🎥 Portugal through: crazy game, Croatia KO! CR7 scores, 🥹 Diogo, Modric 👋 | OneFootball

It was a night destined to go down in history, the one between Portugal and Croatia. In Toronto, Roberto Martinez’s side secured a place in the round of 16 by beating Croatia 2-1 at the end of an endless match, decided in the 94th minute by Gonçalo Ramos’ header from a perfect cross from the left by Rafael Leao.

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The atmosphere was already unusual before kickoff. A few hours before the match, Katia Aveiro, Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister, had said that the World Cup would mark the superstar’s farewell to the national team. A possibility that, at least for now, remains without official confirmation. 

The match goes down in history above all for an endless second half, which lasted a total of 64 minutes. After Croatia took the lead through Ivan Perisic, Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot. In stoppage time came Ramos’ 2-1, before Josko Gvardiol scored what could have been the 2-2 in the 104th minute, only for it to be ruled out because of an alleged headed touch by Matanovic that left Pasalic in an offside position. A decision bound to spark debate, followed by a total of 19 minutes of added time, three disallowed goals and numerous chances at both ends.

In the first half, Portugal struggled to find space. Ronaldo received few balls and often operated far from the box. Croatia controlled the match without creating any real danger, while Portugal relied mainly on Leao’s runs down the left flank. The match changed completely after the break. The introduction of Matanovic added more attacking weight to Croatia, who pushed higher up the pitch and found the opener through Perisic (53’), who did well to finish off Stanisic’s cross.

The turning point came shortly afterward, when a foul by Vlasic on Veiga was punished with a penalty after a VAR review. From the spot Ronaldo made no mistake and made it 1-1: it was his first goal in the knockout stage of a World Cup, his 146th for the national team, scored at 41 years and 147 days old.

When the match seemed destined for extra time, Leao whipped in a perfect cross from the left for Gonçalo Ramos (90+4’), whose header sealed qualification, also helped by an involuntary contribution from the Croatian defense. In the closing moments Croatia threw everyone forward and even found the net through Gvardiol, but it was wiped out for offside after a review. The final whistle brought an end to one of the most thrilling matches of the tournament: Croatia’s journey came to an end, while Portugal flew into the round of 16 with Ronaldo once again at the center of it all.

🥹 CR7’s touching tribute to Diogo Jota

At the end of the match, after securing qualification for the round of 16, Cristiano Ronaldo wore Diogo Jota’s number 21 shirt, after the player died in July last year in a tragic car accident in Spain. CR7 went under the stand to celebrate qualification with the Portuguese fans wearing the Liverpool player’s shirt and broke down in tears, pointing to the sky and dedicating progression to his late teammate.

Alongside him, Bernardo Silva also could not hold back his emotions during the moment of remembrance for Diogo. CR7 himself underlined after the match that the win against Croatia was “for Diogo, for us and for Portugal.”

🇭🇷 Luka Modric’s last match with Croatia

He could not hold back his emotions at the end of the match. Partly because of the result, and partly because the game against Portugal was his last at a World Cup and his last in a Croatia shirt. It remains to be seen whether it was also the last of his career. The legendary Luka Modric says goodbye to Croatia after years in which the captain led his national team, always giving everything on the pitch for the shirt. 

At the end of the match, CR7 also went over to greet Modric. Legend to legend. Just think: between them they can boast 11 Champions Leagues and 6 Ballon d’Or awards. “I played many years with Modric, it’s wonderful to still see him playing at a high level. I told him: congratulations Luka and good luck for the future of your career,” Cristiano said. 

🤯 Four CRAZY minutes at the end and Gvardiol’s goal ruled out

In the closing stages, technology took center stage. In the 104th minute, Gvardiol scored the goal that would have sent the match to extra time, but Norwegian referee Eskas went to VAR and on every viewer’s TV screen a small wave appeared, matching the moment of Matanovic’s headed touch, with the ball then reaching Pasalic and, after a scramble, ending up in the net. And that little wave proved decisive. 

Pasalic’s offside was in fact detected thanks to a small chip inserted in the ball which, for the last few years, has allowed referees to determine the exact moment players touch the ball. Even in cases of almost imperceptible touches, like Matanovic’s. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 COLE BURSTON - AFP or licensors