In his most euphoric moment, Cristiano Ronaldo did not forget his two old friends, Luka Modric and the late Diogo Jota. After the 20 minutes of a stoppage time, filled with drama, every possible shade of emotion exhausted, with Portugal beating Croatia 2-1 to enter the round of 16, Ronaldo wrapped Modric in a deep embrace. He whispered something in his ears, he held his face like a brother would and wiped a drop of tear off Modric.
In that poignant moment of brotherhood, the relevance of the result blurred.
Shortly, he went to the pitch-side dugout and changed to a jersey of Jota, the Portuguese forward who died tragically in a car crash last year, and winked at the skies, offering a silent prayer. It was perhaps the most emotional day in Ronaldo’s career.
Had the whims of destiny differed, the scenes would have been different too. Ronaldo could have left the stage with his dream unfulfilled; it was the turn of his former Real Madrid companion to bow out. Modric would be remembered as one of the greatest and toughest that has played the game; yet his last game ended in a heartbreak in the most heartbreaking way.