At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo will get another match in a Portugal uniform, thanks to a penalty he scored, a stoppage-time header by Gon\u00e7alo Ramos, and a VAR ruling the Croatia team still doesn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n
Ramos headed in the 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.<\/p>\n
The game featured a matchup of 40-somethings \u2014 Ronaldo, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia\u2019s Luka Modri\u0107, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick that gave the megastar his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute.<\/p>\n
“I never felt any of that [fear],” he said. “Yes, nervous. But as always, you have to be very positive for things to go well.”<\/p>\n
Still, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.<\/p>\n
“I love that type of moment, I love that type of games,” he said. “I want to play every game like that.”<\/p>\n
Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.<\/p>\n
“First half we dominated the game. In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football,” Ronaldo said. “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.”<\/p>\n
Things got weird after Ramos scored. With Portugal and its fans still enthralled with his goal, Croatia thought it had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments. But after a 2 1\/2-minute delay, Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.<\/p>\n
Croatia midfielder Petar Sucic said, “the referee said he didn\u2019t see [anyone] touch the ball, he said that he had a sensor in that ball,” that caused the offside ruling. “For me, it\u2019s a regular goal.”<\/p>\n
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said it was, indeed, the chip in the ball that triggered the decision.<\/p>\n
“I need to tell them [Croatia fans] the message is very clear: The balls now have a chip, and it\u2019s very clear that\u2019s why the VAR intervened,” he said. “It\u2019s not a subjective opinion.”<\/p>\n
Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Peri\u0161i\u0107 scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s megastar hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.<\/p>\n
Thursday marked Portugal’s second win in the knockout stage at the World Cup since its fourth-place finish in 2006. Ronaldo also set a pair of records on Thursday, becoming the oldest goalscorer and player in a knockout stage match ever at a World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronaldo’s goal on Thursday was his 146th at the international level, extending his record among men’s players. It was also his 11th career World Cup goal, moving into a tie for the ninth-most all-time with J\u00fcrgen Klinsmann and S\u00e1ndor Kocsis.<\/p>\n
The Associated Press contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
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