G REAT sporting stories often bring with them many sub-plots which only the game’s lovers find out and savour it as special memories. The ongoing FIFA World Cup has already given many such sub-plots which hold the potential of becoming an epic in themselves. It has been a fascinating ride in the tournament as teams are getting knocked out due to just one mistake and careers are entering an iffy zone from where the future might not look that bright. But, before the possibilities that a tomorrow brings, the present has provided players and teams something really special to become a lasting imprint of the Beautiful Game. The knock-out round was supposed to be an end of many fresh dreams and a shock for some established ones.

 

The shocks nearly came but were stopped by the likes of England, Portugal, and Argentina. In the process, they saved themselves for another go at the title and put paid to some finest dreams that bloomed on the field in this edition. All the three top teams were lucky to go up in the tournament as they had to summon their inner reserves to overcome three dogged fights. England came back from a deficit to beat Democratic Republic of Congo, Portugal were saved by Cristiano Ronaldo’s brilliance and a massive help from technology against Croatia, and Argentina were stretched to the limit by the Cabo Verde, whose courage will be written in golden letters in the history of world football. The three escapes brought a sigh of relief for the three football giants and at the same time gave the fans three fantastic sub-plots to weave their own script.

 

The fight shown by DR Congo will not go down as a fluke nor will be the amazing run of the tiny debutant country Cape Verde. A nation of 5.5 lakh population was pitted against the world champions and they made them sweat their last drop before the most gallant fight in this edition ended in a heartbreak. A similar fate awaited an icon who has certainly played his last World Cup game for Croatia. Luka Modric, often termed as the greatest player from Croatia, gave his everything in the mouth-watering duel with another ageing champion Ronaldo. It was a clash of two fighter who do not take a step back once in a clash of prestige.

 

They lived up to the billing before the fight ended in a sad exit for Modric. The 40-year-old was carrying the great legacy of Davor Suker who had taken a newly-independent Croatia to the third place in the 1998 World Cup. Modric extended that dream and established Croatia as a team that cannot be taken lightly. In his last World Cup, and perhaps the last international appearance, he was determined to write a new chapter for his fiercely proud team but the era ended in a clash with a modern technology called VAR. The World Cup will be over soon but this moment will never be forgotten by Croatian and Modric fans. Sports becomes an enriching experience when such sidestories pep up the larger script. Cabo Verde and their incredible fight will never be forgotten till the game is played. Nor will Modric go down in the history of footballs as another talented soccer stars. They have become memories, for life.