Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal in the World Cup knockout stage as Portugal had completed the task in Toronto.
A delightful aside, they also advanced to the round of 16 with an exciting, dramatic, contentious victory over Croatia in Toronto, which paved the way for an exciting matchup with Spain in Dallas.
Finding the task that Roberto Martinez will be most happy to complete is more difficult than it should be.
Only after the 41-year-old had escaped the hook when Martinez made a quadruple replacement with Croatia ahead on 63 minutes did the Portugal manager finally grow a pair and substitute Ronaldo.
After an incredibly ineffectual hour, even Ronaldo realised he was ready to be replaced. His initial touch in the Croatia box had only been made moments before, and his second touch had placed the ball past Dominik Livakovic and into the net, both of which were deemed illegal by the offside flag.
Ronaldo appeared strangely insecure up to that time. The center-forward started diving deep to receive after getting no more luck from Croatia’s center-backs than he did from Colombia’s.
Naturally, Portugal passes the ball to Ronaldo when he turns up for it. But in the build-up, he appeared to be a lost soul. Every time he bounced possession backward, even when he had the opportunity to turn—possibly into shooting positions—a confident CR7 doesn’t pass up.
To the amusement of Rafael Leao and everyone else, he once moved to the left flank, where Leao posed Portugal’s greatest threat in the first half. He then stole the ball from the AC Milan forward and stood on it to almost stop play.
But because to Martinez’s kindness, Ronaldo was able to stay on the pitch long enough to score when Portugal was given a penalty halfway through the second half. That became his first valid touch in the Croatia box, and his first goal with his 30th shot in the knockout stages of a World Cup.
To the player’s annoyance, Martinez finally had the courage to withdraw Ronaldo in the 81st minute when the duck was broken. Ronaldo seemed as bashful as he possibly be when he thought his was one of four numbers going up. Encouraged by his penalty, he seemed offended when Martinez made the correct decision.
Now the Portugal leader has another to make. When playing Spain, does Ronaldo always start?
Although everyone is undoubtedly aware of the solution, Goncalo Ramos’s game-winning goal in the 93rd minute, which he scored after Leao’s type of cross that Ronaldo missed, presents Martinez with a more difficult situation than he may be comfortable with.
Was Ramos’s header the winning goal? Officials believe this. However, very few would firmly concur that Josko Gvardiol bundled past Diogo Costa to score what would have been a merited equaliser after Igor Mantanovic made a tackle on a cross in the 104th minute, making Mario Pasalic offside.
When Mantanovic took Ante Budimir’s place during halftime, he contributed to altering the game’s trajectory. Budimir did not do much wrong, but Freiburg’s Mantanovic’s physical presence made it possible for Croatia to produce more crosses, particularly from the superb Ivan Perisic, who once again came to life in a big competition. Mateo Kovacic and Luka Modric flourished through the middle as Portugal spread their players wide.
Costa kept Kovacic out twice, the second time with great skill. Even though Ronaldo won Man of the Match because of FIFA, Modric was unquestionably the most productive of the 40-somethings on display.
This has to be the end for one of Modric or Ronaldo in the World Cup, certainly if Ronaldo’s sister is to be believed. With Golden and Bronze Balls from the previous two competitions, the Croatian star—possibly the greatest World Cup icon—will make his final appearance in Toronto.
