The Latest from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada

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12:37 a.m.

Tonight’s Round of 32 match between Switzerland and Algeria has drawn an announced sellout crowd of 52,497 at BC Place.

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12:06 a.m.

Dan Ndoye took advantage of scrambly play in the Algerian box and fired home from near the top of the penalty area in the 46th minute to give Switzerland a 2-0 lead.

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11:49 p.m.

Switzerland heads into halftime with a 1-0 lead over Algeria in their Round of 32 match at BC Place. Breel Embolo scored the lone goal on a slick setup from Johan Manzambi. The 20-year-old Manzambi has been one of the breakout stars of the World Cup with three goals and two assists. He was named man of the match in Switzerland’s 2-1 win over Canada in the Group B finale.

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11:10

Switzerland takes a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Breel Embolo finished off a brilliant run and pass from Johan Manzambi.

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11:06 p.m.

Algeria had an early chance to take a 1-0 lead when midfielder Houssem Aouar accepted a centring pass, but flubbed his shot in the sixth minute.

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11 p.m.

Game on. Switzerland and Algeria are underway in their Round of 32 match at BC Place. The winner advances to the Round of 16 to face either Colombia or Ghana on July 7 in Vancouver.

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10:35 p.m.

Switzerland is captained by Granit Xhaka, who won the Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayer Leverkusen in 2023-24 before joining Sunderland last year. The veteran midfielder is Switzerland’s all-time leader in international appearances and remains the heartbeat of its national team.

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10:30 p.m.

Algeria is captained by winger Riyad Mahrez, who won four Premier League titles and the 2023 Champions League with Manchester City after helping Leicester City to its improbable Premier League title in 2016. He now plays for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. The team’s most recognizable name is Zidane, as in goalkeeper Luca Zidane, the son of French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane.

10:10 p.m.

We are less than an hour away from kickoff in the Round of 32 match between Switzerland and Algeria at BC Place. Switzerland, which entered the World Cup ranked No. 19, advanced with two wins and a draw in group play, including a 2-1 victory over Canada in Vancouver. Algeria, which entered ranked No. 28, reached the knockout stage with a win, a draw and a loss. Tonight’s winner will return to BC Place on July 7 to face the winner of Friday’s Round of 32 match between Colombia and Ghana.

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9:09 p.m.

Portugal has advanced to the Round of 16 following a 2-1 win over Croatia at Toronto Stadium. All-time great Cristiano Ronaldo scored on a penalty kick in the second half, and then Goncalo Ramos put away the winner four minutes into stoppage time for Portugal. The win extends the 41-year-old Ronaldo’s World Cup career by at least another match and likely spells the end of 40-year-old Luka Modric’s storied international career with Croatia.

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9:05 p.m.

Croatian fans have started throwing bottles and other debris onto the pitch with chants of “Ref you suck!” at Toronto Stadium after a video assistant referee review overturned a late Croatian goal that would have tied the Round of 32 match with Portugal 2-2.

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8:53 p.m.

Goncalo Ramos scored four minutes into stoppage time to give Portugal its first lead of the match, a 2-1 advantage over Croatia. Ramos headed in a cross from Rafael Leao over two defenders.

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8:50 p.m.

Ten minutes of stoppage time has been added to the Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia. The score is tied 1-1.

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8:41 p.m.

Cristiano Ronaldo was subbed off in the 81st minute for Ruben Neves, drawing a loud round of applause from the sold-out crowd of 43,036 fans at Toronto Stadium. The Round of 32 match between Croatia and Portugal is tied 1-1. If Portugal is eliminated from the World Cup it will likely be the 41-year-old Ronaldo’s last-ever appearance in the international tournament.

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8:25 p.m.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored on a penalty kick in the 68th minute to tie Portugal’s Round of 32 match 1-1. A video assistant referee review found that Croatian defender Nikola Vlasic dragged down Portugal’s Renato Veiga on a corner kick, leading to Ronaldo’s penalty kick.

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8:18 p.m.

Luka Modric has earned a yellow card for a foul on 23 in the 59th minute of Croatia’s match with Portugal. He took down Vitinha with a challenge just outside Portugal’s penalty area.

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8:13 p.m.

Ivan Perisic has given Croatia a 1-0 lead over Portugal in the 53rd minute of their Round of 32 match. Josip Stanisic’s cross bounced to Perisic who settled the ball down in the box before firing a left-footed strike into the net.

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8:04 p.m.

Play has resumed at Toronto Stadium after intermission. The Round of 32 match between Croatia and Portugal is tied 0-0 after the first half, including four minutes of extra time.

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7:49 p.m.

The Round of 32 match between Croatia and Portugal is tied 0-0 at halftime. Portugal has dominated play, with 71 per cent possession and nine shots to Croatia’s three. Portuguese centre-back Ruben Dias earned a yellow card 17 minutes into the match.

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7:29 p.m.

Canadian singer-song writer Nelly Furtado, who is also of Portuguese descent, was briefly on the in-stadium video boards but cameras quickly cut away to show a replay. Furtado is originally from Vancouver but has lived in Toronto for years.

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7:25 p.m.

Toronto Maple Leafs star John Tavares, who is of Portuguese descent, was briefly shown on the in-stadium screens during the first-half hydration break between Portugal and Croatia. Tavares was wearing a white Portugal jersey.

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7:17 p.m.

Portugal’s Ruben Dias was given a yellow card 17 minutes into the match. He was penalized for elbowing Croatia’s Ante Budimir in the face when both went up to contest a ball in the air in the centre circle.

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7 p.m.

Play is underway at Toronto Stadium as Portugal plays Croatia in a Round of 32 match. It could be the final World Cup appearance of two legends of the sport as Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Croatia’s Luka Modric are both in their 40s. The two greats exchanged their teams pennants and hugged before kickoff.

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6:12 p.m.

Cristiano Ronaldo led the bulk of Portugal’s lineup on to the field to a mixed reaction at Toronto Stadium. When Croatia’s team went out on the pitch they also drew a mixed reaction from the half-full stadium.

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5:45 p.m.

Granville Street, a downtown Vancouver street that became the city’s main World Cup celebration hub, will remain a pedestrian-only zone through the Labour Day long weekend. Vancouver city council voted to extend the street closure and keep eligible World Cup-related temporary patios open after tens of thousands of fans packed the area throughout the tournament. The city says the extension will support businesses through the summer while officials study the long-term future of the pedestrian zone.

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5:25 p.m.

Thousands of Portugal fans marched through the streets of Toronto near the stadium that will host their team’s round-of-32 match with Croatia this evening. A group of fans wearing jerseys led the march, drumming and chanting, while thousands of others followed waving their flags and raising pictures of team captain Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal fans arrived at the Toronto Stadium gates where they met Croatia, fans who where also chanting and cheering for their team.

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5 p.m.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice as Spain powered its way into the World Cup round of 16 with a 3-0 win over Austria. Pedro Porro also scored for Spain, which has won three straight after opening the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde. Spain, the 2010 World Cup champion, will next face the winner of today’s Portugal-Croatia match in Toronto.

3:10 p.m.

Canada’s youngest World Cup players say they’re growing up quickly during the country’s historic tournament run. Twenty-year-old defender Luc de Fougerolles and 22-year-old midfielder Niko Sigur say they’ve leaned on the team’s veterans to learn how to handle the pressure and demands of the World Cup. The pair hope those lessons pay off when Canada faces Morocco on Saturday for a place in the quarterfinals. “I think you have to grow up,” de Fougerolles said. “Everything comes quickly.”

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3 p.m.

Today’s World Cup action is underway in Los Angeles, where Spain is taking on Austria. Spain opened the tournament with a 0-0 draw against tiny Cape Verde, but rebounded with wins over Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to finish atop its group. Austria finished second to defending champion Argentina in its group thanks largely to a 3-0 win over Jordan.

2:30 p.m.

A Massachusetts city is imposing a curfew ahead of Cape Verde’s World Cup round-of-32 match against Argentina tomorrow. Brockton, home to one of the largest Cape Verdean communities in the United States, will be under a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. after recent post-match celebrations were marred by shootings, stabbings and other violence. The city has also requested National Guard assistance as Cape Verde looks to continue its historic World Cup run.

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1:45 p.m.

Ottawa will host what organizers call the largest-ever free outdoor watch party for a Canadian soccer game at the Bluesfest site at LeBreton Flats on Saturday. The event is for Canada’s World Cup round-of-16 match against Morocco, with gates opening at 11 a.m. before the 1 p.m. kickoff. Admission is free, with four big screens, surround sound and capacity capped at 20,000.

1:10 p.m.

Excitement is building in Vancouver ahead of tonight’s World Cup round-of-32 match between Algeria and Switzerland at BC Place. The Algerian Community of B.C. is planning a fan rally before marching to the stadium, with organizers expecting a couple hundred supporters to take part. “It’s a dream come true,” said community leader Nawel Allam, who has lived in B.C. for 35 years and calls seeing Algeria play in Vancouver a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. Swiss supporters, meanwhile, are pre-gaming at a pub in the city’s Gastown district before their march to the stadium.

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12:15 p.m.

Morocco midfielder Ismael Saibari’s standout World Cup has been rewarded with a move to Bayern Munich. The 25-year-old has signed with the German powerhouse through June 2031 after moving from PSV Eindhoven. Saibari has scored three goals in four games for Morocco as well as the decisive penalty in a shootout win over the Netherlands. He is expected to face future Bayern teammate Alphonso Davies when Morocco meets Canada in Saturday’s round-of-16 match.

9 a.m.

Three more spots in the World Cup round of 16 are up for grabs Thursday, with two games in Canada as Portugal faces Croatia at 7 p.m. in Toronto and Switzerland meets Algeria at 11 p.m. in Vancouver. The Toronto match could mark the final World Cup appearance for Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, while extreme heat and the threat of thunderstorms are expected to be factors. Earlier, Spain meets Austria at 3 p.m. in Inglewood, Calif., with the winner advancing to the round of 16. 

9 a.m.

Canada is on the training pitch in Houston as preparations continue for Saturday’s round-of-16 meeting with Morocco, with the squad training in sweltering Texas heat. Coach Jesse Marsch says managing player workload is a priority after more than a month together, with Canada looking to stay fresh against a Moroccan side that needed 120 minutes to advance. Canada earned its spot with a 1-0 win over South Africa on Sunday and is chasing a place in the World Cup quarterfinals.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

The Latest from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada

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