Thousands march in Toronto ahead of knockout World Cup match between Portugal and Croatia

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Looking around Toronto Stadium you can see pockets of yellow Colombia jerseys. Lots of those fans likely bought tickets assuming their team – not powerhouse Portugal – would be playing in this game.

Instead, Colombia takes on Ghana tomorrow in Kansas City. 

But it’s not just Colombians repping their country. I can see green Mexico jerseys, a Brazilian fan flying their flag and there are plenty wearing Canadian jerseys, too. 

The world in a city, as they say. 

I wonder who those Colombians fans will be supporting tonight?

We're closing in on kickoff and the Croatian fans just showered Ronaldo with boos as he was introduced.

Croatia’s fans have taken over the upper and lower decks in the middle of the south side of Toronto Stadium. You’ll be hearing them all night.

This will likely be the final World Cup for Modrić and Ronaldo. So with the veterans on the way out, which youngsters are ready to carry the torch?

For Portugal, 21-year-old João Neves, 24-year-old Nuno Mendes, 26-year-old Vitinha and 26-year-old Pedro Neto will be expected to make the team theirs in the post-Ronaldo era. 

The first three are already two-time UEFA Champions League winners with Paris Saint-Germain — and some of the best players in their positions. Neto is coming off a season where he scored a career-high 10 goals for Chelsea mostly as a winger.

On the Croatian side, 22-year-old Petar Sučić and 23-year-old Martin Baturina have already shown the country's midfield is secure after Modrić retires. They've both already scored in this World Cup, with Sučić also registering an assist. 

Baturina has looked particularly impressive in all three group stage games and could be key in countering Portugal's all-star midfield trio today.

All that's to say, while Ronaldo and Modrić are certainly the well respected leaders of their sides, both Portugal and Croatia will be in good hands when the legends walk off into the sunset.

Both Croatia and Portugal have a history of success at major tournaments in recent decades that belies their relatively small populations. Croatia lost to France in the 2018 World Cup final and has finished third on two other occasions, while Portugal won Euro 2016 and finished fourth in the 2006 World Cup (and third in 1966).

But both teams struggled a little in their respective groups this time around — a sign that these are far from the best lineups they've fielded.

The Portuguese, officially ranked fifth in the world, should consider themselves lucky to have escaped with a 0-0 draw in their final group match against Colombia after the South Americans dominated the game. That followed a shock 1-1 draw in the opening fixture against Congo, before Portugal found its shooting boots in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan — including two goals from Ronaldo that made him the first player to score in six World Cups.

Croatia, No. 11 in the last world official ranking, showed plenty of fight in its opening 4-2 defeat to England, but then struggled to break down Panama (1-0) and Ghana (2-1) in its following wins.

Portugal's starting lineup is in and, as he's done for more than two decades, Cristiano Ronaldo starts for the Europeans.

Rafael Leão and Pedro Neto join him in the attack, with world-class midfielders Bruno Fernandes, João Neves and Vitinha making up the trio in the middle.

On defence, Renato Veiga, João Cancelo and Nuno Mendes make their fourth appearance of this World Cup, while Rúben Dias retains his position in the defensive four for the third straight game. 

Goalkeeper Diogo Costa also makes his fourth consecutive start of the 2026 World Cup. 

Croatia's starting 11 for tonight is the same as the one that beat Ghana 2-1 last week.

Dominik Livaković starts in goal behind a back four of Josip Stanišić, Marin Pongračić, Josip Šutalo and Ivan Perišić — the latter another Croatian icon who has made more than 155 appearances for his country.

In the midfield, captain Modrić and Mateo Kovačić play behind Nikola Vlašić, Martin Baturina and Petar Sučić — all three of whom have scored in this World Cup. 

Ante Budimir, who scored against Panama, is the sole attacker.

We’ll see what the stadium looks like, but Croatian fans were outnumbered on my walk to the stadium.

But I wouldn’t mess with them.

I watched a few Croatian fans hold a banner as a Portuguese group heckled them. They were completely stone-faced. 

My favourite Croatian fan style is the soccer jersey and water polo helmet combo – water polo being a sport their country dominates. If you know one thing about water polo it’s this: you’ve gotta be tough.

Portugal fans began celebrating the national team’s arrival in Toronto the moment they touched down at Pearson International yesterday.

Motorcyclists gathered outside the airport to escort the team’s bus, welcoming them with Portugal flags, roaring engines and a lot of wheelies. 

Shortly thereafter, thousands of fans gathered outside the hotel where the national team is staying in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Ronaldo. They were rewarded when he walked out onto his room’s balcony and gave the crowd a wave. 

Many other fans opted for Centennial Park, where the team had its final practice before the match. Chairs were set up at the training grounds in the morning, even though training wasn’t due to start until 6 p.m. 

That leads us to today, where, as well as the meet-and-greets, gatherings and marches, watch parties will be held at Portuguese bars and community centres for those fans who couldn’t snag a ticket.

Ronaldo’s played in Toronto before, as my soccer encyclopedia colleague Mouhamad noted, but the difference is what's at stake tonight.

This is a World Cup knockout game, not a friendly. And Ronaldo is missing a World Cup trophy. 

After he scored in Portugal’s second game, Ronaldo screamed at the cameras: "I'm back! I'm back!"

One gets the sense he's hearing the noise (including from those who say he's playing too many minutes) and is aiming for a performance to silence it.

No Portuguese player has scored more at the World Cup than Ronaldo. But surprisingly, not one of his 11 goals has come in a knockout match.

Despite playing in every World Cup since 2006 and making 25 appearances in the competitions, including eight in the knockout rounds, the soccer icon has never found the back of the net beyond the group stage — and hasn't even registered an assist. 

That's zero goal contributions, an astonishing stat for a man who holds the record for both most goals and assists in the UEFA Champions League. 

So, if Ronaldo scores or assists in today's Round of 32 game, it would mean Toronto will forever have a notable place in the career of one of the all-time greats. That would be pretty special for a city with a soccer-mad Portuguese diaspora.

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