Portugal Edges Croatia 2-1 in Dramatic World Cup Stoppage-Time Win

Portugal secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Croatia in the World Cup round of 16, with Goncalo Ramos scoring the decisive goal in the 94th minute. The match, played in Toronto in front of 43,036 spectators, saw Croatia initially take the lead before Portugal fought back to secure their place in the next stage of the tournament.

Croatia's Ivan Perišić opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, but Portugal's captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, leveled the score with a penalty kick in the 68th minute. The emotional victory for the Portuguese team came on the first anniversary of the death of Diogo Jota, who tragically lost his life in a traffic accident at the age of 29 on July 3, 2025. "He is up there and shining on us," Ronaldo, 41, said after the match, having been named player of the game.

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He is up there and shining on us.

Both teams had early opportunities. Ante Budimir's shot for Croatia in the 3rd minute was too weak, while Rafael Leao's effort for Portugal was brilliantly saved by Dominik Livaković. Croatia's tactical change, substituting Budimir for Igor Matanović, proved effective. Matanović's persistence led to a chance for Mateo Kovačić, whose close-range shot was saved, but the play set up Croatia's opening goal.

After Perišić scored, Portugal's Leao hit the crossbar in the 58th minute. The equalizer came from Ronaldo's penalty, awarded after a review for a foul in the Croatian penalty area during a corner kick. Kovačić hit the post for Croatia in the 75th minute, and Mario Pašalić missed a late chance to regain the lead in the 88th minute. In the final seconds, Joško Gvardiol appeared to score, but a VAR review showed Pašalić was offside in the build-up. Coach Zlatko Dalić commented that VAR "kills emotions and takes the joy out of football."

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VAR kills emotions and takes the joy out of football.