FIFA World Cup 2026: Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in Round of 16, Ronaldo sets record

July 03, 2026 એબીપી અસ્મિતા

FIFA World Cup 2026: Portugal has qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They beat Croatia 2-1 in the Round of 32. In this match played in Toronto, Portugal finally won this thrilling match and will now face 2010 champions Spain in the Round of 16. Meanwhile, Croatia has been knocked out of the World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty for Portugal. Gonzalo Ramos scored in injury time in the 90th minute. Perisic scored for Croatia in the 53rd minute. This could be Croatian football legend Luka Modric's last World Cup and Ronaldo hugged him after the match

Play at half-time

There were no goals at

half-time. Portugal launched a consistent counter-attack in the first half. Ronaldo missed an easy chance for a header in the first 10 minutes. Portugal missed several other chances as well. Croatia's defenders defended brilliantly. Portugal scored nine goals in the first half while Croatia scored three.

Cristiano Ronaldo made history in the Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The 41-year-old star not only scored the first goal of his career in the World Cup knockout stage but also set another major record in the history of the tournament

Also Read: FIFA World Cup 2026: Spain beat Austria 3-0 to reach last-16

First goal in the World Cup knockout

This goal was very special for Ronaldo as it was his first goal in a FIFA World Cup knockout match. Earlier in the World Cup, all his goals came in the group stage. This was his third goal in the current tournament. He had earlier scored two goals against Uzbekistan in the group stage

Now 11 World Cup goals

With this

goal, Ronaldo now has a total of 11 goals in the FIFA World Cup. He cemented his place as one of the highest goal scorers in World Cup history.

set a record at 41 years and 147 days old

Ronaldo achieved another historic feat as soon as he entered the field. At the age of 41 years and 147 days, he became the oldest player in history to play a FIFA World Cup knockout match. This feat scripted yet another memorable chapter in his long and illustrious international career.

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