Portugal, Spain, Switzerland Storm Into World Cup Last 16 As Algeria Crash Out

Portugal, Spain and Switzerland booked their places in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after recording impressive knockout victories in Thursday’s Round of 32 fixtures.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonçalo Ramos and Mikel Oyarzabal were among the standout performers as the three European nations advanced to the next stage of the tournament.

Portugal needed a dramatic late winner to edge Croatia 2-1 in a thrilling contest.

Croatia took the lead early in the second half through Ivan Perišić, but Portugal responded after a VAR review awarded a penalty for a foul on Renato Veiga. Ronaldo calmly converted the spot-kick to score his first-ever goal in a FIFA World Cup knockout match.

With extra time looming, substitute Gonçalo Ramos emerged as the hero, heading home Rafael Leão’s cross in the 94th minute to seal Portugal’s place in the next round.

Croatia thought they had forced extra time when Joško Gvardiol found the net deep into stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out for offside following another VAR review.

Portugal will now face European champions Spain in a blockbuster Round of 16 clash in Dallas on July 6.

Spain, meanwhile, cruised into the last 16 with a commanding 3-0 victory over Austria, recording their first men’s World Cup knockout win in 16 years.

Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring in the 36th minute before Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s advantage midway through the second half.

Oyarzabal completed his brace and netted his fourth goal of the tournament after being set up by Marc Cucurella.

The Spaniards dominated from start to finish and remain one of only two teams—alongside Mexico—to have kept a clean sheet in all four of their matches at the 2026 World Cup.

Switzerland also celebrated a historic milestone after defeating Algeria 2-0 to secure their first World Cup knockout victory since 1938.

Breel Embolo gave the Swiss an early lead with a well-worked team goal inside the opening 10 minutes, while Dan Ndoye doubled the advantage just 46 seconds into the second half.

Algeria struggled to create meaningful opportunities throughout the encounter, leaving Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel with little to do.

The victory sends Murat Yakin’s side into the Round of 16 for a fourth consecutive World Cup, where they will face the winner of the Colombia versus Ghana fixture in Vancouver on July 7.