World Cup Nights: Ramos sinks Croatia in stoppage time, Spain cruise, and an Iberian derby awaits in the last 16

A heart-stopping night of Cup football. In Toronto, Portugal came from behind to beat Croatia 2-1: a Ronaldo penalty and a 94th-minute Goncalo Ramos header. In Los Angeles, Spain thrashed Austria 3-0 with an Oyarzabal brace and marched into the round of 16, where Portugal now await - an Iberian derby is on. In Vancouver, Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0 to end an 88-year wait. From tonight, Italian time, the last verdicts of the first knockout round: Australia-Egypt, Argentina-Cape Verde with Messi, and Colombia-Ghana.

It began in Toronto, where the maddest game of the night played out. At BMO Field the first half drifted by goalless, then the second exploded: on 53' Ivan Perisic beat his man, cut inside and put Croatia ahead. Portugal responded - Roberto Martinez threw on four fresh legs and immediately won a penalty, which Cristiano Ronaldo tucked away on 68' for the equaliser. It was the first knockout-stage goal of his career, in his sixth World Cup. The finish was a thriller: on 94' Rafael Leao curled one in from the left and substitute Goncalo Ramos rose to head the 1-2 that books the last 16. There was still time for a scare, with a Josko Gvardiol goal ruled out by VAR for offside on 100'. After eighteen minutes of stoppage time, Portugal were through - and, in all likelihood, the World Cup story of Croatia's golden generation, led by Luka Modric, is over for good.

In Los Angeles, by contrast, there were no nerves: Spain delivered a football lesson. La Roja dominated from the first minute and broke through on 36' with Mikel Oyarzabal, who turned in Marc Cucurella's low cross. That left flank kept doing damage after the break: on 66' Pedro Porro ghosted in like a centre-forward to double the lead, then on 89' Oyarzabal again, teed up by another Cucurella delivery, sealed the 3-0. With Lamine Yamal running riot on the right and a suffocating possession game, Luis de la Fuente's side claimed their first World Cup knockout win since the 2010 final - a loud message to the title contenders.

Vancouver completed the picture, and Switzerland made history. At BC Place it took Breel Embolo just ten minutes to open the scoring, set up by Johan Manzambi's surge, and barely 48 seconds after the restart Dan Ndoye made it 2-0 to settle it. Final score 2-0 over Algeria: the Swiss win a World Cup knockout tie for the first time since 1938 - an 88-year wait - and reach a fourth straight round of 16. Now they wait on the winner of Colombia-Ghana.

The headlines, though, belong to a twist of fate: the last 16 will serve up Spain-Portugal, an Iberian derby set for Monday 6 July in Arlington. Two of the tournament's most fancied sides, side by side near the top of the rankings, will fight for a place in the last eight in a tie worth half a World Cup. Ronaldo, in the spotlight again, didn't hide from it: 'In the second half after the goal we got a little bit of panic, but this is football. After the penalty I think it was a little bit better for us, we created a few chances and at the end of the day I think we deserved to win the match.' Meanwhile, from the United States comes a figure that captures the World Cup fever: the USMNT's round-of-16-clinching win drew 24.4 million viewers, a domestic record for a soccer broadcast.

From tonight, Italian time, the first knockout round closes with its final three verdicts. It starts at 20:00 with Australia-Egypt in Dallas, then the night comes alive: at midnight Miami's Hard Rock Stadium hosts Argentina-Cape Verde, with Lionel Messi chasing the goals he needs to reclaim top spot in the scoring chart after Mbappe drew level. At 03:30 it's Colombia-Ghana in Kansas City, with a last-16 date against Switzerland at stake. And tomorrow, Saturday, the round of 16 truly begins, with Morocco-Canada getting things under way. On we go, one night at a time. See you tomorrow at dawn.

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