Ronaldo and Modrić, One Last Knockout Duel in Toronto

The Short Version

Portugal meet Croatia in the round of 32 at BMO Field in Toronto on July 2, and the framing writes itself: Cristiano Ronaldo against Luka Modrić, two of the defining players of their generation, both now 40, in what is very likely their final World Cup knockout meeting. Both arrive as group runners-up who qualified in opposite ways — Portugal unbeaten but low-scoring outside one rout, Croatia bruised by a heavy defeat to England yet dangerous through the middle. It is a tie between two teams past their peak but far from finished, with a place in the last 16 and a slice of history on the line.

Some ties sell themselves on youth and pace. This one sells itself on the opposite: two players who have shaped the last two decades of the game, meeting on a knockout stage that may not come around for either again. Portugal against Croatia is a round-of-32 tie, but it carries the weight of a goodbye.

The last of the golden generations

Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić are both 40. Between them they have won essentially everything the club game offers and carried their countries through a generation of tournaments — Ronaldo to a European title, Modrić to a World Cup final and a Ballon d’Or that briefly interrupted the Messi–Ronaldo duopoly. That they are both still here, still central to their national teams at a 2026 World Cup, is its own small miracle.

This is the tie where those two stories brush past each other, probably for the last time on this stage. Ronaldo, chasing a deep run in what he has hinted is his final World Cup, against Modrić, still the metronome of a Croatia side that keeps finding ways to matter long after it was written off. Neither will get many more nights like this. That, more than form or bracket position, is what gives the game its charge.

Portugal’s unbeaten grind

Portugal reached the knockouts as the Group K runners-up, and their group tells a slightly awkward story. They went unbeaten — a 1-1 draw with Congo DR, a 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan, and a goalless draw with Colombia that handed the group’s top spot to the Colombians — but strip out the Uzbekistan rout and the goals dried up. Five points, six goals for, just one conceded: a solid, controlled campaign that never quite caught fire.

That profile makes them hard to beat and, on their day, ruthless — the defensive record is the best of the two sides here by some distance. Whether they can find the cutting edge to put away a knockout tie, rather than control it into stalemate, is the question their group left open. Ronaldo’s finishing may be the answer Portugal need it to be.

Croatia’s bruised road through Group L

Croatia’s route could hardly have been more different. They were beaten 4-2 by England in their opener — a genuinely leaky afternoon — before grinding out a 1-0 win over Panama and a 2-1 win over Ghana to finish second in Group L. Six points, but a goal difference of zero and five conceded: this is a team that can be got at.

What Croatia still have is the thing that has carried them through two decades: control of midfield when Modrić is on the ball. They are not the side that reached a World Cup final anymore, and the defeat to England showed how the margins have narrowed. But a team built around Modrić’s tempo is never a comfortable draw, and their knack for winning the low-scoring, high-tension games — as their group campaign showed — is exactly the skill a knockout tie rewards.

Modrić’s midfield against Portugal’s control

The tactical question is whether Croatia can make the game about midfield, or whether Portugal can smother it. If Modrić is allowed to dictate tempo, Croatia can drag anyone into the kind of tight, patient contest they have specialised in for years. If Portugal’s midfield can press him into giving the ball up early and force the game onto the flanks, their superior defensive record and Ronaldo’s presence in the box tilt it their way.

Both teams will fancy a low-scoring night. Portugal conceded once in the group stage; Croatia thrive when the game slows to their rhythm. The likelihood is a cagey tie decided by a single moment — a set piece, a Ronaldo half-chance, a piece of Modrić disguise — with extra time and penalties well within range, as the bracket sets up.

The call in Toronto

Portugal are marginal favourites. The unbeaten group record, the far better defensive numbers, and the sense of a squad with more in reserve than a 40-year-old talisman all point their way, and a narrow win — 1-0, or 2-1 after a scare — feels the likeliest outcome. But Croatia in a tight knockout, with Modrić still able to run twenty minutes that decide a match, are precisely the opponent you do not want when your own attack has looked blunt. Call it a slight Portugal edge, with a real chance of extra time, and no surprise at all if it goes the distance to penalties, the result set to be confirmed on the night.

Whatever the scoreline, Toronto gets something rare: Ronaldo and Modrić, on the same pitch, in a knockout, one last time. For a tie between two group runners-up, that is a remarkable thing to be able to say.

Frequently asked questions

When and where is Portugal vs Croatia? The round-of-32 tie is played at BMO Field in Toronto on July 2, 2026, with a 23:00 UTC kick-off.

Is this Ronaldo and Modrić’s last World Cup knockout tie? Very possibly. Both players are 40, and 2026 is widely expected to be the final World Cup for each. A knockout meeting between them at a future tournament is unlikely, which is part of what makes this tie notable.

How did Portugal reach the round of 32? Portugal finished second in Group K, unbeaten with five points: a 1-1 draw with Congo DR, a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan and a 0-0 draw with Colombia. They conceded just one goal in the group stage.

How did Croatia reach the round of 32? Croatia finished second in Group L with six points: a 4-2 defeat to England, followed by a 1-0 win over Panama and a 2-1 win over Ghana.

Who are the key players to watch? Cristiano Ronaldo leads the line for Portugal, while Luka Modrić remains the creative hub of Croatia’s midfield. Both are 40 and central to their teams’ knockout hopes.

Who is favourite to win? Portugal are marginal favourites, thanks to their unbeaten group record and a much stronger defensive record, but Croatia’s midfield control makes a tight, low-scoring tie — potentially decided in extra time or penalties — very possible.

Where is the match being played? The tie is at BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, one of the 2026 World Cup’s Canadian host venues, with a capacity of around 45,000.

What does the winner get? The winner advances to the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup, one step closer to the quarter-finals, while the loser is eliminated.