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Who: Portugal vs Croatia
Content: 2026 FIFA World Cup – Round 32
Location: Toronto Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
When: Thursday 7pm (23:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 20:00 GMT before the live text commentary stream.
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Portugal will play Croatia in Toronto in what could be the last game of the World Cup career for either 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo or 40-year-old Luka Modric, his former Real Madrid teammate and veteran Croatian midfielder.
Croatia once again showed the resilience they showed in recent World Cups, bouncing back from their opening defeat to England with a 1-0 win against Panama and a 2-1 win against Ghana.
On the other hand, Portugal were at a disadvantage in the group stage with just one win and two draws, and Ronaldo’s pace seems to have slowed considerably.
The winner will play either Spain or Austria in the last 16 in Toronto.
But for one of the greatest players in soccer history, the World Cup will end in Canada.
Aging stars Ronaldo and Modric clash
Ronaldo and Modric will make history as two outfield players over 40 will meet for the first time in a World Cup.
But both men face questions about whether their status as national heroes is more of a burden than a boost to their country’s hopes of making big strides in the competition.
Prior to this tournament, Cameroon’s Roger Milla was the only outfielder over 40 to play in a World Cup.
“I’m back,” Ronaldo, 41, defiantly shouted after scoring twice against Uzbekistan to become the first player to score in six World Cups.
However, although Portugal achieved a 5-0 victory over the 60th-ranked team in the world, they were unable to defeat the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Colombia, and as a result fell into a section with a tough draw.
Ronaldo has played in every game in the group stage and there is no indication that outgoing Portugal coach Roberto Martinez will accept the bold decision to sit the five-time Ballon d’Or-winning forward on the bench.
“There is no physical or mental problem for Cristiano to play 90 minutes in today’s game,” Martinez said after Ronaldo had just two touches inside the Colombian box.
Modric struggles in fifth World Cup
Modric, 40, similarly showed his age in Croatia’s tournament opener, a 4-2 loss to England in Dallas, Texas.
Modric was forced to beat Noni Madueke to score England’s first goal, but conceded a penalty and was sacrificed by coach Zlatko Dalic with an hour to go.
Croatia bounced back to celebrate Modric’s 200th cap, defeating Panama 1-0.
With this, Modric became the fourth player after Ronaldo to score a double century in international appearances.
The AC Milan midfielder then assisted Nikola Vlasic’s winning goal as Croatia defeated Ghana 2-1.
Croatia, a 2018 finalist, also reached the semifinals four years ago. Modric has been the driving force behind this incredible rise in a country of less than 4 million people.
How did Portugal and Croatia reach the last 32?
Portugal finished second in Group H with five points. Here is the resulting list:
Croatia finished in second place in Group L with six points. Here is the resulting list:
Portugal vs Croatia prediction
Opta’s supercomputer calculated that Portugal had a 54.5% chance of winning the match in regulation time, and rated Croatia’s chances of victory at 20.4.
There is a 25.1% chance that it will go to at least overtime.
Portugal vs Croatia: kick-off time, TV channels
Portugal: RTP1, Sport TV 5 (Western European Summer Time, midnight to Friday) Croatia: HRT (1am Central European Summer Time, Friday 1am) UK: BBC One, BBC iPlayer (British Summer Time, midnight to Friday) US: FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (7pm Eastern Summer Time)
To see the TV listings for your country, visit the FIFA TV listings schedule here.
direct confrontation
The two countries have met 10 times so far, with Portugal winning seven of them, while Croatia has won just one and two have ended in draws.
The first meeting between the two sides was at Euro 1996, with Portugal winning 3-0 with goals from Luis Figo, Joao Pinto and Domingos Paciencia.
Croatia’s only victory came in an international friendly in Portugal in June 2024, when Croatia won with goals from Modric and Ante Budimir on either side of Diogo Jota’s equalizer.
Their most recent match was a 1-1 draw against Croatia in the Nations League in November 2024.
Portugal national team news
There are no injury concerns reported for the Selecao.
Expected starting lineup:
(4-2-3-1): Costa (goalkeeper). Cancelo, Diaz, Veiga, Mendes. Vicinha, João Neves. Neto, Fernandez, Felix. ronaldo
Croatia team news
They also appear to be in good health.
Expected starting lineup:
(4-3-3): Livakovic (goalkeeper); Stanic, Staro, Pongracic, Gvardior. Sučić, Modric, Kovacic. Baturina, Budimir, Perisic
