Ramos header in stoppage time sends Portugal past Croatia. Ronaldo vs Spain is next
Croatia led, Ronaldo levelled from the spot in his first-ever WC knockout goal at 41, then Ramos headed a winner in the 95th minute. Portugal are into the last 16. Spain await. The game of the round is confirmed.
Gonçalo Ramos headed home a stoppage-time winner to send Portugal past Croatia 2-1 in Toronto, setting up one of the most anticipated fixtures in 2026 World Cup knockout football: Portugal vs Spain in the round of 16.
Croatia took the lead through Ivan Perisic, who buried a left-footed strike past Diogo Costa to give Zlatko Dalic's side a deserved advantage. Portugal struggled to break down a disciplined Croatian shape for most of the first hour, and at 1-0 the pressure on Cristiano Ronaldo to produce something significant was considerable.
He produced it. A foul in the area gave Portugal a penalty and Ronaldo stepped up and converted with the composure that has defined this stage of his career. His first-ever World Cup knockout goal, scored at 41 years old at his sixth World Cup, drawn from the penalty spot in a pressure match with the tournament at stake. The stadium rose. It was that kind of moment.
At 1-1 the match stretched and opened. Croatia pushed for the winner that would have sent them through to their first World Cup last 16 since 2022. Portugal pressed for their own. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Rafael Leao drove a cross into the box and Ramos met it with a header that clipped in off the post. Croatia had a goal disallowed in the final seconds - the whistle went, Portugal were through.
For Ronaldo, the question that has defined his World Cup career since 2006 is whether he can win the one trophy that has eluded him. He is 41. This tournament, on home soil in North America, is almost certainly his last opportunity. A penalty goal and a round of 16 appearance against Spain is not the conclusion of the story - it is the next chapter.
The Portugal vs Spain tie in the last 16 is the fixture that the draw could have produced but rarely does at this stage. Two of the continent's most decorated football nations, with a shared peninsula, a long rivalry and a generation of players on both sides who could legitimately win the whole thing. Bruno Fernandes against Pedri. Ronaldo against Yamal. The captain in the last tournament of his career against the player who may define the next decade.
Switzerland vs Algeria play next in Vancouver. But the match that every football fan in Europe woke up anticipating is already confirmed: Portugal versus Spain, round of 16. Follow the latest 2026 World Cup updates in the football news.