Croatia's 2-1 Loss to Portugal Sends Soccer Boyfriend to the Couch in Pro Couple's World Cup Bet
Croatian soccer player Ana Maria Markovic and Portuguese defender Tomas Ribeiro entered World Cup match week with a staked bet: whoever's country lost would be sleeping on the couch. Portugal's 2-1 win over Croatia, which eliminated the Croatians from the tournament and sent Portugal to the Round of 16, handed Markovic the bed and Ribeiro a blanket. The couple's pre-match Instagram announcement turned the nation-versus-nation fixture into appointment viewing well beyond the stadium.
Key takeaways
- Portugal beat Croatia 2-1, advancing to the Round of 16 and eliminating Croatia from the tournament.
- Croatian player Ana Maria Markovic and Portuguese defender Tomas Ribeiro had a public bet that the loser's partner would sleep on the couch, meaning Ribeiro took the couch.
- A VAR ruling denied Croatia a game-tying goal, shaping the final 2-1 scoreline.
- The bet was announced before the match on Markovic's Instagram, where she posted that 'someone's sleeping on the couch tonight.'
- Cristiano Ronaldo was credited as a factor in Portugal's victory.
Croatian soccer player Ana Maria Markovic and Portuguese defender Tomas Ribeiro entered World Cup match week with a staked bet: whoever's country lost would be sleeping on the couch. Portugal's 2-1 win over Croatia, which eliminated the Croatians from the tournament and sent Portugal to the Round of 16, handed Markovic the bed and Ribeiro a blanket. The couple's pre-match Instagram announcement turned the nation-versus-nation fixture into appointment viewing well beyond the stadium.
The Bet Announced on Instagram
Before the match, Markovic posted on Instagram — tagging Ribeiro — that "someone's sleeping on the couch tonight," alongside photos of the two in their opposing national jerseys. Ribeiro, tagged in the post, replied with a challenge of his own, questioning who exactly that would be. The exchange set the stakes publicly and left Ribeiro, a defender for Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, in a position that had no clean exit: a Croatia win meant the couch, and a Portugal win meant his team was eliminated.
2-1 Final, VAR Involved
Portugal advanced to the Round of 16 on a 2-1 result, with Cristiano Ronaldo credited as a factor in the victory. A VAR ruling denied Croatia a game-tying goal, a decision that shaped the final scoreline. Markovic, 26, who currently plays for Brooklyn FC in the USL Super League and was previously named the world's most beautiful soccer player by some outlets, watched the match from a bar alongside Ribeiro. She noted during the game that she was, by her own account, "literally the only Croatian" in the room — a detail that reportedly made Croatia's defeat a harder outcome to absorb.
Markovic Confirms the Outcome
Following the final whistle, Markovic indicated she had the bed to herself and acknowledged the loss was difficult to accept. Ribeiro's club side faces Spain on Monday, giving him another match to navigate — this time without a couch consequence attached. Whether Markovic extends him any goodwill on that fixture remains, as of this writing, unresolved.
Related reading
Filed by the newsroom of MarketPR on July 5, 2026. Source: foxnews.com. Indicative figures are not investment advice.