Substitute Goncalo Ramos’s headed goal edged Portugal into the last 16 of the World Cup on Thursday after Croatia were dramatically denied an equalizer by VAR.
Ramos settled a classic World Cup game when he connected with a superb pass from Rafael Leao in the fourth minute of stoppage time to snuff out a Croatia team which had created the lion’s share of the chances in sapping heat in Toronto.
Croatia thought they had snatched a goal in the dying seconds of extra time, but Josko Gvardiol’s goal was chalked off for offside.
The Croatians were left stunned by the decision, and their fans began hurling rubbish on the pitch.
In the seconds before Gvardiol’s disallowed goal, the Portuguese bench and coach Roberto Martinez were growing increasingly livid, begging match officials for the final whistle.
Cristiano Ronaldo played his role in the victory, stroking home a penalty that cancelled out Ivan Perisic’s opener.
It was Ronaldo’s first ever goal in the knockout phase of the World Cup, and it made him the oldest scorer in that phase in the tournament’s history.
His remarkable international career will now have another chapter when Portugal face Spain in Dallas on Monday.
After the match, Ronaldo shared a long exchange with Croatian legend Luka Modric, one of football’s all-time greats, whose World Cup career has almost certainly ended with Thursday’s defeat.
The match marked the first time that two outfield players aged over 40 took to the same pitch in a World Cup.
At the end, the Portugal players also paid tribute to late teammate Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash a year ago, by holding up his number 21 shirt.
– Ronaldo penalty –
After a lacklustre first half, Croatian veteran Perisic stunned the Portuguese by slotting the ball under the advancing Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa in the 53rd minute.
Within minutes, Ronaldo had the ball in the net after controlling a long pass, but his effort was disallowed for offside.
But Portugal got level when Renato Veiga was grabbed by Croatia’s Nikola Vlasic in the penalty area and after a VAR check, the referee pointed to the spot.
Ronaldo stepped up to convert the penalty with ease, hitting the ball straight down the middle of the goal and pumping his fists with joy afterwards, triggering defeaning cheers in the Toronto stadium.
In a pulsating game, Manchester City forward Mateo Kovacic’s low shot was pushed onto a post by ‘keeper Costa’s fingertips.
Still Croatia pushed and Peta Sucic had the ball in the net but the assistant referee’s flag was up for a clear offside.
Ronaldo was withdrawn in the 81st minute to allow Ruben Neves to come on.
The sellout crowd of 43,000 erupted with appreciation as Ronaldo went off — unsure in the moment if he would appear again at in World Cup.
Croatia continued to create more chances than their opponents and Mario Pasalic came so close to winning the game with a header at the far post, but it bounced just wide.
But when Ramos connected, the net bulged and Portugal were through.
While the crowd tilted towards Portugal, the sizeable and vocal Croatian contingent smothered the stadium with booes every time Ronaldo touched the ball.
Tens of thousands of people with Portuguese lineage live in and around Toronto and Ronaldo’s presence in the city also sparked waves of enthusiasm — and chaos on a major highway a day before the match.
A multi-lane expressway was forced to close Wednesday when hundreds of fans lined the shoulder hoping to get a glimpse of the passing Portuguese team bus.
