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Portugal survived a dramatic late VAR scare to beat Croatia 2-1 after Goncalo Ramos’ stoppage-time winner, booking a place in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16.
Goncalo Ramos headed home in stoppage time as Portugal came from behind to beat Croatia 2-1, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty sparking a dramatic World Cup comeback. (AP)
Just when it seemed this Round of 32 tie had exhausted every ounce of drama it could offer, football found one final twist.
Portugal needed every ounce of resilience and one decisive VAR call to edge past Croatia 2-1 and book their place in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 in a dramatic knockout clash in Toronto.
Goncalo Ramos’ towering stoppage-time header looked to have sent Portugal into the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, only for Croatia to seemingly snatch an equaliser moments later through Josko Gvardiol. But after a tense VAR review ruled the defender offside, Portugal escaped with a pulsating victory.
Roberto Martinez’s master gamble — taking off the likes of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha — paid off in the most dramatic fashion.
How It All Unfolded
Portugal dictated the opening exchanges. Bruno Fernandes forced Dominik Livakovic into an early save, Renato Veiga headed narrowly wide from a corner and Cristiano Ronaldo wasted the best chance of the first half after Pedro Neto picked him out inside the area. The Portugal captain also curled a free-kick into the Croatian wall as his side searched for an opener.
Croatia, however, remained composed and reached half-time with the scores locked at 0-0.
The breakthrough arrived eight minutes after the restart.
Josip Stanisic’s dangerous cross flashed through the six-yard box and Ivan Perisic arrived unmarked at the far post to calmly guide the ball into the bottom corner, stunning the Portuguese supporters.
Croatia nearly doubled their lead minutes later, only for Nikola Vlasic’s finish to be ruled out for offside.
Portugal responded with urgency. Rafael Leao crashed a ferocious strike against the crossbar before Ronaldo thought he had equalised, only to see his effort ruled out for offside.
The momentum finally shifted in the 66th minute.
Renato Veiga was brought down inside the penalty area and, after a VAR intervention, the referee pointed to the spot. Ronaldo made no mistake from 12 yards, confidently dispatching the penalty to restore parity and reignite Portugal’s hopes.
Martinez then rolled the dice.
Martinez’s Gamble
The Portugal manager withdrew Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and several experienced heads in favour of fresh legs, trusting his younger players to find the winner.
Croatia almost punished that gamble. Mateo Kovacic unleashed a stunning long-range effort that Diogo Costa brilliantly tipped onto the post before producing another outstanding save from the rebound. Martin Sucic then headed narrowly wide before another Croatian effort was flagged offside.
With 10 minutes added on, the knockout contest drifted towards extra time.
Instead, Rafael Leao delivered the decisive moment.
Ramos Seals It
The winger floated an inch-perfect cross into the penalty area in the 94th minute, where Goncalo Ramos rose highest to power a header beyond Livakovic and spark wild celebrations among the Portuguese players.
Yet there was still one final chapter.
Deep into stoppage time, Gvardiol bundled the ball into the net after a frantic scramble, sending the Croatian bench into ecstasy as they believed they had rescued the contest.
But, the celebrations lasted only mere seconds.
VAR reviewed the phase of play and confirmed Gvardiol had strayed offside before applying the finishing touch. The goal was ruled out, Portugal’s celebrations resumed, and Croatia’s hopes vanished in an instant.
The final whistle soon followed — and Portugal marched into the Round of 16 after surviving one last scare.
About the Author
After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His…Read More
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