Portugal vs. Croatia squad comparison: Market values, most expensive players | World Cup 2026

Portugal and Croatia meet at Toronto Stadium on Thursday, July 2, with the winner progressing to the World Cup 2026 Round of 16.

Both teams are looking to go all the way and win the World Cup for the first time in their histories, and they both reached here by finishing second in their respective World Cup groups.

The Portuguese started off with a 1-1 draw against DR Congo, before thrashing Uzbekistan 5-0 and ending the group phase with a goalless draw against Colombia, amassing five points to finish second in Group K.

Croatia, meanwhile, fell 4-2 to England in their opening fixture, before picking up 1-0 and 2-1 wins over Panama and Ghana respectively, leaving them second with six points in Group L.

This will be the first meeting between Portugal and Croatia at the World Cup, but they have met six times competitively in the past, with Selecao das Quinas unbeaten in those meetings.

The last time they faced off was in the Nations League back in 2024, and the game ended 1-1.

There have been some changes to both squads since then, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric, two of the most decorated players of their generation, could both be playing their final World Cup game when the sides meet.

Football Whispers takes a look at how the two squads compare in terms of their most and least valuable players.

Portugal vs Croatia squad value comparison

*All values from Transfermarkt

Portugal's total squad value stands at €1.01bn (£865m), ranking them fourth among all World Cup 2026 squads.

Croatia, meanwhile, are valued at €387.3m (£331.7m), putting them 16th on the list. That means Portugal's squad is worth well over two-and-a-half times more than Croatia's heading into their Round of 32 meeting in Toronto.

Portugal vs Croatia most valuable players

Portugal's value is driven from the middle of the park, with PSG's Champions League-winning pair Vitinha and Joao Neves both valued at €140m (£119.8m) apiece.

Left-back Nuno Mendes is next up at €80m (£68.5m), with Chelsea's Pedro Neto (€60m/£51.4m) and captain-in-waiting Ruben Dias (€55m/£47.1m) rounding out the top five.

Croatia's most valuable asset is a much smaller figure by comparison, and that is Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol, valued at €70m (£59.9m), who comfortably tops their squad list.

The next is Luka Vuskovic (€60m/£51.4m), who just secured a move from Tottenham to Brighton and Hove Albion, while Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanisic and Inter Milan’s Petar Sucic are tied for third (€40m/£34.2m).

Portugal vs Croatia least valuable players

Despite being the biggest name in the squad and Portugal's captain, Cristiano Ronaldo is now valued at just €10m (£8.6m), a reflection of his age rather than his continued importance to the side.

Only a handful of fringe squad players are valued lower than the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, with the least valued player being goalkeeper Jose Sa (€3.5m/£2.9m), followed by Nelson Semedo and Goncalo Guedes (€6m/£5.1m).

Croatia have an almost identical story at the other end of their own spectrum, as Modric, also in the twilight of his career and playing what could be his fifth and final World Cup, is currently valued at just €3.5m (£2.9m), a fraction of the fee (£30m) Real Madrid paid Tottenham for him back in 2012 (around €37m at the time).

However, the least-valued player in the Croatian squad is another veteran Ivan Perisic (€1.2m/£1m), followed by Andrej Kramaric, who is valued at €2.5m (£2.1m).

Portugal vs Croatia: Transfer records

Portugal's most expensive player in history is Joao Felix, who joined Atletico Madrid from Benfica in 2019 for €126m (£107.9m), a fee that made him the fourth most expensive transfer of all time at the point of signing, and still stands as Benfica's record sale.

Croatia's record transfer is a much more recent one, as Gvardiol's £77m (around €90m) move from RB Leipzig to Manchester City in 2023 remains the largest fee ever paid for a Croatian player, and also made him the most expensive defender in football history at the time of the deal.