VAR overturns Croatia goal as Portugal advances in World Cup knockout

Croatia thought their FIFA World Cup hopes were still alive when they scored the game-tying goal just before the end of extra time in the second half.

However, in the VAR review, it was stated that Mario Pasalic was offside and Portugal acted instead.

Gonçalo Ramos’ goal just a few minutes earlier – a beautiful header into the back of the net in the 94th minute – proved decisive in Portugal’s 2-1 win. And it was only the second time in Portugal’s World Cup history that the country had to come from behind to win, underlining its resilience on the sport’s biggest stage.

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It was a controversial ending, though, with Croatia attempting to claim that the ball never hit Igor Matanovic’s head, resulting in Pasalic being ruled offside during the VAR review.

It is also worth noting that a new chip inside the ball appears when the ball is touched, providing more concrete evidence of the referee’s final decision at such a critical moment of the match. This was the 10th goal disallowed by VAR in the World Cup so far.

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Thus, with the goal being canceled, Croatia’s time in the tournament ended. As a result, Croatian legend Luka Modrić is completing his fifth World Cup, which will likely be the 40-year-old midfielder’s last.

However, with Cristiano Ronaldo making World Cup history during this match, another old legend on the field will move on.

When No. 7 stepped onto the pitch and the ball was kicked, he became the oldest player to take part in a knockout stage match at the World Cup, aged 41 years and 147 days. He also became the oldest player to score a goal in a qualifying round match that saw Portugal fall behind 1-0 in a penalty shootout.

Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Patrick Smith – FIFA)

Ivan Perisic scored the first goal of this match and put Portugal’s back against the wall. However, after a foul in Croatia’s penalty area in the 67th minute, Ronaldo scored the first knockout goal of his career and did not disappoint.

Ronaldo was so happy, he ran towards the corner flag and shouted “SIU!” He was signing. Celebration with the crowd roaring with the score at 1-1. Ronaldo also appeared to have scored his first knockout goal a few minutes earlier, but was ruled offside.

Two former Real Madrid teammates, Modrić and Ronaldo, also made history together by becoming the first two players aged 40 or over to play together in the same match.

Croatia’s Luka Modric congratulated Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo after winning the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia 2-1 at the Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

After the match, it was an emotional moment when Ronaldo wore the jersey of his Portuguese teammate Diogo Jota, who died in a traffic accident a year ago. A team photo was taken on the pitch, in which Ronaldo was holding Jota’s jersey with his team.

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Now that the job is done for Portugal in the Round of 32, they will face a significant opponent in the last 16.

Spain, which defeated Austria with a score of 3-0 earlier on Thursday, awaits Portugal at the Dallas Stadium on July 6 at 15.00 GMT.

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