High drama as Portugal beat Croatia at the death after subbing Cristiano Ronaldo at FIFA World Cup

Friday, 3 July 2026

Gonçalo Ramos headed in the stoppage-time winner as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a wild finish that also included a Croatian goal disallowed for offside just before the final whistle in a FIFA World Cup round-of-32 match on Friday (NZ time).

The game in Toronto featured a match-up of 40-somethings Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia's Luka Modrić, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.

Ronaldo initially tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick and give the megastar his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed off in the 81st minute. But, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.

The game ended in controversy as Croatia thought they had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments, but Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.

Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perišić scored off a cross from Josip Stanišić.

Ronaldo, booed loudly by Croatia fans every time he touched the ball, got his chance from the spot after Nikola Vlašić was called for a handball inside the box. Portugal’s megastar hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.

Portugal move on to face Spain in Dallas on Tuesday (NZ time) in the round of 16.

Modrić led Croatia to second and third-place finishes in 2018 and 2022, and the match carried the weight of the two aging stars each trying to realise the dream of winning the World Cup. Modrić is 40, while Ronaldo is 41.

The men, who were team-mates at Real Madrid, shared a few smiles and an embrace ahead of the coin toss before the match.

For full World Cup coverage, go to our World Cup section.

HOW THE MATCH UNFOLDED