Soccer’s biggest stage offers an opportunity for the best in the world to redefine their legacies every time they step on to the pitch.
Last night, the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo got a chance to add to his remarkable resume in a moment that we had been building towards since we learned that Portugal would host Croatia in the Round of 32 in Toronto.
At 41 years and 147 days, the man who broke so many records over the past two decades stepped to the spot and scored a penalty for the first tournament knockout stage goal of his career.
Ronaldo became the oldest knockout stage goal scorer in tournament history and extended his record for the most tournament goals among Portuguese men.
More importantly, Ronaldo’s goal tied the match at 1-1, setting the stage for the Super Sub Goncalo Ramos to score the goal that would send Portugal through to the Round of 16 with a 2-1 win over Croatia at 90’ +4.
Ramos’ goal was the second-latest goal scored by Portugal in tournament history.
Although it appeared Croatia tied it just moments later, VAR ruled the potential equalizer was offside, meaning that Ronaldo’s legendary career will continue in the Round of 16 versus Spain.
That showdown will mark the tournament’s first clash between two of the top six choices to lift the trophy at FanDuel, with Spain as the pre-tournament favourite and Portugal the last of the six teams that were +1200 or shorter to lift the trophy at FanDuel before we kicked off.
Coming off a dominant 3-0 win over Austria on Thursday, Spain is a heavy favourite to advance versus Portugal.
Meanwhile, Switzerland cruised to a 2-0 win over Algeria in the late match to extend the streak to nine straight favourites that have advanced dating back to Tuesday.
Will that trend continue as the Round of 32 ends with the final three matches scheduled for today?
Let’s set the stage for today’s Round of 32 matches in this Morning Coffee column for Friday July 3rd, 2026.
Messi, Argentina Step Back Into Spotlight As Heavy Favourites To Advance
The Round of 32 kicked off with a couple of surprises, as Paraguay and Morocco advanced with upsets in penalties against Germany and the Netherlands, respectively.
However, the favourites have gone undefeated in the last nine matches since then, and that trend is expected to continue today.
Argentina’s road to the final continues versus Cabo Verde in the most lopsided Round of 32 matchup on paper.
Cabo Verde was the biggest longshot to qualify for the knockout stage at +215 at FanDuel.
As of this morning, Cabo Verde to advance is +1040 – an 8.8 per cent implied probability.
Argentina would face the winner of Egypt versus Australia in the Round of 16, meaning they wouldn’t have to face a single opponent that was shorter than 100-to-1 to lift the trophy pre-tournament until at least the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Ghana qualified as the third-place team from Group L and is +410 to advance versus Colombia.
Australia, which joined Cabo Verde, South Africa, and DR Congo as the four teams that qualified for the knockout stage at plus-money at FanDuel, is +132 to upset Egypt.
If the favourites sweep the board again today, that will extend the streak to 12 straight favourites to advance entering Canada’s Round of 16 showdown with Morocco.
Canada is +235 to advance versus Morocco at FanDuel.
That number represents a 29.9 per cent implied chance.
Of course, I highlighted the other day in this column that Canada could draw inspiration from Morocco, which upset the Netherlands as a +130 underdog at FanDuel.
Paraguay upset Germany in penalties at +480 to advance.
If the favourites dominate again on Friday, Canadians may be convinced we are due for an upset by the time Canada and Morocco kick off in Houston on Saturday.
As for my FanDuel Best Bet for Friday, I’m going to parlay Argentina to win in 90 and Colombia to win in 90 at -169.
While Cabo Verde goalkeeper Vozinha stole the show in a 0-0 draw versus Spain in their opener, he allowed two goals on as many shots on target versus Uruguay, before making three saves in a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia.
Argentina scored eight goals in three group stage matches, cruising to wins over Algeria, Austria, and Jordan by multiple goals.
Cabo Verde had its moment versus Spain, but upsetting Argentina in the knockout stage will be an entirely different challenge.
Meanwhile, a late goal versus Panama set the stage for Ghana to grind out a third-place finish in Group L with a scoreless draw versus England, although they looked vulnerable on several occasions in that match.
Now they face a Colombia side that cruised to wins over Uzbekistan and DR Congo before settling for a scoreless draw versus Portugal to clinch first place in Group K.
After failing to qualify for the tournament four years ago, Colombia is motivated to earn a measure of redemption, and they have landed a favourable draw with matches versus Ghana and Switzerland on the road to the quarterfinals.
Argentina and Colombia are both heavy favourites and for good reason.
I’m willing to parlay them both to win in 90 as my FanDuel Best Bet at -169.
Hopefully, we can extend the streak to 11 straight best bet winners heading into the Round of 16.
Have a great day, everyone!
