Portugal made it to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 with an exciting 2-1 win over Croatia in Toronto. This was a close game that had a lot of twists and turns. It was decided by a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and a late goal from Goncalo Ramos.
A Late Winner in Sapping Heat
The game was played in hot weather. Croatia controlled the game for a time and had many good chances to score.. Portugal scored when it mattered most. In the minutes of the game Ramos scored with a great header after a nice pass from Rafael Leao. This goal helped Portugal win the game and move on to the round.
The finish was very exciting. Both teams had bad moments during the game. The result depended on some decisions made by the referees and some great plays by the players.
Perisic Strikes First
Croatia scored first in the minute. Ivan Perisic kicked the ball past Portugals goalkeeper Diogo Costa. This goal surprised Portugal for a moment.. Then Ronaldo almost scored, only to have the goal cancelled because he was offside.
Ronaldos Historic Penalty
Portugal got back into the game with a penalty. Renato Veiga was pulled down by Croatias Nikola Vlasic in the box. After looking at the play the referee gave Portugal a penalty. Ronaldo kicked the ball into the goal to tie the score. This was a moment for Ronaldo. It was his goal in the World Cup knockout phase.
The game was back and forth after that. Mateo Kovacic from Manchester City almost scored for Croatia. Diogo Costa made a great save. Then Croatia thought they scored again. The goal was cancelled because the player was offside.
Ronaldo did not play the game. He was taken out in the minute and replaced by Ruben Neves.. The game was still very intense. Croatia kept trying to score and almost did times.
VAR Denies Croatia a Late Equaliser
Portugal was very happy to win the game.. Croatia thought they had tied the score in the last minutes. Josko Gvardiol scored,. The goal was cancelled after a review. This made Croatia very sad while Portugal was very happy to move on to the round.
What’s Next
Even though Croatia played better for most of the game Portugal won because they scored when it mattered. They will now play Spain on Monday in Dallas. This will be a big game.
For Croatia the loss is very disappointing. They played well. Were hurt by two big offside calls. One cancelled a Ronaldo goal. The other cancelled a Croatia goal in the last minutes.
