Portugal survive VAR drama to beat Croatia and reach last 16
A 109th-minute VAR review preserved Portugal’s 2-1 win over Croatia, after Gonçalo Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo answered a late Josko Gvardiol scare.
Portugal survived a 109th-minute VAR review to beat Croatia 2-1 and reach the World Cup round of 16 in Toronto. After 90 minutes, the board showed 10 minutes of added time, but Espen Eskås still had to wait through a VAR review.
Cristiano Ronaldo had already dragged Portugal level from the penalty spot in the 68th minute. Then, in the 94th minute, Rafael Leão whipped in a curling cross and substitute Gonçalo Ramos rose to head in what proved to be the winner.
Josko Gvardiol turned in a close-range finish after a chaotic scramble in the box in the 103rd minute, but video review ruled the goal out for offside. The question was whether Mario Pašalić was offside when the ball reached him and whether a touch from Igor Matanović or a deflection off Portugal defender Renato Veiga changed the final phase of play. Eskås ended the match in the 109th minute.
The result left Luka Modrić, 40, crestfallen. Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, had already been substituted and watched from the bench as Portugal withstood the final Croatian push. Portugal moved on to face Spain in the last 16. Croatia and Portugal had drawn 1-1 in Split on November 18, 2024, when Gvardiol scored a second-half equalizer that helped Croatia reach the quarter-finals.
ESPN’s match timeline logged three goals, a penalty and three disallowed goals in the second half, and put Portugal on 2.18 expected goals to Croatia’s 1.34 when the match was still level heading into stoppage time.
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