DOHA: Football can be funny. On Thursday, one of the brightest generations in the modern game faced the realities of age and time, and perhaps, underachievement at the highest level.
Before them, another side, experience and age-old guile, their calling card, were simply recycling old ways of staying alive. Croatia were being driven along by the ageless Luka Modric, while Belgium, top-ranked team for so many years, were groping in the dark for their lost identity.
