Portugal goal: Ronaldo pen (68), Ramos (90+4) Croatia goals: Perisic (53)
Goncalo Ramos scored a late, late winner as Portugal came from behind to sneak this tug-of-war Toronto tussle at the .
Ivan Perisic had given Croatia the lead shortly after the break, but Cristiano Ronaldo's third goal of these finals drew Portugal level. Ramos then rose highest to send a Rafael Leao cross home in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Portugal almost opened the scoring in the fourth minute when the jet-heeled Leao got in behind the Croatia defence and cut back for Bruno Fernandes who fired at Dominik Livakovic before having his second effort blocked by Josip Sutalo.
Pedro Neto was a constant threat on the other side. The Chelsea man sent a wicked ball into the middle which Ronaldo looked certain to head home, but the ball just evaded the No7. Another Neto cross caused chaos moments later, with the loose ball falling to Leao but he volleyed over.
Roberto Martinez's side were made to pay for those misses shortly after the break. Nikola Vlasic and Josip Stanisic combined down the right, with the latter's cross finding Perisic to fire home at the far post.
Croatia thought they had doubled their lead soon after when Vlasic crossed for Igor Matanovic to slide in, but the Torino man was offside.
That stroke of luck woke Portugal up, with Leao cutting inside and rattling an effort off the bar soon after. It was then their turn to curse the linesman's flag, as Ronaldo controlled a high ball and sent a sumptuous dink into the net, but he had mistimed his run.
Ronaldo wouldn't be denied for long. Vlasic dragged down Renato Veiga from a corner, with the referee awarding a penalty following a VAR review. Portugal's captain stepped up and calmly dispatched his 11th World Cup goal.
That swung the pendulum once again. Mateo Kovacic saw a long-range effort tipped on to the post by Diogo Costa. He stung the palms of Costa again soon after, before Matanovic was foiled by a sprawling save. He was helpless to deny Petar Sucic from finding the net with ten minutes to go, but Portugal were again saved by the flag.
Then came the 94th minute. The lively Leao sent a tantalising cross into the middle which Ramos headed home to sparks scenes of delirium on the Portugal bench.
There was still somehow time for further drama. A Hail Mary pass into the Portugal box fell to Mario Pasalic to square for Josko Gvardiol to tap home. After a VAR review, however, Pasalic was deemed to have been in an offside position.
Martinez's men will now face Spain in Dallas on 6 July.
His goal today was Cristiano Ronaldo's first in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup. At 41, he is the oldest player to net at that stage, outranking fellow Portugal icon Pepe.
Sources: FIFA Official
