World Cup 2026: Ramos Sinks Croatia Late as Portugal Reach Round of 16

Ramos, 90+4, and Portugal exhale in Toronto

Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the World Cup 2026 Round of 32 at BMO Field in Toronto, and they left it desperately late. Gonçalo Ramos settled it in the 94th minute, converting Rafael Leão's assist to cancel out Ivan Perišić's second-half opener and send Portugal through.

For an hour Croatia looked the more dangerous side despite seeing less of the ball. Portugal dominated possession — six parts in ten — and out-created their opponents, but the numbers took a while to become goals. The expected goals (xG, a measure of chance quality) finished 2.18 to Portugal against 1.34 for Croatia, and Portugal fashioned five big chances to Croatia's four. Croatia, for their part, were sharper with what they had, landing six shots on target to Portugal's three.

Portugal now advance to the Round of 16, where Spain await on 6 July. That tie is set: no scenarios to weigh, no permutations, just the two of them.

How Ronaldo and Modrić lined up at BMO Field

From a Perišić opener to a Ramos ambush

Rúben Dias picked up an early caution on 17 minutes, and the game settled into a familiar shape: Portugal with the ball, Croatia waiting. The break at half-time brought a Croatian change, Igor Matanović on for Ante Budimir.

Croatia struck first. Eight minutes after the restart Ivan Perišić finished to put them ahead, and Luka Modrić's booking on 59 minutes hinted at a side digging in. Portugal thought they had responded through Cristiano Ronaldo on 61 minutes, but the flag and VAR (video assistant referee) ruled it out for offside. What followed was a wholesale reshuffle — four Portugal substitutions inside two minutes, then a Ronaldo penalty on 68 minutes.

The final stretch turned frantic. Croatia had a Petar Sučić effort chalked off for offside on 81 minutes, the same moment Ronaldo was withdrawn for Rúben Neves. Deep into stoppage time Ramos struck the winner from Leão's pass, Perišić was booked minutes later, and a late Joško Gvardiol goal for Croatia was disallowed for offside on 90+13. Three cancelled goals, one decisive one, and Portugal held on.

The 2-1 the crowd called — Spain excepted

The futbol.so community leaned towards Portugal, and it got the scoreline exactly right: the most-picked result was Portugal 2-1, which is precisely how it finished. A rare afternoon when the popular read and reality shook hands.

The regional picture was more mixed. Fans in Colombia, Austria and England shared the Portugal 2-1 lean, while Argentina's community was split, favouring a narrower Portugal 1-0. Spain's supporters, perhaps with one eye on the Round of 16, went the other way and leaned towards a 1-1 draw. That one, at least, didn't come off.

Video highlights

Highlights | Portugal 2-1 Croatia | FIFA World Cup 2026™

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FIFA WC 2026 | Portugal - Croatia 2:1 | (plej-of ) | 03.07.2026.

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HIGHLIGHTS - Portugal v Croatia | INSANE ENDING! | FIFA World Cup 2026

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CR7 + RAMOS in un finale di match FOLLE | Portogallo-Croazia 2-1 | FIFA World Cup | DAZN Highlights

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Portugal 🆚 Croatia #FIFAWorldCupOnYT

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Portugal vs Croacia (2-1) | Resumen y goles | Highlights Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026™

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Résumé : PORTUGAL - CROATIE, QUI de RONALDO ou MODRIC quittera le MONDIAL ? (16èmes de finale)

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World Cup: Portugal vs Croatia

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World Cup: Portugal vs Croatia

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World Cup: Portugal vs Croatia

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World Cup: Portugal vs Croatia

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Portugal move on with plenty to tidy up — three disallowed goals and a winner that arrived with almost the last kick suggest a night of fine margins rather than control. Croatia will feel they deserved more from their sharper shooting.

Next up is Spain in the Round of 16 on 6 July. On this evidence, Portugal will need to convert their dominance rather earlier.