Portugal secured a dramatic place in the Round of 16 of the World Cup on Thursday after substitute Gonçalo Ramos scored a stoppage-time winner to seal a hard-fought victory over Croatia, while a late Croatian equalizer was ruled out following a VAR review.
Ramos delivered the decisive moment in a captivating World Cup encounter by meeting an excellent delivery from Rafael Leão in the fourth minute of added time. His header broke Croatian hearts after the Balkan side had controlled much of the contest and fashioned the better opportunities despite the draining conditions in Toronto.
Croatia believed they had rescued the game deep into extra time when Joško Gvardiol found the back of the net. However, celebrations were cut short after the Video Assistant Referee determined that the defender had been offside.
The decision left Croatian players and supporters devastated, with frustrated fans throwing debris onto the playing surface after the goal was disallowed.
Moments before Gvardiol’s effort was ruled out, Portugal manager Roberto Martinez and members of the Portuguese bench were visibly appealing to the officials to bring the contest to an end.
Cristiano Ronaldo also played a decisive part in Portugal’s qualification by calmly converting a penalty to erase Croatia’s earlier lead, which had been provided by Ivan Perišić.
The strike represented Ronaldo’s first-ever goal in the knockout rounds of a FIFA World Cup and also saw him become the oldest player to score during that stage of the competition.
Portugal will now continue their campaign with a heavyweight clash against Spain in Dallas on Monday.
Following the final whistle, Ronaldo shared an emotional conversation with Croatian captain Luka Modrić, whose remarkable World Cup journey is widely expected to have concluded with the defeat.
The contest also entered the record books as the first World Cup match featuring two outfield players aged over 40 on the same pitch.
Portugal’s players rounded off the evening by honouring their late teammate Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident one year ago, lifting his No. 21 jersey in tribute after securing victory.
The opening period produced few clear opportunities before Croatia broke the deadlock shortly after the restart.
Perišić punished Portugal in the 53rd minute by finishing calmly beneath advancing goalkeeper Diogo Costa to hand Croatia the advantage.
Portugal appeared to respond almost immediately when Ronaldo expertly controlled a long pass before finishing confidently, but the goal was ruled out after he was caught offside.
The equalizer eventually arrived when Renato Veiga was pulled back inside the penalty area by Nikola Vlašić. Following a VAR review, the referee awarded Portugal a penalty.
Ronaldo confidently stepped forward and fired his spot-kick straight through the middle of the goal before celebrating passionately as loud cheers echoed throughout the packed Toronto stadium.
The action remained end-to-end as Croatia continued to threaten. Mateo Kovačić forced Costa into an outstanding fingertip save that pushed his low effort onto the post.
Croatia later had another effort finish in the net through Petar Sučić, but the assistant referee immediately raised the flag for an obvious offside.
Ronaldo’s evening came to an end in the 81st minute when he was replaced by Rúben Neves.
The capacity crowd of 43,000 rose to applaud the Portuguese captain, uncertain whether they had just witnessed his final World Cup appearance.
Croatia continued pressing for a winner, and Mario Pašalić came agonizingly close when his far-post header drifted narrowly wide.
Just as extra time seemed destined for penalties, Ramos timed his run perfectly to meet Leão’s delivery, sending his header beyond the goalkeeper and booking Portugal’s place in the knockout stage.
Although Portugal enjoyed strong backing inside the stadium, Croatia’s passionate supporters relentlessly jeered Ronaldo whenever he was in possession.
Toronto’s large Portuguese community had already created an electric atmosphere before kickoff, with Ronaldo’s arrival generating enormous excitement across the city.
The enthusiasm even caused significant disruption on Wednesday when hundreds of supporters gathered along a major expressway hoping to catch a glimpse of the Portuguese team bus, forcing authorities to temporarily shut down the multi-lane highway.
