Last-Minute Drama
LIVE: GOAL! Portugal scores in stoppage time
Huge celebrations for Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal wins a thrilling match against Croatia 2-1 and advances to the Round of 16! Next up is Spain, who defeated Austria, this coming Monday (9 p.m. CEST/live on the sportkrone.at live ticker) in Dallas.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen In the 2-1 (0-0) victory over Croatia in Toronto, 41-year-old Ronaldo sparked the comeback with a penalty kick after his team had fallen behind (67th minute), and Goncalo Ramos sealed the last-minute win in the 94th minute. The 2016 European champions will now face Spain, who defeated Austria.
Croatia had turned the tide shortly after the restart thanks to Ivan Perisic (53rd minute) following a dominant Portuguese performance in the first half, but had to accept a late knockout in a dramatic closing phase. Particularly bitter was Josko Gvardiol’s 2–2 equalizer in the 116th minute, which was disallowed for offside following a video review: The ruling that the ball had previously been touched—at most with the tips of his fingers—by his teammate Igor Matanovic is likely to spark further debate.
In any case, 41-year-old Ronaldo, who became the oldest goalscorer in a World Cup knockout stage, was able to breathe a sigh of relief along with his teammates.
Portugal Set the Pace in the First Half
After a strong start by Croatia, it was primarily the Portuguese who dictated thepace. Rafael Leao, who had moved to left wing in the starting lineup, picked up speed and set up Bruno Fernandes, whose shot was saved by Dominik Livakovic. Fernandes’ follow-up shot was blocked (4th minute). After a quarter of an hour, center back Renato Veiga found space on a corner kick, but his header lacked accuracy (16th minute).
The Portuguese virtually suffocated Croatia with nearly 70 percent possession, but were rarely able to create any real danger from there on until halftime. Ronaldo, too, was a non-factor in the center of the attack. He made his 26th World Cup appearance and is now alone in second place in this statistic behind Lionel Messi (29). On the other side, Luka Modric—who is only a year younger and likely making his final World Cup appearance—also remained relatively inconspicuous for the time being.
After the break, the match picked up significantly in front of 43,036 spectators. Croatia responded with a period of pressure that Perisic capped off with the go-ahead goal following a cross from Josip Stanisic. Portugal reacted almost furiously. First, Leao rattled the crossbar (57'), and shortly afterward, Ronaldo fired a shot wide to the cheers of the crowd. The 41-year-old controlled a long pass perfectly and lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper (59'). But the offside flag prevented the equalizer for the time being.
Ronaldo surpassed his compatriot Pepe
Less than ten minutes later, the moment finally arrived. After a foul by Nikola Vlasic on Veiga and a video review by Norwegian referee Espen Eskas, the living legend sealed the 1-1 tie with his first goal in a World Cup knockout stage from the “spot.” In doing so, he snatched the record for the oldest goalscorer in a World Cup knockout stage from his compatriot Pepe. Pepe had been 39 years old at the 2022 World Cup during the 6–1 round-of-16 victory over Switzerland.
The match had turned into a thrilling back-and-forth affair with plenty of attacking play. Mateo Kovacic set up his double chance with a powerful solo run: Goalkeeper Diogo Costa deflected the ball onto the post, then tipped it over the crossbar just moments later (75th), and was also on hand to stop Matanovic (77th).
Ronaldo was substitutedo
Petar Sucic’s supposed 2–1 goal was disallowed for offside (80'), after which Portugal coach Martinez took a somewhat incredulous Ronaldo off the field (81'). In the closing minutes, both the Portuguese, through Veiga (87'), and the Croatians, through Mario Pasalic (89'), had dangerous headers that narrowly missed the target. The “lucky punch” also came via a header: After a cross from Leao, Ramos rose irresistibly high in the center.
Final score:
Portugal – Croatia 2–1 (0–0)
Toronto, 43,036 spectators, Referee Eskas (NOR)
Goals: 0–1 (53.) Perisic, 1–1 (67.) Ronaldo (penalty kick), 2–1 (94.) Ramos
Yellow cards: Dias and Modric
Portugal: Costa – Cancelo (62. Ramos), Dias, Veiga, Mendes – J. Neves, Vitinha (62. Silva) – Neto (62' Conceicao), Fernandes (62' Semedo), Leao – Ronaldo (81' R. Neves)
Croatia: Livakovic – Stanisic, Sutalo, Pongracic, Perisic – Modric, Kovacic (96. Kramaric) – P. Sucic, Vlasic (92. Gvardiol), Baturina (68. Pasalic) – Budimir (46. Matanovic)
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