Ronaldo ends knockout drought as Spain eye round‑of‑16 opponent

Cristiano Ronaldo finally broke his World Cup knockout duck, netting a penalty against Croatia on Thursday in Canada, a goal that will decide Spain’s opponent in the round of 16. The veteran’s first knockout strike ended a long‑awaited drought as the match progressed in the second half. The first half offered little excitement as both sides tested each other in a tightly contested encounter. The game, staged in Canada, remained deadlocked when the whistle blew for halftime. Croatia emerged stronger after the break, equalising through Perisic in the 53rd minute. The goal marked Perisic’s 39th for Croatia and continued his streak of scoring in four consecutive World Cups.

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Ronaldo appeared to score in the 61st minute, but the effort was ruled out for off‑side. A VAR review later awarded a penalty after a foul on Renato Veiga from a corner, which Ronaldo converted. The penalty gave Ronaldo his third goal of the tournament and his eleventh World Cup tally. It also brought his career total to 976 goals and added a 146th celebration for his national side.

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Ronaldo was substituted in the 80th minute after his contribution. He entered the competition with ten World Cup goals but had never scored in a match that decided qualification, nor provided an assist in the eight such games. Now in his sixth World Cup, Ronaldo has scored in every edition, missing only a knockout appearance in Brazil when Portugal failed to progress past the group stage behind Germany and the United States. Portugal’s best run with him came at the previous tournament, topping Group G, beating South Korea in the round of 16 and falling to Morocco in the quarter‑finals.