FIFA World Cup 2026 match results on 2 July: Portugal survive Croatia scare to set up round of 16 clash against Spain

Thursday produced some thrilling football action at the FIFA World Cup 2026, as Spain and Portugal won their respective round of 32 matches to set up a round of 16 clash next week.

Mikel Oyarzabal netted a brace as Spain defeated Austria 3-0 in their round of 32 match, whereas Portugal were made to sweat in their match against Croatia as they won 2-1.

That match witnessed a few dramatic moments as Josko Gvardiol's goal in the final minutes of second-half stoppage time was ruled out for offside after a VAR review. Spain and Portugal will now play in the round of 16 in Dallas on Monday.

Spain 3-0 Austria

Spain produced a clinical performance in Los Angeles to thump Austria 3-0 in their round-of-32 clash on Thursday.

This is La Roja's first victory in a knockout match of a FIFA World Cup since clinching the title in South Africa in 2010. Luis de la Fuente’s side dictated the tempo right from the start of the match.

Marc Cucurella had an early goal disallowed after the match referee Glenn Nyberg felt that Spain's Pau Curbarsi had fouled Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

Nevertheless, Spain opened the scoring through Mikel Oyarzabal, who slotted the ball past Schlager from a close range. Spain went into half-time with a 1-0 lead, and in the 66th minute, Pedro Porro doubled that lead by heading the ball past Schlager, courtesy of an assist from Alex Baena.

By now, Austria were in a spot of bother as they were left with a mountain to climb. However, a comeback was never on the cards, as Mikel Oyarzabal caused further misery for the Austrians with a right-footed strike into the bottom-right corner of the net to make it 3-0 for the former champions.

Portugal 2-1 Croatia

The match in Toronto was expected to be the international swansong for either Cristiano Ronaldo or Luka Modric, and it turned out to be so for the latter, with the match ending in dramatic circumstances.

After the first half ended scoreless, the second half got off to an eventful start with Josep Stanisic putting in a great cross into the box that travelled all the way to the far post, where Perisic was unmarked.

He netted the goal by drilling a low shot into the bottom-right corner. Ever since the second half started, Croatia were pushing for a goal in the second half, and they finally broke the deadlock in less than 10 minutes since the restart.

Croatia's lead, however, lasted just 15 minutes as Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty in the 68th minute to make it 1-1. The former Manchester United star thus finally ended his goalless run in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup. Portugal had won the penalty after Nikola Vlasic had grabbed Renato Veiga by the shirt inside the box.

In the 94th minute, with just six minutes to go in stoppage time, Portugal took the lead again, this time through Goncalo Ramos, who collected a cross from Rafael Leao to head the ball into the top-right corner.

In the final few minutes of the game, with only seconds to be played, drama ensued. Josko Gvardiol had appeared to have equalised for Croatia again after smashing the ball past Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa. For a few seconds, it seemed as though Croatia had rescued themselves and made it 2-2.

However, after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out after Mario Pasalic was deemed to be offside. Portugal finally had the last laugh, as Ronaldo and his team marched onto the round of 16, where they will meet Spain in Dallas on Monday.

Portugal's win over Croatia came exactly a year after the passing away of former winger Diogo Jota. After the match, the Portugal squad honoured their late teammate with an emotional team photo featuring Jota's No 21 jersey.

Switzerland 2-0 Algeria

Switzerland defeated Algeria 2-0 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 32 clash in Vancouver as they clinched a historic win. This is the first time since 1938 when Switzerland have won a knockout match at the FIFA World Cup.

The Europeans will next take on either Colombia or Ghana in the round of 16 in Vancouver on 7 July.

Algeria started brightly but wasted an early opening when Houssem Aouar squandered a clear chance. Switzerland opened the scoring in the 10th minute, with Johan Manzambi running down the left flank before initiating a pass to Breel Embolo, who found the back of the net.

Switzerland then doubled the lead in the 46th minute, with Dan Ndoye taking a touch on the edge of the box before guiding the ball into the far corner.

Algeria suffered from a lack of creativity, and even though they had more than 50 % possession, they could only manage to register two shots on target throughout the game.