TORONTO: It took until stoppage time, but Goncalo Ramos rose highest to break Croatian hearts. His header gave Portugal a 2-1 win in Toronto, a place in the Round of 16, and an Iberian showdown with Spain.
For Luka Modric, it was the final act of a World Cup career. Portugal had threatened from the start. Four minutes in, Bruno Fernandes surged on the counter, but Dominik Livakovic was equal to it with a sharp stop.
Roberto Martinez’s men sustained heavy offensive waves through the first half, launching multiple attempts via Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, and Renato Veiga, who narrowly headed wide from an inviting position.
Despite maintaining nearly two-thirds of the possession, a stubborn and deeply disciplined Croatian backline repeatedly frustrated the Euro 2016 champions, with Rafael Leão firing over the crossbar in stoppage time to leave the game deadlocked at 0-0 at the interval.
The second half began with Nuno Mendes pushing forward, but Croatia struck first against the run of play. Ivan Perisic arrived unmarked at the far post to turn in a cross past Diogo Costa.
With that goal, Perisic overtook Davor Suker as Croatia’s all-time leading scorer at World Cups. Croatia pressed for a second. Costa denied Petar Sucic, and another Croatian goal was ruled out for offside. Portugal hit back — Rafael Leão struck the crossbar from distance, and a Ronaldo equaliser was flagged offside.
On the hour, Roberto Martinez made four changes, including Goncalo Ramos. The impact was immediate. Renato Veiga was fouled by Nikola Vlasic at a corner, and after VAR, Ronaldo converted the penalty in the 67th minute to make it 1-1.
Ronaldo was then replaced by Ruben Neves in the 80th. Croatia came close again — Mateo Kovacic hit the post and Sucic had another effort ruled out for offside. With penalties looming, Portugal won it in the 94th minute.
Leão’s cross found Ramos, who powered a header home. Deep into added time, Josko Gvardiol thought he’d equalised from a scramble, but a lengthy VAR check found Igor Matanovic offside in the build-up.
The goal was disallowed. The 2-1 comeback keeps Portugal unbeaten against Croatia in competitive matches and sends them into a Round of 16 clash with Spain. (ANI)
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