Portugal saves the furniture at a discount and will be Spain's rival in the round of 16
The Portuguese combined team resolves the tie in added time after one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament
Thursday's round of 32 saw three new teams qualify for the round of 16. Spain convincingly beat Austria (3-0), Portugal eliminated Croatia in a dramatic finish (2-1), and Switzerland defeated Algeria (2-0).
Spain 3-0 Austria
The Spanish team took a step forward with a convincing victory against Austria. A brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a goal from Pedro Porro qualified Luis de la Fuente's team for the round of 16. Lamine Yamal was chosen as the best player of the match, and Unai Simón added another game without conceding a goal. The next opponent will be Portugal.
Portugal 2-1 Croatia
The Portuguese team resolved the tie in extra time after one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament. Ivan Perisić put the Balkans ahead, but Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot and Gonçalo Ramos ultimately scored the definitive 2-1 in the 94th minute. There was still time for Josko Gvardiol to equalize in the 103rd, but VAR disallowed the goal for offside. Thus, the defeat brings an end to Luka Modric's World Cup journey and Portugal will play for access to the quarterfinals against Spain.
Switzerland 2-0 Algeria
Switzerland will also be in the round of 16 after convincingly winning against Algeria. Breel Embolo opened the scoring after a great play by Johan Manzambi, one of the revelations of the World Cup, and Dan Ndoye sealed the match right at the start of the second half. The Swiss now await the winner of the match between Colombia and Ghana.
The day continues
The round of 32 will be completed this Friday with the matches Australia-Egypt (8:00 PM), Argentina - Cape Verde (12:00 AM) and Colombia-Ghana (3:30 AM). From these encounters will emerge the last qualifiers for the round of 16.