Portugal face Croatia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 32 tonight at the Toronto Stadium. But the question on everyone’s mind is, would Cristiano Ronaldo play?
The 41-year-old forward is in his last major tournament with the national team, and every game here on would likely be his last in Portuguese colors. So far, it hasn’t been a memorable ride for him.
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Besides a brace against Uzbekistan, Ronaldo fired a blank against DR Congo and Colombia, leading to calls for him to get benched for the crucial knockout phase of the World Cup.
Four years ago, the Portugal skipper was named among the substitutes for their last-16 encounter to Switzerland and the Selecao prevailed 6-1. Though he was reinstated in the lineup for the Morocco game in the next round, Ronaldo failed to score and cut a disappointing figure in attack once more.
Against Croatia tonight, Portugal face another tough challenge in their path to a first-ever FIFA World Cup final, and it will be interesting to see if history repeats itself with Ronaldo getting benched for their first World Cup knockout fixture again.
So far, there’s been no indication that he would not feature in the XI, nor has Roberto Martinez announced his lineup in the pre-match presser. But in all likelihood, Ronaldo should be starting for Portugal tonight as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner aims to break his duck.
They were favorites to win Group K but ended up finishing second to Colombia and have now dropped into the tougher side of the knockout stage draw where every round potentially brings a European giant: Spain in the last-16, Belgium in the quarter-finals and France in the semi-finals.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo looks for his first FIFA World Cup knockout goal
Portugal ace Cristiano Ronaldo might be feeling optimistic of bagging his first FIFA World Cup knockout goal given his record of having scored twice against Croatia before.
He struck the only goal of their 1-0 friendly victory back in June 2013 before scoring in their 2-1 UEFA Nations League win in September 2024 too.
But in their only prior competitive meeting at the Euro 2016, Ronaldo was unable to find the back of the net against the Vatreni, though it was his effort that came off their goalkeeper, which Ricardo Quaresma then buried in a rebound to send Portugal through.
Edited by Vignesh Raja
