Portugal defeats Croatia in a chaotic ending to advance on day five of the World Cup round of 32

Portugal is on its way to the Round of 16 in the World Cup following a chaotic and dramatic win over Croatia on Thursday night in Toronto, 2-1. 

On the eve of the first anniversary of Diogo Jota's death, this match meant more for Portugal than ever. The players came onto the pitch wearing the wristbands commemorating Jota, which they have been wearing and will continue to wear throughout the tournament.

Jota was with his squad in spirit for a massive win that saw Portugal advance in the tournament. Portugal was always determined to walk away from this match with a win, and they did. Ronaldo dedicated the victory to Jota after the match. 

Gonçalo Ramos was Portugal's hero, scoring the winning goal in the 90+4'. More drama in second-half stoppage time almost saw Croatia extend the match into extra time, but VAR came to Portugal's rescue. 

Portugal will face off against Spain on Monday at 3:00 pm EDT at Dallas Stadium in the Round of 16. 

General view as Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates line up with young mascots during the national anthems before the match

Jeenah Moon

World Cup Round of 32 - Portugal vs Croatia

Both sides played a fine first half, even though it ended in a 0-0 deadlock. In just the opening 10 minutes, the match could well have been 1-1, but neither side was able to convert chances. 

The second half is when it all kicked off. Ivan Perisic put Croatia ahead in the 53rd minute. Croatia came out hard to start the second half and was rewarded quickly. Josip Stanisic put an excellent cross into the box, and the ball was flicked to where Perisic was at the far post, unmarked. 1-0 Croatia. 

It appeared at first that Cristiano Ronaldo had brought Portugal level in the 61st minute, but the offside flag went up! Joáo Cancelo's cross-field ball into the box was brought down by Ronaldo, but was called offside by the narrowest of margins, something we've seen far too often in this World Cup. 

Portugal's Goncalo Ramos scores their second goal

Mike Segar

Roberto Martínez made four substitutions for Portugal shortly after the disallowed goal. Bernardo Silva came on for Vitinha; Francisco Conceição for Pedro Neto; Nélson Semedo for Bruno Fernandes; and Gonçalo Ramos for Joáo Cancelo. 

In the 68th minute, Ronaldo got his revenge. Portugal was awarded a penalty after Renato Veiga was pulled down in the box during a corner kick. Ronaldo stepped into the penalty box and brought the match level, 1-1. Inevitable. 

Ronaldo was then subbed off for Rúben Neves in the 81st minute. His goal from the penalty spot was his first-ever goal in a World Cup knockout match. 

Portugal's Goncalo Ramos celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates

Mike Segar

Portugal and Croatia had dual chances in the 87th and 89th minutes, but couldn't cross the finish line. 

In stoppage time, Ramos gave Portugal the lead in the 90+4' to get them one step closer to the Round of 16. Rafael Leáo found space by Veiga, who sent the ball into the box. The in-swinging cross couldn't have been more picture perfect, allowing Ramos to get in between two defenders and put the ball into the top right corner with a header. 

In second-half stoppage time, it looked like Croatia was about to pull off a crazy comeback to send the match into extra time. Croatia started swarming the box in a last-ditch effort. A cross ricocheted off Mario Pasalic and fell to Josko Gvardiol, who put the ball into the back of the goal. Chaos ensued, and it looked like the match was going to extra time. Until a VAR check! 

Croatia's Josko Gvardiol scores a goal that was later disallowed

Dylan Martinez

After a few minutes' review, it was determined that Pasalic was offside, but only from Igor Matanovic's flick of the ball inside the box. It didn't look like Matanovic touched the ball at first, but there was just enough ball-tracking contact to determine he did, in fact, make contact. Pasalic was officially offside, and Gvardiol's goal was called back. Portugal went mad on the pitch and on the sideline following the VAR review. 

The final whistle blew in the 90+19', giving Portugal a spot in the Round of 16. The Portuguese have now advanced to the Round of 16 in their last three World Cups. 

Despite the heartbreak for Croatia, they gave everything they had for the nation and for their captain, Luka Modrić, who will be retiring from football. It was an unfortunate ending to the tournament for the Croatians, but they can hold their heads high because of where they put the country on the world football map since 2018. 

Day 6 of the Round of 32

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