Portugal defeated a tough and spirited Croatia in Thursday’s World Cup round of 32 matchup against Croatia, with the winner advancing into a round of 16 date with tournament heavyweight Spain.
The pairing would put Cristiano Ronaldo and an experienced Portugal side against a Spanish team that has not conceded a single goal through four matches this tournament, raising real questions about how far this run can go.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his team can lock in the matchup with Spain with a win over Croatia. The round of 16 match is set for July 6, kicking off at 3 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
A win over Spain would send Portugal into the quarterfinals against the winner of the round of 16 matchup pitting the United States against Belgium. That path remains a long way off. Beating a team that has not lost or trailed since the tournament began would already rank among the bigger upsets of the knockout rounds.
Portugal’s Road to the Spain Matchup
Portugal advanced out of Group K with five points from one win and two draws, a 1-1 stalemate against DR Congo, a 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan and a scoreless draw with Colombia, according to Yahoo Sports coverage. Portugal finished second in the group, scoring six goals while allowing just one.
That record carried Portugal into Thursday’s round of 32.
Ronaldo’s presence alone has turned Portugal’s knockout run into a spectacle. Fans lined highways and packed downtown streets in Toronto ahead of Thursday’s game, hoping for a glimpse of the 41-year-old captain, who could be playing in his final World Cup. Resale ticket prices for Thursday’s game climbed past $3,000 for the cheapest available seat, a sign of how much demand still follows Ronaldo into a tournament he has never won.
At 41, Ronaldo remains Portugal’s central figure both on the field and at the gate. Whatever happens against Spain, this stretch of the tournament carries the weight of possibly being his final run at the trophy that has eluded him across six World Cup appearances.
Spain Enters the Round of 16 as the Favorite
Spain topped Group H with seven points from two wins and a draw, outscoring opponents 5-0 without allowing a single goal across the group stage, according to UEFA’s official World Cup tracker. The defensive record held up in the round of 32, where Spain routed Austria 3-0 behind a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a goal from Pedro Porro.
Lamine Yamal draws most of the attention, but Oyarzabal’s finishing and a back line that has not been broken through make Spain the clear favorite heading into Arlington. Portugal would enter as the underdog, leaning on knockout-stage pedigree and Ronaldo’s individual talent for a puncher’s chance against a higher-quality, in-form opponent.
Spain also carries momentum from a group stage that never got uncomfortable. Two wins and a draw without conceding is the kind of run that builds confidence heading into single-elimination soccer, where one mistake can end a tournament in 90 minutes.
For Portugal, the immediate task is stopping Croatia first, then preparing for a Spanish attack that has yet to be solved, in front of a Texas crowd split between two of the tournament’s more passionate fan bases.
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