World Cup Day 7: Ronaldo’s Possible Farewell, England Face Croatia

On Day 7 of the 2026 World Cup, the spotlight shifts from the previous night’s performances by Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi, who matched the World Cup scoring record, to a new set of marquee matches. Cristiano Ronaldo is set to begin what may be his sixth and final World Cup with Portugal, followed later by England against Croatia, then Ghana against Panama and Uzbekistan against Colombia.

Portugal play the Democratic Republic of Congo at 20:00 in Houston. Four years before hosting the tournament themselves, Portugal arrive with one of their strongest ever squads, including Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Joao Neves and Ronaldo. The article notes that the African side has qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974. Ronaldo has not said whether this will be his last tournament, and is said to be waiting to see how the competition unfolds before deciding. He is chasing Messi’s appearance record, wants to score again, and may still dream of lifting a historic trophy.

At 23:00 in Arlington, England meet Croatia in a clash of contrasting football cultures. England, who have won the World Cup only once, in 1966 at home, have reached the semifinals just twice since, in 1990 and 2018. Croatia, by contrast, have never won the tournament but have reached at least the semifinals in each of the last two World Cups. The article says their magic has faded somewhat, with the golden generation nearly gone, though Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic remain in the lineup and striker Ante Budimir is 34. England’s Harry Kane has scored 58 goals in all competitions this season, but manager Thomas Tuchel is under criticism for leaving several stars out of the squad.

The day concludes with Ghana against Panama at 02:00 in Toronto and Uzbekistan against Colombia at 04:00 in Mexico City. Ghana are making a third consecutive World Cup appearance, led by Jordan Ayew and Inaki Williams, while Panama are in only their second World Cup and still seeking their first win. Christian Martinez could play and become the first player from Israel’s top flight to appear in the tournament. Uzbekistan are making their first-ever World Cup appearance, while Colombia are looking to recapture the success of their 2014 quarterfinal run, with James Rodriguez returning to the main stage.