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Day 22: Portugal Win a Toronto Thriller, Spain Cruise — and a Last-16 Collision Is Set

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Day 22 is where this World Cup stops behaving like a league and starts behaving like a guillotine. Three Round of 32 ties, three winners, no safety net — and by the time the last ball was kicked in Toronto, well past 1 AM in UTC terms, the tournament had produced its most mouthwatering last-16 pairing yet: Spain versus Portugal.

The day even opened on the UTC clock’s favourite trick. The United States kicked off at midnight UTC — dinnertime in the Bay Area the evening before — so a match played under California floodlights on Wednesday night lands on July 2 in the schedule. By the time the sun came up over Europe, the hosts were through, Spain had made a statement, and Ronaldo and Modrić had staged one last duel. In order, then.

USA 2–0 Bosnia & Herzegovina: ten men, no panic

For a knockout debut on home soil, this had everything the United States could have feared, then everything they needed. Bosnia started the brighter — Edin Džeko teed up Ermedin Demirović for an early chance that Matt Freese pushed away at the Bay Area’s Levi’s Stadium, per beIN Sports — but the hosts grew into it and led on the stroke of half-time. Tim Ream intercepted a Bosnian goal kick, Malik Tillman slid the ball through, and Folarin Balogun slotted past Nikola Vasilj on 45 minutes for a 1–0 lead. (An earlier Balogun finish had already been chalked off for offside — foreshadowing, as it turned out, for the rest of the night across the continent.)

Then the twist. On 64 minutes, after a VAR review, Balogun was shown a straight red for a late challenge on Tarik Muharemović — scorer and villain inside twenty minutes, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side down to ten for the final half-hour. What followed was the performance that will please the coach most: no wobble. Freese denied Demirović again, and instead of clinging on, the Americans landed the knockout blow. Tillman curled a free kick beyond Vasilj on 82 minutes to make it 2–0.

The match data tells the story of a smash-and-grab dressed up as control: Bosnia actually edged shots (10 to 8) and possession (52%), but the USA’s expected goals (0.92 to 0.25) reflected the cleaner chances and the colder finishing. It is, as Gulf News and CBS Sports noted, only the second World Cup knockout win in U.S. history and the first since the famous run of 2002. The reward is a Round of 16 date with Belgium — though Balogun’s suspension leaves Pochettino a striker short for it.

Spain 3–0 Austria: cold, clinical, and still yet to concede

If the USA won ugly, Spain won the way the pre-tournament favourites are supposed to. In front of 70,492 at SoFi Stadium — attendance via Sky Sports — Luis de la Fuente’s European champions simply squeezed the life out of Ralf Rangnick’s Austria. Lamine Yamal threatened inside the first minute, and the pressure only built.

The breakthrough came on 36 minutes, Marc Cucurella’s low cross swept in from 12 yards by Mikel Oyarzabal. Right-back Pedro Porro doubled it on 66, charging in to head home Álex Baena’s delivery for what FIFA noted was his first goal for his country. Cucurella and Oyarzabal combined once more with a minute left for 3–0 — Oyarzabal’s brace taking him to four for the tournament, per BBC Sport.

The numbers are faintly absurd. Austria did not register a single shot on target; Spain had 22 attempts to their five, 65% of the ball, nine corners to none, and an xG of 2.80 to 0.49. Unai Simón kept a fourth straight clean sheet, and Spain — the wobble of a group stage that included a surprise draw with Cape Verde behind them — have stretched their unbeaten run to 34 games, ESPN reported. Per Reuters, they have outscored opponents 8–0 across the finals and are one of only two sides — alongside Mexico — yet to concede.

“The great teams step up when it’s needed,” de la Fuente told ESPN. “We played a great match. We came close to perfection, but we must keep improving.” It was, as FIFA framed it, Spain’s first knockout win at a World Cup since they beat the Netherlands in the 2010 final — a 16-year itch, scratched. Their prize? The winner of the night’s last match.

Portugal 2–1 Croatia: an epic, and a VAR storm

They got Croatia — but only just, and only after the wildest 100-odd minutes of the tournament. This was billed as a farewell tour for the elders — Ronaldo, 41 and at his sixth World Cup, against Modrić on his fifth, as the Associated Press framed it — and it delivered a genuine classic at Toronto’s BMO Field.

Portugal dominated the first half and should have led inside four minutes, Bruno Fernandes twice denied after Rafael Leão’s cutback, first by Dominik Livaković and then a block. Instead it was Croatia who struck first: Ivan Perišić, sharp after the break, finished on 53 minutes to stun the Selecção. The comeback, when it came, arrived with a side of controversy. Ronaldo thought he had equalised on 61, only for VAR and the offside flag to intervene — and then, on 68 minutes, he tucked away a penalty for 1–1. Per the match centre, it was his third goal of these finals; per AP, RTÉ and CNA, it was the first knockout-stage goal of his entire World Cup career.

Then the theatre. Ronaldo was withdrawn on 81 for Rúben Neves; Petar Sučić had a Croatia goal ruled out for offside in the same minute. And deep into stoppage time, Gonçalo Ramos — on since the hour — climbed above the Croatia defence to head home Leão’s cross on 90+4 for 2–1. Croatia still weren’t done: Joško Gvardiol thought he had forced extra time, only for one more offside flag to wipe it out, prompting Croatia’s supporters to hurl bottles onto the pitch in frustration, The Independent reported. All told, RTÉ counted four efforts chalked off for offside across the night — the match centre logs three disallowed goals — and the woodwork was struck twice. Chaos, and a Portuguese survival act.

The last 16, taking shape

So the bracket firms up, and it has served the tie of the round early: Spain vs Portugal, on Monday, July 6 in Arlington, Texas — Iberian neighbours, both unbeaten, one carrying the tournament’s meanest defence and the other its most famous No. 7. The United States face Belgium in their half; if you need a refresher on how the 48-team knockout ladder actually works, our knockout-stage explainer lays it out.

The Round of 32 rolls straight on — Switzerland–Algeria opens Day 23 — so the culling continues. The full picture lives on the groups page, and we’ll be tracking every kick as it happens: follow the scores here.

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