In the round of 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Portugal beat Croatia by two goals in a thrilling and dramatic fashion to advance to the quarter-finals.
The first half of the game played between Portugal and Croatia at the Toronto stadium was for Portugal, who played faster and better football than Croatia, but failed to score a goal, the first half was goalless from both sides.
The real excitement started in the second half of the match as the Croatian team looked completely different from the start, their players began to attack Portugal even more and when Pricic fired the ball into the net in the 53rd minute, it was an immediate result.
In the 60th minute of the game, the star Ronaldo threw the ball into the Croatian net, but the referee declared the ball offside.
Portugal had to wait fifteen minutes and fight hard to equalize this goal. In the 68th minute, on a corner, the Croatian player prevented the Portuguese player from reaching the ball, then the referee gave a penalty to Portugal through VAR and Cristiano Ronaldo scored and the match was tied. It was also Ronaldo’s first goal in a World Cup match.
After that, Croatia’s attacks increased, in the 80th minute, Croatia scored a goal, but this time their player went out.
In the 94th minute of the game, the Portuguese Ramos scored a goal with a nice header and gave Portugal a 2-1 advantage. When the ten-minute injury time started, the match was 90 minutes, but it was more than a hundred minutes.
The celebration started in the Croatia camp, Ronaldo was sitting on the bench and the Portuguese players inside the field were disappointed, but at that moment the referee thought it might be offside, then VAR was used, when the referee who was watching the replay turned around, everyone was waiting for the decision, offside, the referee decided and Croatia’s goal was denied.
Now it was the Portuguese players’ turn to celebrate, the Croatian players, including the experienced and veteran Luka Modric, were shocked and saddened, the pro-Croatian fans were upset, empty water bottles rained down on the pitch.
This was discussed with the referee but the decision was irreversible, the game ended with a few moments left and the Portuguese team defeated Croatia with two goals and one and entered the pre-quarter finals.
With the win, Portugal advanced to the quarter-finals, where they will face Spain on July 6 in Dallas.
