Refugee in '91. Captain in '26.

In 1991, Serb rebels killed Luka Modrić's grandfather near the family home in the hills above Zadar. The boy who learned the game in the car park of a refugee hotel was written off as too small, too frail — Hajduk Split passed on him. He won the 2018 Ballon d'Or anyway. Now 40, at AC Milan, he captains Croatia at his fifth World Cup. They lost their opener to England. Against Panama, there's no margin left.