Two iconic Ballon d'Or-winning number 10s. Two beaten World Cup finalists. Two captains. One last chance to finally reach the peak of football and lift the famous trophy before they retire.
It is hard to look past Argentina's Lionel Messi and Croatia's Luka Modric as the two difference-makers in Tuesday's first World Cup semi-final.
With Paris St-Germain's Messi now 35 and Real Madrid's Modric 37, it seems highly likely the final or third-place play-off this weekend will be where their World Cup careers end.
So how do the two compare and which one will lead his country to a final again.
How do they compare at this World Cup?
Modric is the first player to score three penalties in shootouts at the World Cup (also netting against Denmark and Russia in 2018).
In 90 or 120 minutes, Messi has the edge. He has scored four goals and assisted two, while Modric has yet to record a goal or an assist - however Messi plays up front, while Modric operates in midfield.
Barcelona legend Messi scored a penalty against Saudi Arabia, scored and assisted a goal against Mexico and had a penalty saved against Poland in the group stage.
He scored the opener against Australia in the last 16 and assisted the opening goal against the Netherlands in the quarter-final, before scoring from the spot in the 73rd minute - and again in the shootout.
And former Argentina team-mate Pablo Zabaleta said: "I think Messi knows that this is his last World Cup and you can really see that he is enjoying it."
Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Modric caught Micah Richards' eye in Croatia's quarter-final against Brazil.
"We thought it would be his last World Cup," the ex-England defender said on BBC One. "Some of the passes he made, controlling the tempo - he dictated at his pace and Brazil didn't know what to do."
Modric was replaced before the penalties in Croatia's last-16 shootout win over Japan - but stayed on against Brazil.
"Again, Luka led for 120 minutes and was at the head of the team," Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic said. "It is unbelievable how he plays for his age, and he was not tired.
"When we fell behind, we were thinking of replacing a midfield player and asked him what his situation was. He said he was still fully ready. He showed again that he is one of the best players in the world."
Messi has had more shots (25) and efforts on target (12) than anybody else in the World Cup - with France's Kylian Mbappe, his Paris St-Germain team-mate, second on both counts. Mbappe leads him 5-4 in the race for the Golden Boot.
Only four players have made more successful passes in the final third than Modric's 201; Messi is eighth on the list with 171. Modric has made the fifth-most crosses, 28, in the tournament.
Modric has also impressed further back on the pitch, with only two players having won possession more times (39) or made more interceptions (eight) than the Croat.
In the much less scientific BBC Sport player ratings, as selected by our readers, Messi's average over five games is 7.01, with Modric on 7.46.
How about their overall careers?
This semi-final will be the 1,002nd game of Messi's career for club and country. He has scored 790 goals and made 339 assists.
Modric's career figures are more difficult to be certain of with spells in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina for Dinamo Zagreb, Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zapresic not as well documented.
Both have won the Ballon d'Or, Messi seven times and Modric in 2018. Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo and France striker Karim Benzema are the only other players to win it since 2007.
Modric has won five Champions Leagues to Messi's four - while both have won league titles in two countries.
| Players' records in top five European leagues and Champions League | ||
|---|---|---|
| Messi | Modric | |
| Games | 559 | 434 |
| Goals | 487 | 38 |
| Assists | 216 | 65 |
| Win % | 73.5 | 61.5% |
| * Other cup games and Modric's Croatia and Bosnian league stats not included | ||
This will be the 27th time they have faced each other, with 22 of those coming in El Clasico meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Modric has the edge with 12 wins to Messi's nine.
Sadly, both players will retire in the coming years, so we should enjoy them while they are still going.