Toronto set for a battle of legends as Portugal's Ronaldo takes on Croatia's Modrić in World Cup
Posted on: Jun 12, 2026 01:35 IST | Posted by: Cbc
Toronto association football fans excited to watch over portuguese republic and Ronaldo in the metropolis
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This evening's match is the last of the six Toronto is hosting at this World Cup, and there are many highlights to sift through from Toronto Stadium (or BMO Field, as it will soon be known again) — not least that historic opening match for Canada against Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 12, when a roar erupted from coast to coast for Cyle Larin's goal that gave the country its first ever World Cup point.
But there have also been thrilling end-to-end games (Germany's last-gasp 2-1 win against the Ivory Coast), tense encounters (Croatia's narrow win over Panama) and goal feasts (Senegal's 5-0 thumping of Iraq).
The influx of fans from across the world and their corresponding diasporas has also brought a colourful vibrancy to the city on match days — most notably from the African nations — while tourists have braved the sometimes-erratic June weather to soak up the sights.
Portugal vs. Croatia will undoubtedly bring more colour this evening — mostly red, admittedly — as the city's diasporas come out in force to cheer on their respective homelands.
According to the 2021 census, more than 180,000 residents in the Toronto census metropolitan area identified as Portuguese, and almost another 35,000 as Croatian.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 officially says goodbye to Toronto as a host city this evening, but it's going out in style with a crunch Round of 32 match featuring two soccer legends.
Portugal and Croatia are set to battle for a Round of 16 match against Spain/Austria at BMO Field (renamed Toronto Stadium for the World Cup), with both teams featuring an all-time great over the age of 40.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, and Croatia's Luka Modrić, 40 — former teammates at Real Madrid who have taken their respective countries deep into this tournament before — aren't here for the free Coca-Colas, though, having helped their nations battle to second-place finishes in their qualifying groups.
For one of them, however, tonight will likely be their last hurrah on the World Cup stage. Will we see another decisive moment of free-kick magic or tantalizing trickery from CR7 or Croatia's midfield maestro?
Find out from 7 p.m. ET, when the match kicks off and we'll follow along here with a play by play.
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