Ramos, Ronaldo score as Portugal rallies to beat Croatia 2-1 and advance to round of 16

TORONTO (AP) — Goncalo 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 World Cup round of 32 match on Thursday night.

The game featured a matchup 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 out in the 81st minute. But, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.

Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.

“First half we dominated the game,” Ronaldo said. “In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football.

“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.”

The game ended in controversy as Croatia thought it 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 Perisic 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.

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 realize the dream of winning the World Cup. Modrić is 40, while Ronaldo is 41.

The men, who were teammates at Real Madrid, shared a few smiles and an embrace ahead of the coin toss before the match. The two met on the pitch after the match, and hugged and exchanged a few words.

“I played with Luca so many years,” Ronaldo said. “We’re nearly the same age. I think he’s a legend of football. He’s still a legend of football.”

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Lexie Linderman is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.

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Lexie Linderman, The Associated Press