Madness! After a wild finish, Spain learn their last-16 foes

Cristiano Ronaldo or Modric.

One of the two 40-year-old legends for their national teams would play his final FIFA World Cup match this Thursday (2) at BMO Field.

Fate would have it that the showdown for a place in the round of 16 marked the farewell of the Croatian midfielder.

COMING FROM BEHIND, with a goal at 93′, Portugal won 2-1 to set up a clash with Spain.

Including a DISALLOWED Croatian goal that came at 113′ and was ruled out thanks to technology.

CR7 was at the center of it all, having a goal disallowed, finally scoring his first goal in the knockout stage, and being substituted in the 80th minute. 

See the highlights soon. 

Portugal dominate, but…

In the first half, Roberto Martínez’s side controlled the action.

They had more possession and attacking momentum. But only one shot on target. 

Rafael Leão — a surprise inclusion in the starting XI — tried to make the difference.

Croatia, meanwhile, had no answers to create any real danger.

And they left a lot to be desired whenever they had the ball. 

Croatia attack and CR7 in the spotlight

After a low-key first half, Croatia came back better in the second.

And they scored through Perisic (53′). It was the veteran’s 39th goal for Croatia. Four straight World Cups scoring at least once. 

Madness! After a wild finish, Spain

Until then unable to shine, CR7 even scored in the 61st minute, but it was ruled offside.

Then VAR awarded a penalty for a foul on Renato Veiga after a corner.

And Cristiano Ronaldo — drilling it down the middle — ended his drought. 

Madness! After a wild finish, Spain

That took him to three goals in this World Cup. Eleven in total. 

He has now celebrated 146 times for his national team. And reached the 976th goal of his career. 

CR7 was eventually substituted in the 80th minute after Croatia took control of the game through the substitutions made before the equalizer. 

They only did not score immediately after conceding thanks to Diogo Costa. 

Roberto Martínez: never criticized

CR7’s departure came as a surprise. The idea was to strengthen the midfield with Ruben Neves.

Gonçalo Ramos then became the lone center-forward in the Croatian box.

And he delivered.

Rafael Leão crossed “with his hand” for the No. 9 to score his fourth World Cup goal at 93′. 

Madness! After a wild finish, Spain

OH MY GOODNESS

Portugal were already waiting for the final whistle.

Stoppage time had already gone beyond the allotted time.

Then Pasalic’s ball found Gvardiol in the box.

And he scored at 113′.

But the referee was called to VAR.

And the technology (sensor in the ball) showed the touch from Matanovic that left Pasalic offside. 

The (now) much-anticipated Spain vs Portugal will be next Monday (6) in Dallas. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.