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WC takeaways: Ronaldo gets 'that' goal, a legend says goodbye
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters

Latest 2026 World Cup takeaways: Cristiano Ronaldo finally gets that knockout goal, a legend says goodbye

By Alyssa Clang  |  Last updated Jul 3, 2026 12:57 AM ET
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 continued on Thursday, with several top teams fighting for their spot in the knockout rounds.

Spain, Portugal and Switzerland won their matches to seal their positions in the tournament's Round of 16; Austria, Croatia and Algeria were eliminated.

Here are the key takeaways from a full day of World Cup action:

Spain put in a statement performance

It's been a strange old tournament for la furia roja. Spain entered the World Cup as the presumed favorite, but an early draw with Cabo Verde and a less-than-stellar win over Uruguay made many doubt its bonafides.

Yeah...about that. Spain opened its knockout account with a bang, putting three goals past a pretty strong Austria side while making it all look easy. The good news: Lamine Yamal played nearly 90 minutes and looked like he was (finally) back to full fitness. The better news: Spain didn't need Yamal to get this win over the line. It was underrated Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal who made the magic happen — and his efforts thrust him straight into the tournament's Golden Boot race.

Spain 3-0 Austria

Six tournaments in, Cristiano Ronaldo finally broke his World Cup knockout goal duck

It feels impossible, but Cristiano Ronaldo entered this tournament without a single World Cup knockout-round goal to his name. Seven previous opportunities — three in Germany 2006, one in South Africa 2010, one in Russia 2018 and two in Qatar 2022 — yielded no success for the Portuguese attacker. We spent 20 years living in a world where Ronaldo had fewer World Cup knockout goals than former American midfielder Julian Green.

Not anymore. Ronaldo's classic stutter-step penalty kick in the 68th minute of Portugal's Round of 32 clash with Croatia finally got him on the board. We're all very, very proud of Ronaldo for finally equaling Green's one-goal tally...but he's got a long way to go before he usurps current record holder Kylian Mbappé, who's sitting pretty on 10.

Portugal 2-1 Croatia

Croatia bade farewell to a legend

While Ronaldo was busy making history, Croatian midfielder Luka Modric was busy wrapping it up. The 40-year-old midfielder found himself on the wrong side of Croatia-Portugal result and closed out his World Cup journey in rather tragic circumstances. Modric was one of the best players at the 2018 and 2022 tournaments; while he's more than earned his impending retirement, he will be dearly missed on the world stage.

Switzerland won the Vladimir Petkovic derby

Switzerland versus Algeria might not have looked appealing on paper, but these two teams share an important connection that made this game tick. Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic was the architect of Switzerland's strong recent run of form — it was his team that eliminated presumed favorite France from the 2020 European Championships — but he left the squad in 2021 to take on work with yes, you guessed it, Algeria. Petkovic discovered and developed just about everyone in this Switzerland side, and this match found him on the opposite side of the touchline, trying to break them back down.

It was a fascinating contest, and Petkovic's Algeria fought hard, but Switzerland's man-to-man talent won out in the end. Winger Johan Manzambi's wild, creative run down the left flank cut Algeria open in the first half, and there was simply no coming back from a slice that surgical. Manzambi has been one of the tournament's breakout stars; he'll be a joy to watch in the Round of 16. 

Switzerland 2-0 Algeria

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will continue on Friday, July 3 with Australia taking on Egypt, Argentina taking on Cabo Verde and Colombia taking on Ghana.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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