TORONTO — Gonçalo Ramos headed in the stoppage-time winner as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a wild finish that also included a Croatian goal disallowed for offside just before the final whistle in a World Cup Round of 32 match Thursday night.
The game featured a matchup 40-somethings Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia’s Luka Modrić, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.
Ronaldo initially tied the game in the 68th minute on a penalty kick that gave the megastar his first knockout-stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute. But it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the Round of 16.
Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.
“First half we dominated the game. In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football,” Ronaldo said. “After the penalty, I think it was a little bit better for us. We created a few chances and at the end of the day we deserved to win the match.”
The game ended in controversy as Croatia thought it had tied the game at 2 in the last moments, but Mario Pašalić was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.
Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perišić scored off a cross from Josip Stanišić.
Ronaldo, booed loudly by Croatia fans every time he touched the ball, got his chance from the spot after Nikola Vlašić was called for a holding foul inside the box. Ronaldo hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.
Modrić led Croatia to second- and third-place finishes in 2018 and 2022, and the match carried the weight of the two aging stars each trying to realize the dream of winning the World Cup. Modrić is 40, Ronaldo 41.
The players, who were teammates with Real Madrid, shared a few smiles and an embrace ahead of the coin toss before the match. They met on the pitch afterward, hugged and exchanged a few words.
“I played with Luca so many years,” Ronaldo said. “I think he’s a legend of football. He’s still a legend of football.”
Lexie Linderman is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
