Cristiano Ronaldo broke his long-standing World Cup knockout duck after converting a penalty to bring Portugal level at 1-1 against Croatia in their Round of 32 clash in Toronto today, on an emotional occasion that coincided with the first death anniversary of Portugal and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota.

Ronaldo calmly sent the ball down the middle from the spot in the 68th minute after VAR ruled that Croatia defender Josip Sutalo had obstructed Portugal's Renato Veiga while challenging for a corner.

Croatia had taken the lead early in the second half through Ivan Perisic before Ronaldo's equaliser breathed new life into Portugal's campaign.

Earlier, Ronaldo had made history before kick-off by becoming the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup knockout match at 41 years and 147 days after being named captain in Portugal's starting XI.

His longtime Real Madrid teammate and Croatia captain Luka Modric became the second-oldest outfield player to start a World Cup knockout match at 40 years and 296 days, with both players surpassing Bosnia and Herzegovina forward Edin Dzeko, who had held the record for less than a day.

The match also marked Ronaldo's sixth World Cup appearance, making him one of only three players to have featured in six editions of the tournament alongside Lionel Messi and Guillermo Ochoa. Modric, meanwhile, was playing at his fifth World Cup, underlining the remarkable longevity of both football icons.

Ronaldo also moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time list for World Cup appearances with his 26th match, overtaking Lothar Matthaeus and trailing only Messi.

Earlier in the tournament, Ronaldo became the first player to score in six different World Cup editions after netting twice against Uzbekistan. That brace also took his World Cup tally to 10 goals, making him Portugal's outright leading scorer in the competition after eclipsing Eusebio's nine-goal mark.

Portugal made one change to their starting lineup, with Rafael Leao replacing Joao Felix in attack alongside Ronaldo and Pedro Neto, while Croatia named an unchanged side following their 2-1 victory over Ghana in the group stage.

The meeting was the first between Portugal and Croatia at a World Cup, with the winners set to face Spain in Dallas for a place in the quarter-finals.