Portugal Advances to the World Cup Round of 32 With Croatia Next as Ronaldo Rewrites the Record Books

Portugal has booked its place in the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup, finishing second in Group K and advancing to the tournament’s round of 32, where Croatia awaits. The campaign across the United States, Canada and Mexico opened with a frustrating 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, surged with a 5-0 demolition of Uzbekistan, and closed with a goalless stalemate against Colombia that was enough to seal qualification on five points.

The headline act, as ever, was Cristiano Ronaldo. His two goals against Uzbekistan made him the first player in history to score at six different World Cups and lifted his all-time tournament tally to 10, moving him clear of Eusébio’s nine — a milestone that carries particular weight given Eusébio’s near-mythic status in Portuguese football.

A summer of national mood-lifting

The run lands at a useful moment. After a spring dominated by housing costs, a tight labour market and a stretched health service, a deep World Cup campaign offers a rare collective distraction. Cafés and tascas (traditional taverns) tend to fill on match nights, town squares set up big screens, and the red-and-green flags that appear on balconies become a reliable marker of how far the team has gone.

The timing dovetails with an already busy events calendar. Lisbon is hosting Rock in Rio at Parque Tejo, and the summer festival season is in full swing — meaning visitors and residents have no shortage of reasons to be out after dark.

What this means for expats

• Late kick-offs: Because the matches are being played across North American time zones, expect evening and late-night starts in Portugal. Bars showing the game will often stay open well past their usual hours.
• Watching out: Most neighbourhood cafés screen the national team’s matches for the price of a drink, and many councils install free public screens in central squares — a low-cost, easy way to experience the atmosphere.
• Mind the heat: Outdoor viewing coincides with a hot spell; if you are watching at an open-air screening, take the same precautions you would for any high-temperature evening.
• Plan around transport: Crowds disperse late after big matches; check the last metro, bus and train times before heading out.

There is a commercial undertow, too. Portuguese football’s economics are in flux — the competition regulator recently cleared a single-buyer model for domestic television rights — and a strong national-team run reliably boosts merchandise sales, hospitality takings and tourism chatter about Portugal as a destination.

For now, the focus is squarely on Croatia, a side Portugal knows well from recent European campaigns. Win, and the summer’s feel-good story stretches into the quarter-final reckoning; lose, and the conversation turns quickly back to housing, hospitals and the cost of living.