At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo will get another match in a Portugal uniform, thanks to a penalty he scored, a stoppage-time header by Gonçalo Ramos, and a VAR ruling the Croatia team still doesn’t understand.
Ramos headed in the 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 World Cup round of 32 match on Thursday night.
The game featured a matchup of 40-somethings — Ronaldo, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia’s Luka Modrić, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.
Ronaldo tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick that gave the megastar his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute.
“I never felt any of that [fear],” he said. “Yes, nervous. But as always, you have to be very positive for things to go well.”
Still, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.
“I love that type of moment, I love that type of games,” he said. “I want to play every game like that.”
Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.
“First half we dominated the game. In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football,” Ronaldo said. “After the penalty, I think it was a little bit better for us. We created a few chances and I think at the end of the day we deserved to win the match.”
Things got weird after Ramos scored. With Portugal and its fans still enthralled with his goal, Croatia thought it had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments. But after a 2 1/2-minute delay, Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.
Croatia midfielder Petar Sucic said, “the referee said he didn’t see [anyone] touch the ball, he said that he had a sensor in that ball,” that caused the offside ruling. “For me, it’s a regular goal.”
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said it was, indeed, the chip in the ball that triggered the decision.
“I need to tell them [Croatia fans] the message is very clear: The balls now have a chip, and it’s very clear that’s why the VAR intervened,” he said. “It’s not a subjective opinion.”
Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perišić scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic.
Ronaldo, booed loudly by Croatia fans every time he touched the ball, got his chance from the spot after Nikola Vlasic was called for a holding foul inside the box. Portugal’s megastar hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.
Thursday marked Portugal’s second win in the knockout stage at the World Cup since its fourth-place finish in 2006. Ronaldo also set a pair of records on Thursday, becoming the oldest goalscorer and player in a knockout stage match ever at a World Cup.
Ronaldo’s goal on Thursday was his 146th at the international level, extending his record among men’s players. It was also his 11th career World Cup goal, moving into a tie for the ninth-most all-time with Jürgen Klinsmann and Sándor Kocsis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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