Portugal survived the first test of their seemingly harder path to the World Cup 2026 final, needing to mount a comeback against a battle-tested Croatia squad in the Round of 32. Spain and Switzerland are also through to the Round of 16 after straightforward World Cup 2026 results against Austria and Algeria, respectively, on Thursday evening.
The Selecao fell behind early against the Vatreni in the second half, and it seemed that Portugal were headed to the exit. However, Cristiano Ronaldo and Goncalo Ramos had other plans with their clutch goals. Meanwhile, there were no upsets in the SBOTOP World Cup 2026 odds for Spain and Switzerland, as both teams dominated their less-heralded counterparts.
As a result, Portugal are set for a collision course with Spain on Monday. Switzerland will face the winner of the Colombia-Ghana game, and their Round of 16 contest will be held on Tuesday.
Spain 3-0 Austria
Spain were determined to remind everyone what they’re capable of in their Round of 32 match against Austria, and Luis de la Fuente’s men played on the front foot.
Lamine Yamal had the match’s first chance, firing a low effort at goalkeeper Alexander Schlager. He thought he had given Spain the lead when his corner kick led to a goal by Marc Cucurella in the 29th minute. However, the referee disallowed the goal because Pau Cubarsi had fouled Schlager.
Austria’s reprieve didn’t last long, as Mikel Oyarzabal was on the scoresheet in the 36th minute. The Real Sociedad striker received a lovely pass from Cucurella and side-footed the ball home. Oyarzabal’s opener was La Roja’s first World Cup knockout goal since Andres Iniesta’s effort in South Africa in 2010.
Spain forced Schlager to make two more saves before halftime, courtesy of Alex Baena and Lamine Yamal. Sasa Kalajdzic almost scored for Austria in the second half, but the striker couldn’t keep his header down.
Spain made Austria pay for that miss in the 66th minute, as Pedro Porro headed the ball home after a brilliant link-up by Baena and Cucurella. Cucurella and Oyarzabal linked up again before stoppage time, with the latter tapping home the former’s inch-perfect cross. Oyarzabal became the first Spaniard to score twice in a World Cup knockout fixture since Emilio Butragueno in 1986 (four goals vs. Denmark).
Portugal 2-1 Croatia
The first half between Portugal and Croatia featured only a few chances, with Bruno Fernandes’ double effort inside the first four minutes thwarted, and his shot from an impossible angle in the 33rd minute forced a save from goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Croatia came back to life in the second half with the introduction of Igor Matanovic, who set up Mateo Kovacic’s poked shot at goalkeeper Diogo Costa. The Vatreni got their deserved goal in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic controlled Josip Stanisic’s deflected cross to drill the ball past Costa’s legs into the bottom-right corner. They nearly doubled their lead three minutes later when Matanovic tapped the ball home, but Nikola Vlasic was offside.
Rafael Leao thought he had scored for Portugal when his sailing volley went over the reach of Livakovic but hit the crossbar. But it was Cristiano Ronaldo who brought the Selecao back level. After a disallowed goal in the 61st minute, the Al-Nassr striker converted a penalty in the 68th minute, following Vlasic’s foul on Renato Veiga inside the box.
Goncalo Ramos, who replaced Joao Cancelo in the 63rd minute, scored the winner for Portugal. During stoppage time, the AC Milan striker jumped over two Croatian defenders to head Leao’s cross home. The win carried special significance for Portugal, who paid tribute to the late Diogo Jota after the contest.
Switzerland 2-0 Algeria
Switzerland advanced from a World Cup knockout tie for the first time since 1938, as Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye were on target in either half.
Embolo found the back of the net inside the opening 10 minutes, converting on a pass from Johan Manzambi, who became the first Swiss to be directly involved in five goals (three goals and two assists) at a World Cup since data collection began in 1966. However, Algeria showed signs of life towards the end of the first half, with chances from Fares Chaibi and Ibrahim Maza.
However, Switzerland doubled their lead just 48 seconds after the restart, as Dan Ndoye picked out the bottom-left corner following a failed clearance by Algeria. Fabian Rieder should’ve put the result beyond doubt nine minutes from time when he was found at the back post, but goalkeeper Luca Zidane caught his shot.
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