Who is Espen Eskas? The referee for Portugal vs Croatia

Ex-Real Madrid teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric go head-to-head in the World Cup Round of 32

Croatia and Portugal are set to face one another in Toronto this evening for a place in the last 16 of the World Cup.

It will be the final game held in the Canadian city and it could also be the final World Cup match for one of football's veterans with one of Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo heading out tonight.

Here's who will be in charge of this evening's game.

Norwegian official Espen Eskas is set to take charge of this huge match, making his second appearance on the pitch at the tournament.

Previously, he took charge of Uruguay's draw against Cape Verde.

However, he has also been involved in other matches, including Scotland's 3-0 group stage defeat to Brazil that ultimately knocked them out of the tournament.

Eskas was on fourth official duties for that particular match.

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

The 37-year-old official is actually younger than both Ronaldo and Modric but has already featured in plenty of high profile matches.

While he predominantly referees in Norway's top tier, he has also featured in Champions League games and worked as a fourth official at the 2024 Euros.

He will be joined for tonight's match by his compatriots Jan Erik Engan and Isaak Bashevkin. The pair will be assisting from the touchlines.

The Norwegians will be joined by a South African pair in the shape of fourth official Abongile Tom and Zakhele Siwela.

The game will kick off at midnight UK time and will be shown live on BBC One.

Portugal won one of their three group stage matches to reach the final 32, while Croatia beat both Panama and Ghana after losing 4-2 to England in their opening game.

Ryan Gray is a freelance writer, covering mainly travel and occasionally sport. He previously spent two years as Sports Editor at the Watford Observer before turning his hand to travel writing, with his work appearing in various national UK publications. He has gone from providing matchday commentary for Blyth Spartans to covering FA Cup and Euros finals, as well as interviewing the likes of Claudio Ranieri, Alan Shearer and Glenn Hoddle, among other big names.