Related videos:
Portugal and Croatia will face off in the Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup next Thursday, July 2, in what will be the first matchup between both teams in the history of the World Cup.
The —19:00 Cuba time— at the BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, a stadium that already hosted Croatia's victory over Panama during the group stage.
Portugal arrives at the intersection as the second qualifier of the Group K with 5 points, resulting from one victory, two draws, and a goal differential of +5 with six goals scored.
The Portuguese group stage was marked by inconsistency: a disappointing 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in their debut—where João Neves scored early at six minutes but Yoane Wissa equalized before halftime—followed by a historic 5-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan.
It was precisely in that match against Uzbekistan where Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace in the sixth and 39th minutes, becoming the first footballer to score in six different editions of the World Cup: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026.
With those two goals, Ronaldo reached 10 World Cup goals, surpassing Eusébio as the all-time top scorer for Portugal in World Cups.
However, the Portuguese team ended the stage with a goalless draw against Colombia in Miami, which cost them the top spot in the group: Colombia finished first with 6 points, leaving Portugal in second place.
Croatia, for its part, arrived at the Round of 32 as the second place in Group L with 6 points after a journey also full of ups and downs.
The Croatian team started with a 4-2 loss to England in Dallas—featuring goals from Martin Baturina and Petar Musa for the Balkans—then bounced back with a 1-0 victory over Panama thanks to a goal from Ante Budimir, and finished the group stage with a 2-1 win against Ghana in Philadelphia, securing their advancement.
Luka Modrić and Joško Gvardiol are the key figures of the Croatian team in this World Cup, as highlighted by the tournament coverage following the victory against Ghana that secured their qualification.
In the overall history between both teams —all competitions since 2005—, Portugal clearly dominates: six victories, one draw, and one loss in eight matches played.
The last match between the two was a decisive 4-1 victory for Portugal in the UEFA Nations League on September 6, 2020, in Porto, although they had never faced each other in the context of a World Cup until now.
The winner of the match on July 2 will advance to the next round of the knockout stage of a 2026 World Cup that, by expanding the tournament to 48 teams, introduces for the first time in history a round of 32 before the round of 16.
Filed under: