2026 FIFA World Cup Day 21 recap: Ronaldo sets new challenge for Messi as Yamal joins Okocha’s club

The 2026 FIFA World Cup action continued on day 21, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal headlining the show. 

Yamal’s Spain kicked off the action with a clash against Austria in Los Angeles before Ronaldo and his Portuguese teammates faced Luka Modric’s Croatia in Toronto. 

The day’s action ended with Switzerland taking on Algeria in Vancouver. Here’s a recap of how it all went down. 

Spain booked their spot in the round of 16 with a dominant 3-0 victory over Austria in Los Angeles.

La Roja had been far from convincing coming into this game, but they showed why they were the bookies' favourite to win the competition in this match. 

Mikel Oyarzabal put Luis de la Fuente’s men ahead in the 36th minute before Pedro Porro doubled their advantage in the 66th minute. 

Oyarzabal then added gloss to the scoreline with his second in the 89th minute to put a sorry Austria side out of their misery. 

However, while Oyarzabal’s brace proved to be vital, Lamine Yamal, Spain’s starboy, was the star of the show. 

Although he did not score or provide an assist, almost all of Spain’s attack went through the Barcelona wonderboy. 

The 18-year-old was a thorn in the flesh of Austrian defenders as he became the youngest player in World Cup history to record ten touches in the opposition’s box and ten dribbles. 

In addition, Yamal also joined Super Eagles legend Austin Jay-Jay Okocha as the only player with an average of 12 dribbles per game in the World Cup. 

The youngster will now hope to continue in the same vein when Spain take on a familiar foe in the round of 16. 

The familiar foe that Spain will face in the round of 16 is Portugal after the Selecao beat Croatia 2-1 in an entertaining match in Toronto. 

This was a match that had every bit of everything, but it was Roberto Martinez’s men who moved on. Portugal dominated the first half, but there was nothing to separate the two sides after the opening 45 minutes. 

However, the game lit up following the restart as Ivan Perisic put Croatia ahead in the 53rd minute. 

Zlatko Dalić’s men held on to that lead until the 68th minute, when Ronaldo restored parity for the Portuguese from the spot after Renato Veiga was fouled in the box. 

Ironically, the penalty was Ronaldo’s only touch in Croatia’s box, despite playing over 80 minutes. 

The goal was Ronaldo’s first in the knockout stage of a World Cup, making him the oldest player to score a goal in the knockout stage of a World Cup at 41.  

It is a record that will stand for some time unless his rival Lionel Messi goes on to play at the 2030 World Cup. 

Ronaldo’s goal drew Portugal level, giving the 2016 European champions a little bit of life. The match appeared to be heading for extra time until Goncalo Ramos headed home a cross from Rafael Leao in the fourth minute of added time. 

However, the drama was not over as Croatia thought they had equalised in the 13th minute of added time only for Josko Gvardiol’s strike to be disallowed for offside following a VAR review. 

Add Algeria to the list of African teams out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup following their 2-0 loss to Switzerland in Vancouver. 

The Desert Warriors were looking to qualify for the round of 16 for the first time since 2014, but the game was over after 46 minutes as goals in either half from Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye gave the Swiss Army a comfortable 2-0 win.