Round of 16 Bound: Portugal defeats Croatia in a thrilling ending
The World Cup has officially entered the round of 32 after a month long group stage process.
Portugal was ranked number two in their group after a tie game against Colombia to wrap up their group stage games. A disappointing ranking for Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo's possible final season on a World Cup stage.
However, the first game of the round of 32 was seeded for Portugal after a 2-1 win for Croatia in group L, making Portugal's first knockout game one of the most discussed in recent years. Croatia finished their group as the second seed behind England and looked to be an underdog against Portugal.
With their game ending 2-1, Portugal will be sent to the round of 16 while Croatia packs their bags and head home. With the game being one of the biggest topics as of late, what made Croatia so dangerous against Portugal?
Portugal v Croatia Recap
In the beginning, not much had happened on the turf as both teams played as defensively as possible. Both teams attempted multiple shots on goal, but many of those shots missed the goal or was caught by the goalie.
Eventually, Croatia would get the upper hand near the halfway point of the game after attacking an exhausted Portugal defense. Despite multiple blocks and attempts to disrupt the Croatian offense, Ivan Perišić would score a goal that sent shockwaves against the stadium, as Croatia were up 1-0.
It wouldn't take long for Portugal to respond, as a penalty from Nikola Vlašić would give Ronaldo a penalty kick late in the game. Ronaldo would end up evening the score to 1-1 after an uncontested goal led to a score for Portugal.
By this point, Croatia had exhausted their resources and were backpedaling throughout the last half of the match, with Croatian goalie Dominik Livaković being targeted by Portugal's strikers. In the end, Portugal would end up scoring once more, with Gonçalo Ramos scoring a goal in extra time to secure the lead in the last minutes of the match.
Croatia would end up pulling together in the last minutes of the match, as they scored a goal to send the game into extra time. However, after a VAR intermission the goal was found to be offsides and was taken back.
Portugal closed the game out with a 2-1 win, but it almost ended in tragedy for them. They will be going up against Spain in the round of 16, and if Portugal plans to have a deep run they will have to fix their issues from this game.
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