Portugal 2-1 Croatia: Ivan Perisic and Cristiano Ronaldo score in a thrilling finale as Gonzalo Ramos scores to lift Roberto Martinez’s side past
Cristiano Ronaldo has ended his long wait to score in the World Cup finals (Image: Patrick Smith/FIFA)
Despite all the debate and controversy, there may still be a fairytale ending for Cristiano Ronaldo as he seeks world domination.
The Portuguese superstar’s final World Cup outing seemed destined for a heartbreaking end in Toronto, but he ultimately made history by scoring in the knockout match, canceling out Ivan Perisic’s opener and marking his 26th World Cup appearance after Lionel Messi, keeping Portugal’s hopes alive.
He was not on the pitch when Gonzalo Ramos’ stunning header sealed Portugal’s place in the last 16.
But his dream of winning a World Cup with Portugal remains firmly alive, at least for now.
Without Ramos’ intervention, Ronaldo and Portugal might have been finished for good. Before Thursday’s do-or-die game against Croatia, Ronaldo’s sister dropped a bomb of bombs, almost confirming this was the icon’s last dance.
This means that at least his retirement from international competition is imminent, and is likely to be confirmed any time at the end of the tournament for the Portuguese national team.
That shouldn’t be a big shock considering Ronaldo is 41 years old and his powers have significantly diminished. Many of us are speculating that this tournament is really over. Still, Katia Aveiro’s words were still shocking.
Ironically, Portugal not only got off to a bright start in Toronto, but also tried to get the best out of Ronaldo, surrounding Croatia with a barrage of dangerous crosses in the opening 10 minutes.
However, the first half ended with no touches inside Croatia’s penalty area.
He often fell into a hopeless trance while trying to influence the court. Even when he was exactly where he was supposed to be, the ball never landed anywhere near his magical feet.
How he must have craved the chance that didn’t go his way. The veteran made no mistake when his cross landed perfectly at the back of the penalty area, firing a low shot past Diogo Costa.
An offside flag denied Croatia a momentary chance, but Rafael Leao hit the crossbar, briefly raising Portugal’s hopes.
Ronaldo had never scored in a World Cup final until Thursday night’s game, but the offside flag correctly ruled him offside due to his shoulder, disallowing him to score in that time.
A few minutes later, he was given a chance to make history from the penalty spot. He may not be the god-like player he once was, but there was no doubt he would continue to be that.
In the 81st minute, just after Petar Susic’s goal was ruled out for offside, Roberto Martínez made the bold decision to remove Ronaldo and it would be his final contribution.
Ramos was acting as a cheerleader when his moment came in stoppage time after Rafael Leao’s superb cross. But just as Josko Gvardiol appeared to have scored a remarkable equalizer in the 13th minute of second-half stoppage time, the cheers died down from Portugal’s bench.
However, a VAR check ruled that the match was offside, and both the Portugal national team and Ronaldo were sent off.
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