearly a century of tournament history. The competition has been running since 1930. That’s 96 years of players, across eras of wildly different fitness standards, tactical evolution, and medical science.

Croatia’s group stage matches against England and Panama have given Modric the stage to demonstrate this.

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