Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the World Cup round of 32, and the winner arrived in the 90th minute plus 4. Gonçalo Ramos scored it with a header after Rafael Leão delivered the cross, turning a tight match in the final seconds.

Ramos needed only 44 minutes to settle it from the bench. He finished with a 7.9 rating, one shot on target and the goal that decided the game.

Ramos finishes, Leão creates

This was the cleaner reading of the night. Rafael Leão ended with one assist, and even if his overall 6.5 rating was quieter than Ramos’ impact, he supplied the decisive ball. Gonçalo Ramos did the rest with a stoppage-time header, and Portugal got the goal they needed from the wide delivery rather than through a long spell of control.

That is the part worth underlining. The finisher got the headline, but Leão’s cross was the key action before the header. Cristiano Ronaldo did not need to be the final touch for Portugal to get over the line, which is exactly why the move mattered.

Croatia's VAR grievance

The ending left Croatia angry because Joško Gvardiol’s late equaliser was disallowed in the 90th minute plus 13. FIFA said Connected Ball Technology detected slight contact by Igor Matanović in the build-up, and that call became the flashpoint.

Igor Matanović told express.co.uk: "Honestly, I think I felt a slight contact with my hair. I asked the referee, I wasn't 100 per cent sure if I had touched him. He told me that they have a chip in the ball, that there was a slight contact and that, therefore, it was offside. It's difficult to find the right words after the game. We played very well in the second half and deserved more. I haven't seen the penalty yet, but if this is given... Three goals, offside, a post... I have no words, we were very unlucky today."

Zlatko Dalic was also blunt, calling it "very bad refereeing". He added: "But Croatia lost. I'm not going to find any excuses. We could have won this earlier."

Roberto Martinez offered the opposite view, saying: "This is one of those examples that technology helps the game because it was offside. There is not a subjective opinion, 'I think, you think', no, it's offside."

Even with the controversy, the result stands. Portugal are through, and Ramos' late finish, with Leão's assist, is the moment that will be remembered from Portugal vs Croatia.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →