{"id":1835,"date":"2026-07-03T15:01:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/?p=1835"},"modified":"2026-07-03T15:01:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:01:35","slug":"portugal-edge-croatia-in-stoppage-time-thriller-to-reach-the-last-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/portugal-edge-croatia-in-stoppage-time-thriller-to-reach-the-last-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Portugal edge Croatia in stoppage-time thriller to reach the last 16"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1836\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-2.png 1000w, https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-2-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-2-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Late drama, VAR controversy, and a Gon\u00e7alo Ramos winner see Portugal overcome Croatia in a pulsating encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a match of suffocating intensity and full of twists, Portugal defeated Croatia 2-1 in their Round of 32 clash at the World Cup and secured qualification. The game was a true rollercoaster, featuring clear chances, disallowed goals, VAR drama, and a breathtaking finish in stoppage time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The match<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Portugal asserted themselves from the off, intent on dictating the tempo through a high press. Rafael Le\u00e3o proved a constant menace on the left flank, driving forward and causing havoc with his delivery. One of the game&#8217;s early openings saw Bruno Fernandes find space in the area, only to be thwarted by a superb reaction save from goalkeeper Livakovic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Croatia remained dangerous on the break, looking to exploit quick transitions. Budimir loomed as an aerial threat but couldn&#8217;t find the target, while Kovacic forced Diogo Costa into a vital save with a stinging long-range effort to keep the scores level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following a mid-half hydration break, Croatia enjoyed a period of sustained possession, attempting to carve out openings with patient build-up play. However, the Portuguese backline held firm, eventually tightening their grip on the game to regain territorial control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite Portugal&#8217;s pressure, it was Croatia who struck first. Ivan Peri\u0161i\u0107 showed predatory instincts to pounce on a loose ball in the box following a cross from the right, finishing clinically to give the Croatians the lead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Late drama, VAR controversy, and a Gon\u00e7alo Ramos winner see Portugal overcome Croatia in a pulsating encounter. In<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1835"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1837,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835\/revisions\/1837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}