Portugal vs Croatia
Two of the greatest players of the 21st century come face-to-face on Thursday night in Toronto when Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal play Luka Modric and Croatia, in one of the ties of the World Cup 2026 Round of 32.
It’s a battle between the 2016 European champions and the 2018 World Cup finalists. And then there’s the matter of Cristiano and Luka, now aged 41 and 40. This is surely the last tournament for these two legends of the game, each with over 200 international caps over two decades of glittering football.
This SBOTOP writer asked whether the time had come for Portugal manager Roberto Martinez to give CR7 a rest after their opening game, a flat 1-1 draw with DR Congo, but Ronaldo answered my question emphatically with two goals in a 5-0 destruction of Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, Modric is still a first pick for Zlatko Dalic, making the key assist in a 2-1 win over Ghana last time out, and both players are certain to feature when hostilities begin in Toronto.
Talking Points
Portugal must show they are contenders
After drawing with DR Congo and hammering Uzbekistan, the Selecao drew 0-0 with Colombia to confirm their place in the Round of 32, but it’s hardly an impressive set of results. Ronaldo was always going to make his fair share of World Cup 2026 highlights, and he looked back to his best against the Uzbeks, but he has fallen a little flat in the other two games, anonymous in the stalemate with Colombia.
While Ronaldo’s nemesis, Lionel Messi, leads the race for the Golden Boot as his Argentina won three from three, Portugal have played in fits and starts, with two expected results and a flop against Congo.
Croatia is a quality team with creative strength and one of the best centre-backs in the business, and now the Selecao have a chance to show they can beat one of the more imposing opponents.
Martinez has hinted he may shuffle his pack, saying: “We may need to make changes in the next match, but we base every decision on the information and data we have at our disposal.”
Ronaldo had just one shot in the entire game against Colombia, as the Selecao were outplayed for long periods, conceding 55-per cent possession and losing the shot counts by 25 to 13 and six to two on target. Rafael Leao came on as a late substitute, and he is pushing for a start, with Joao Felix’s place under pressure, while full back Diogo Dalot may come in for Joao Cancelo. Martinez and Portugal need to get it right to justify their pre-tournament position as potential front-runners.
Croatia happy to be dark horses
The latest World Cup 2026 betting odds rate Portugal as the sixth-best team in the competition, but they face Croatia, who are rated 15th, so both certainly have designs on the Round of 16. And while underdogs according to the odds, I believe Croatia have a very good chance of making the next round.
A 4-2 loss to England was a bad start, but they recovered well to beat both Panama and Ghana. Against Los Canaleros, Ante Budimir scored the winner, and then the Croatia defence, featuring Manchester City centre-back Josko Gvardiol, nullified the Panama threat.
He was rested for the game against Ghana, but I expect Gvardiol to return against Portugal. England failed to beat a tough Ghana side. But Croatia, who needed to avoid defeat to the Black Stars, took hold of the game to win by the odd goal in three.
Modric teed up Nikola Vlasic, who scored a late header to win the match after Ghana defender Derrick Luckassen had cancelled out Petar Sucic’s brilliant opener. Croatia is a team in transition, but they still have plenty of quality and experience, and the group seems to me to be more together than their opponents, and that could be the telling factor.
History
Croatia have been very strong in the World Cup in recent times, following up a final appearance in 2018 with a semi-final four years later, while the Selecao’s best effort was a semi-final place back in 1966.
In terms of head-to-head results, Portugal have won six to Croatia’s one, and there have been two draws. The last meeting ended in a 1-1 draw in a 2024 Nations League match, with Gvardiol levelling after Felix had given the Selecao a lead.
I’d say Dalic can be the happier of the two managers so far. Portugal had two draws and one win in their group stage, while Croatia had two wins and a defeat to the well-backed England.
Betting Tip
Portugal are priced at 1.79 to win this match, with Croatia at 4.55, and the draw is at 3.54, and I think the underdogs have more than a fair chance. I certainly believe Dalic’s men can take this fascinating match to extra time at the least.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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