On Thursday, Portugal secured a victory against Croatia in a dramatic 2-1 win. The match ended Croatia’s hopes in Luka Modrić’s fifth World Cup attempt. Portugal’s victory came after Gonçalo Ramos headed in a pass from Rafael Leao during stoppage time. This moment came as Cristiano Ronaldo watched from the bench.

Earlier, Ronaldo had made a significant contribution by converting a penalty kick in the 68th minute. This goal was crucial as it allowed Portugal to equalize, marking Ronaldo’s first knockout-stage goal in a World Cup.

The match ended controversially when Croatia believed they had scored a tying goal. However, Mario Pašalić was ruled offside by VAR, nullifying the goal. This decision led to frustration among Croatia’s fans, who responded by throwing bottles onto the field in protest.

Ivan Perisic opened the scoring for Croatia in the 53rd minute with a goal from a cross by Josip Sanisic. Despite the initial lead, Croatia could not maintain the advantage.

With this win, Portugal advances to face Spain in the Round of 16 on Monday. Modrić, who previously led Croatia to a second-place finish in 2018 and third place in 2022, was unable to rally his team to victory this time.