FIFA Portugal vs Croatia
Croatia thought they had scored a last-gasp equaliser to send the game to extra time, only for Josko Gvardiol’s scrappy goal to be ruled out for offside in the build-up.
Goncalo Ramos had earlier headed Portugal into the lead in added time after Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted by Roberto Martinez. Ronaldo’s penalty had cancelled out Ivan Perisic’s opener.Portugal will now face bitter local rivals Spain in the round of 16 — with the USMNT or Belgium lying in wait for the winners.We have barely recovered from that one but there is one more match on the way today at the World Cup as Switzerland take on Algeria in the round of 32.
What is the ball chip technology being used at the World Cup?
It was the moment which broke Croatian hearts.
From the good to the bad, football has made clear technological advances in recent times, and the match balls used at modern tournaments underline that new era.
Adidas, FIFA’s oldest commercial partner, manufactures the balls used in World Cups and since Qatar 2022, a 500Hz inertial measurement unit (IMU) motion sensor has been embedded to track data and enhance the VAR system.The ‘Connected Ball Technology’ (CBT), as Adidas calls it, is combined with player position data and, through artificial intelligence, they offer real-time information to streamline the semi-automated offside process. By delivering data 500 times a second, the sensor helps make the precise moment a ball was touched clear.Its primary purpose is to help with offside calls but it can also detect whether a player has touched the ball.
That doesn't even begin to tell the story of the most dramatic of clashes that relentlessly swung back and forth and ended in the cruelest way for Croatia when Josko Gvardiol's would-be game-saving equalizer 13 minutes into added time was ruled out for offside after video review.Croatia legend Luka Modrić, age 40 and likely playing for the last time at a World Cup, looked crestfallen at the final whistle.
The 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo lives to fight another day and couldn't hide his relief when just moments earlier he stood helplessly on the sidelines in anguish, believing Portugal had blown it.After 90 minutes of play, the electronic board signaled 10 minutes of added time, and it was difficult to imagine at that point just how much drama would be packed into the coming minutes.At the 94-minute mark, Rafael Leao sends a curling cross, and substitute Gonçalo Ramos rises highest to meet it, powering a header beyond the dive of the Croatian goalkeeper.Cue wild celebrations from Portugal’s players. They now had to just ride out the final minutes and advance to the next round.
Croatia Strikes Back
As the clock ticks into the 103rd minute, Croatia knows it is nearly out of time.From the left wing, Ivan Perisic hits a right-footed, in-swinging cross into the box.Igor Mantanovic makes the slightest of glances with his head — and this is crucial — to flick the ball on. It bounces off the thigh of Mario Palas
Gvardiol lunges and sends the ball crashing into the back of the net.
Now it’s time for Croatia’s players and fans to go crazy. Ronaldo, meanwhile, shakes his head in disbelief.Portugal’s staff, meanwhile, have seen replays on the sideline and are convinced it's offside.The crucial question is whether Mantanovic actually made contact with the ball before it hit Veiga.This is because Palasic was standing in an offside position when a Croatia player last played the ball forward.
While celebrations are ongoing, replays show Palasic was in an offside position when the ball came to him. However, it hit Portugal defender Renato Veiga on the way, which raises the possibility of him being onside because a Portugal player made the last touch.
Sensors inside the World Cup ball can detect the slightest of touches and Eskås was instructed to go to the sideline monitor where he confirmed contact by Mantanovic.
“Croatia player number 20 touched the ball ... final decision: offside,” he announced over the stadium speaker system.
Portugal’s players cheered as if they’d scored a goal. There were tears in the eyes of Croatia players. Perisic dropped to his knees. Modrić threw his hands in the air.
In fury, Croatia fans threw bottles onto the field, delaying the restart by a couple of minutes.
What happened up to that point ...
There was nothing to separate the teams after a first half that failed to catch fire, but that all changed after halftime with Perisic firing Croatia in front in the 53rd minute.
Leao almost leveled for Portugal with a long-range curling shot that came back off the bar. Ronaldo then thinks he has scored for the first time in a World Cup knockout game, but his is ruled out for marginal offside, something that would become a theme of the match.
Portugal makes lots of changes. Ronaldo stays on
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez makes four substitutions at once in an attempt to turn the game. Crucially, he keeps Ronaldo on despite the veteran forward's struggles to make an impact.
From a Portugal corner, giant defender Veiga tumbles to the ground under the challenge of Nikola Vlasic for a penalty. Ronaldo steps up to fire down the middle of the goal, level the game and finally score in the knockout round of the World Cup.
Heroic goalkeeping by Diogo Costa
Croatia, which reached the final and the semifinals of the last two World Cups, has a slew of chances. Portugal keeper Diogo Costa blocks Matteo Kovacic's long-range shot and then stops another effort from the same player. He then makes a sprawling save to block Igor Matanovic from close range.
Petar Sucic does beat Costa, but his celebrations are cut short by the offside flag.
In the 81st, Portugal made another change, taking off Ronaldo for what could have been the last appearance at the World Cup.
At some point after leaving the contest, Ronaldo donned a jersey of Diogo Jota, the former teammate who died in a car crash exactly one year ago. He and his teammates basked in the emotion of the win and thought of their dear friend.
Meanwhile, Croatian coach Zlatko Dalić was left wondering what could have been, and he had some harsh words for the video replay rules and decisions.
“All these decisions take the joy out of football. I’m not saying VAR can’t sometimes be of help, but it kills the emotion of the game. It kills everything within you. It kills what you are experiencing in the moment. Football should be fair. We’ve gone too far about VAR.”
Gonçalo Ramos headed a stoppage-time winner and Josko Gvardiol had an equaliser controversially disallowed as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a thrilling World Cup round of 32 contest in Toronto.
Cristiano Ronaldo's first World Cup knockout goal had cancelled out Ivan Perisic's opener in a contest that saw four efforts ruled out for offside, including what would have been a goal of the tournament contender for the 41-year-old Ronaldo.
Portugal dominated the first half and could have gone ahead as early as the fourth minute when Bruno Fernandes was picked out by Rafael Leão, only to be denied twice -- first by a Dominik Livakovic save and then by a desperate defensive block.
Cristiano Ronaldo smashed a free-kick from distance into the wall and Renato Veiga headed over from Nuno Mendes' corner after being left unmarked eight yards out.
Croatia defended valiantly but were struggling to get out of their own half as Ronaldo failed to turn in Joao Cancelo's swerving cross after 30 minutes.
The half-time introduction of Igor Matanovic significantly improved Croatia as an attacking force and three minutes after the break Mateo Kovacic wriggled into the box but saw his effort deflected wide by goalkeeper Diogo Costa's foot.
Croatia took the lead in the 53rd minute as Perisic finished at the back post after Josip Stanisic's cross evaded Matanovic.
Three minutes later Croatia thought they had doubled their lead after Matanovic turned in Mario Pasalic's low cross, but the latter had mistimed his run and was ruled offside.
Leao thudded a long-range effort against the crossbar and moments later Portugal had a goal of their own ruled out. Ronaldo produced a moment of magic to bring Cancelo's cross-field ball under his spell and finish past Livakovic, only for VAR to rule that he had moved a fraction early.Ronaldo's frustration did not last long, however. From a corner, Nikola Vlasic inexplicably wrestled Veiga to the ground and referee Espen Eskas awarded a penalty after a VAR review, which Ronaldo fired down the middle for the first World Cup knockout goal of his career. Kovacic twice came close to restoring Croatia's lead in the 75th minute, bending a low effort against the post after a driving run from midfield then seeing his 20-yard follow-up effort tipped over by Costa.With 10 minutes remaining Luka Sucic converted Kovacic's through ball, only for a third offside intervention to rule the goal out. Ronaldo was clearly unhappy as he was substituted for Rúben Neves moments later.Veiga headed wide three minutes from time after another corner found him unmarked, while at the other end, Pasilic headed a Pericic cross widewith the goal at his mercy.
Portugal snatched it in stoppage time when substitute Goncalo Ramos rose highest to head home Leao's cross.
The drama was not finished there. Gvardiol prodded in what looked to be a leveller in the 12th minute of time added on, but the referee ruled that Matanovic had got the faintest of flicks before the ball found its way to Pasalic in an offside position.
Portugal vs Croatia World Cup 2026 Match Live Updates: Substitute Goncalo Ramos scored in the 94th minute to give Portugal a 2-1 victory against Croatia in their Round of 32 clash at the FIFA World Cup. The win kept alive Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal in the World Cup, and they will now face Spain in the Round of 16. There was some last-minute drama in the game after Josko Gvardiol scored in the 113th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside by Mario Pasalic, who had assisted the goal.
Earlier, Ronaldo has scored his first goal ever for Portugal in World Cup knockout stages, to drag Portugal level at 1-1. Ronaldo scored minutes after he was denied a goal for offside. Portugal coach Roberto Martinez made the risky move of substituting Ronaldo in the 81st minute. Croatia had taken the lead through Ivan Perisic in the 53rd minute.
Both teams were goalless after an entertaining first half, where Ronaldo’s Portugal had most of the chances against Luka Modric’s Croatia in Toronto. The game begun as a reunion for two old Real Madrid teammates, but the result means that Luka Modric has likely played his last World Cup match ever.
Despite being the first player to score in six different World Cups, Portugal’s long-time talisman Ronaldo had never scored in the knockout stages of the World Cup before today.
The battle only stiffens for Ronaldo & Co. from here. Up next, are the mighty Spain, whom they had downed in the UEFA Nations League final in Munich last year. What was dubbed a face-off between the legendary Ronaldo and the young sensation Lamine Yamal ended in favour of the Portuguese superstar. Ronaldo famously scored the equaliser that forced extra time after a 2-2 scoreline in 90 minutes. Portugal went on to win the penalties 5-3 over the former world champions.
Speaking after their 3-0 win over Austria, Yamal reflected on the potential face-offs in the Round of 16. At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo will get another match in a Portugal uniform, thanks to a penalty he scored, a stoppage-time header by Goncalo Ramos, and a VAR ruling the Croatia team still doesn't understand.Ramos headed in the winner as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a wild finish that also included a Croatian goal disallowed for offside just before the final whistle in a World Cup round of 32 match on Thursday night.The game featured a matchup of 40-somethings — Ronaldo, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia's Luka Modrić, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.Ronaldo tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick that gave the megastar his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute.
“I never felt any of that (fear),” he said. “Yes, nervous. But as always, you have to be very positive for things to go well.”
Still, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.“I love that type of moment, I love that type of games,” he said. “I want to play every game like that.”
Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.“First half we dominated the game. In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football,” Ronaldo said. “After the penalty, I think it was a little bit better for us. We created a few chances and I think at the end of the day we deserved to win the match.”In a postgame interview with Fox, Ronaldo proudly turned around to show that he was wearing a Diogo Jota jersey and his No. 21, one year after his teammate died in a car crash. “We knew this before the game. It was a so special moment. We speak today to our group, the coincidence of life. It’s unbelievable.”Things got weird after Ramos scored. With Portugal and its fans still enthralled with his goal,
Croatia thought it had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments. But after a 2 1/2-minute delay, Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.Croatia midfielder Petar Sucic said, “The referee said he didn’t see (anyone) touch the ball, he said that he had a sensor in that ball,” which caused the offside ruling. “For me, it's a regular goal.”
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said it was, indeed, the chip in the ball that triggered the decision.“I need to tell them (Croatia fans) the message is very clear: The balls now have a chip, and it’s very clear that’s why the VAR intervened," he said. "It's not a subjective opinion."
Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic.
Ronaldo, booed loudly by Croatia fans every time he touched the ball, got his chance from the spot after Nikola Vlasic was called for a holding foul inside the box. Portugal’s megastar hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.Modrić led Croatia to second- and third-place finishes in 2018 and 2022, and the match carried the weight of the two aging stars each trying to realize the dream of winning the World Cup. Modrić is 40.The men, who were teammates at Real Madrid, shared a few smiles and an embrace ahead of the coin toss before the match. The two met on the pitch after the match, hugged and exchanged a few words.“I played with Luka so many years,” Ronaldo said. "We’re nearly the same age. I think he’s a legend of football. He’s still a legend of football.”
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić said this was “probably” Modrić's last World Cup, but added, "only God knows what will happen in the next four years. We’ll see. We’ll talk about it in Croatia.”
Posted on 2026/07/03 09:55 AM