Toronto, July 3 (IANS) Goncalo Ramos scored a late winner as Portugal came from behind to beat Croatia 2-1 in a match decided only in stoppage time here at Toronto Stadium on Friday.

After Ivan Perisic gave Croatia the lead shortly after the break, Portugal responded with a penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo and Goncalo Ramos then rose highest to send a Rafael Leao cross home in the fourth minute of stoppage time to secure the win.

Ronaldo’s goal was first in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup. At 41, he is the oldest player to net at that stage, outranking fellow Portugal icon Pepe.

Portugal took control of the match from the opening minutes, creating the best opportunities against Croatia. They came close to opening the scoring after just four minutes. Rafael Leao broke down the left and assisted Bruno Fernandes, whose first-time shot forced Dominik Livakovic into a superb save. On the rebound, the Croatian defense again prevented a Portuguese goal.

The national team continued to establish themselves in the final third and create danger, mainly through set pieces. Joao Cancelo tried to surprise from outside the area after a corner (7′), Ronaldo saw a direct free kick hit the wall (13′) and Renato Veiga headed over the bar following another corner (16′).

A few minutes later, Neves also wasted a good opportunity, appearing at the far post after another cross from Nuno Mendes, although his shot went over the bar.

On the other side, Croatia struggled to create dangerous situations near Diogo Costa’s goal. The most threatening chance came in the 10th minute, when Ante Budimir found himself unmarked in the box, but headed wide.

In the final minutes before halftime, Portugal intensified the pressure again. Bruno Fernandes stood out by creating a dangerous play down the left, forcing Livakovic into another save before winning a corner. Following that corner, Nuno Mendes shot, but his attempt was blocked by the Croatian defense.

The Portuguese team entered the second half with the same intention of controlling the match, but it was Croatia who created the first dangerous situations and ended up opening the scoring.

The Croatian goal came in the 53rd minute, following a cross from Josip Stanisic on the right. Ruben Dias tried to clear the danger, but the clearance ended up serving Ivan Perisic at the far post. Unmarked, the experienced Croatian left-footer positioned himself in front of goal and beat Diogo Costa, putting Croatia ahead.

Portugal responded immediately to the setback and came close to equalising in the 58th minute when Rafael Leão hit the crossbar. Shortly after, Cristiano Ronaldo put the ball in the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Portugal’s persistence was finally rewarded in the 68th minute. After reviewing the images, the referee awarded a penalty for a foul by Nikola Vlasic on Renato Veiga. He stepped up to take the penalty and beat Dominik Livakovic from the spot, restoring parity.

After the equaliser, Croatia continued to create danger, but Portugal held firm, largely thanks to Diogo Costa, who denied goals to Kovacic and Matanovic.

The Portuguese response came at the decisive moment. In stoppage time, at 90+4 minutes, Rafael Leao delivered a perfect cross to Ramos, who appeared in the box to head the ball accurately.

There was still somehow time for further drama. A Hail Mary pass into the Portugal box fell to Mario Pasalic to square for Josko Gvardiol to tap home. After a VAR review, however, Pasalic was deemed to have been in an offside position.

IANS

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