Portugal Fight Back To Beat Croatia, Earn Round Of 16 Showdown With Spain

Portugal secured a thrilling 2-1 victory over Croatia at Toronto Stadium to progress to the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Gonçalo Ramos scored a stoppage-time winner after Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-half penalty had cancelled out Ivan Perišić’s opener.

The hard-fought win earned Portugal a place in the knockout stage, where they will face fellow European heavyweights Spain.

Portugal dictated the tempo from the opening stages and repeatedly tested the Croatian defence.

The Portuguese side continued to threaten through João Cancelo, Renato Veiga and João Neves, while Ronaldo saw a direct free-kick blocked.

Croatia found it difficult to create clear-cut opportunities, with Ante Budimir’s header representing their best chance before the break.

Despite Portugal’s dominance, Croatia broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute.

Josip Stanišić delivered a cross from the right, and after Rúben Dias’ attempted clearance fell kindly, Ivan Perišić calmly slotted the ball beyond Diogo Costa.

Ronaldo Reaches Historic Milestone

Portugal responded with renewed intensity after falling behind. Rafael Leão struck the crossbar before Ronaldo had an effort ruled out for offside.

The breakthrough arrived when VAR awarded Portugal a penalty after Nikola Vlašić fouled Renato Veiga inside the box.

Ronaldo converted the spot-kick with confidence to score his first goal in a FIFA World Cup knockout match. At 41 years of age, he also became the oldest player to score in the knockout rounds of the tournament.

Croatia searched for another goal, but goalkeeper Diogo Costa made crucial saves to deny Mateo Kovačić and Igor Matanović, keeping Portugal in contention.

The decisive moment came in the fourth minute of added time when Rafael Leão delivered an accurate cross into the penalty area. Gonçalo Ramos rose above the defence to head the ball into the net and complete Portugal’s comeback.

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