Portugal, Ronaldo survive late scare from Croatia
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- Portugal rallied from a goal down to beat Croatia 2-1, with Gonçalo Ramos heading in Rafael Leão's cross in stoppage time after Cristiano Ronaldo had equalized with a 68th-minute penalty.
- Croatia appeared to level in the dying moments through Mario Pasalic, but VAR ruled him offside using a sensor in the match ball that detected Igor Matanovic's faintest touch — the 10th goal overturned by VAR at the 2026 World Cup.
- Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first knockout-stage World Cup goal from the penalty spot, then watched from the bench as Ramos won it; he and Luka Modrić, both 40+, became the first outfield players of that age to appear in a single World Cup match.
- Luka Modrić's fifth World Cup campaign ended in the round of 32, after Croatia — third-place finishers in 2022 — failed to hold onto Ivan Perisic's 53rd-minute opener from Josip Sanisic's cross.
- Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic called the officiating "very poor" and said "nothing went our way," but conceded: "Croatia lost, and I don't really have the right to complain."
- Portugal advances to face Spain on Monday in the round of 16, while Portugal coach Roberto Martinez defended the chip-ball verdict: "the technology helped... Today we were fortunate."
Why it matters: Portugal's narrow escape sets up a heavyweight round-of-16 clash with Spain, while the ball-sensor controversy — already the 10th VAR-overturned goal of this World Cup — shows how heavily officials are leaning on chip technology to settle tight knockout matches. Modrić's exit at 40 closes the book on Croatia's golden generation.
