Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first World Cup knockout goal before Goncalo Ramos struck a dramatic 94th-minute winner as Portugal edged Croatia 2-1 in a chaotic Round of 32 clash in Toronto, with heartbreak for the Croatians deep into an extended spell of stoppage time.
On an emotional night marked by the first anniversary of the death of Portugal and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, Ronaldo had restored parity for Portugal in the second half from the penalty spot after Croatia took the lead through Ivan Perisic early after the restart.
The Portugal captain stepped up in the 68th minute and calmly converted down the middle after VAR ruled that Croatia defender Josip Sutalo had obstructed Renato Veiga when he attempted to head from a corner.
Croatia thought they had salvaged a dramatic late equaliser in the extended 13th minute of stoppage time when Josko Gvardiol found the net, but the goal was ruled out following a lengthy VAR review, leaving them stunned as Portugal held on.
Moments earlier, substitute Ramos had delivered what appeared to be the decisive blow, heading home in the final minutes to complete a dramatic turnaround.
Ronaldo was substituted in the 80th minute, making way for Ruben Neves, with his departure marking the final change made by coach Roberto Martinez.
Martinez had earlier introduced Nelson Semedo, Ramos, Bernardo Silva and Francisco Conceicao, replacing Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto, Vitinha and Joao Cancelo as Portugal reshaped their side in search of a breakthrough.
The victory came on a historic night for both Ronaldo and Luka Modric, who set new World Cup longevity records. Ronaldo became the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup knockout match at 41 years and 147 days. His longtime Real Madrid teammate and Croatia captain Modric moved into second on the list at 40 years and 296 days, with both players surpassing Bosnia and Herzegovina forward Edin Dzeko (40 years, 106 days), who had claimed the record only a day earlier against co-hosts USA.
Ronaldo also reached his 26th World Cup appearance, moving second on the all-time list behind Lionel Messi, while earlier in the tournament he had become the first player to score in six different World Cup editions.
