FIFA
Ronaldo's goal, Ramos' last-gasp winner send Portugal past Croatia, set up Spain clash
Toronto/IBNS: Portugal fought back from a goal down to beat Croatia 2-1 and book their place in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a dramatic victory at Toronto Stadium on Thursday.
Croatia bowed out of the tournament as the competition entered its knockout stages.
After a goalless first half, Croatia broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute through Ivan Perišić, putting Portugal under pressure.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo restored parity in the 68th minute by converting a penalty, scoring his first-ever goal in a FIFA World Cup knockout match.
With the contest seemingly destined for extra time, substitute Gonçalo Ramos headed home Rafael Leão's cross deep into stoppage time to complete Portugal's comeback.
Croatia thought they had snatched a late equaliser, but their celebrations were cut short after a VAR review ruled the goal out for offside.
Portugal's dramatic win sets up a blockbuster Round of 16 clash against Spain, while Croatia exit the tournament after a spirited campaign.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
