TORONTO (AP) — Gonzalo Ramos scored the winning goal in stoppage time as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a ferocious finish that included a Croatian goal disallowed for offside just before the final whistle. world cup Round of 32 match on Thursday night.
In this match, Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), who is in his 40s and is participating in his sixth World Cup, faces off against Luka Modric of Croatia, aiming to win his fifth tournament title.
Ronaldo equalized with a penalty in the 68th minute, giving the megastar his first goal of the World Cup knockout stages, but he was sent off in the 81st minute. However, it was Ramos who gave Portugal victory and a place in the last 16.
Portugal will play Spain on Monday.
“In the first half we dominated the game. In the second half we panicked a bit after the goal, but that’s football,” said Ronaldo. “I think it was a little bit better for us after the penalty. We created some chances and I think at the end of the day we deserved to win the game.”
The match ended controversially as Croatia thought they had tied the score at 2-2 at the last minute, but VAR ruled it a no-goal and Mario Pašalić was ruled offside. Croatian fans protested by throwing bottles on the field and blowing whistles.
Croatia took the lead in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic converted a cross from Josip Sanisic.
Ronaldo, who was loudly booed by Croatian fans every time he touched the ball, grabbed a chance from the spot after Nikola Vlasic was fouled with a holding foul in the box. The Portuguese megastar stepped up and converted in the middle as the goalkeeper moved to his right.
Modric led Croatia to second and third place in 2018 and 2022, and this game had the weight of two aging stars each looking to realize their dreams of winning a World Cup. Modric is 40 years old and Ronaldo is 41.
The pair, who were teammates at Real Madrid, smiled and hugged before the pre-match coin toss. After the match, the two met on the pitch, hugged and exchanged words.
“I’ve been playing with Luka for many years,” Ronaldo said. “We’re about the same age. I think he’s a football legend. He’s still a football legend.”
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Lexi Linderman is a student at Penn State’s John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.
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