Casemiro and Modric as close as ever in duel of old friends turned foes

09-Dec-2022 19:05:26 | The Guardian

The Brazilian and Croat grew together at Real Madrid and remain telepathically linked despite wearing different shirts

They keep looking for each other on the pitch. Just like they always did. Stealing little glances over their shoulder, like ex-lovers secretly stalking each other on Facebook. Occasionally as they pass each other they will share a brief word, a hand on the small of the back. It needs nothing more than this. They’re professionals, doing a job. And yet somehow it feels comforting, almost validating, to know they are not alone.

And Luka Modric and Casemiro are rarely alone. For more than two hours as Brazil and Croatia duel in the desert, these two midfielders yoke themselves together, their fates divergent and yet intertwined, like a habit they just can’t kick. They even swap shirts at half-time. And for the majority of the game, with the exception of the very end, they are within about 10 yards of each other.