Chaos and controversy have become familiar companions at the 2026 World Cup.

The round-of-32 stage continued to produce astonishing drama, but Portugal’s comeback victory over Croatia may well stand out as one of the tournament’s most gripping encounters.

Roberto Martinez’s Portugal side booked their place in the last-16 against Spain after edging past the 2018 finalists in what could mark Luka Modric’s final appearance on the international stage.

The tense clash in Toronto burst into life during the second half. Cristiano Ronaldo had an effort ruled out before converting a penalty to put the Selecao ahead. However, the match reached new heights of intensity deep into added time.

In the fourth minute of a minimum of ten minutes of stoppage time, Goncalo Ramos gave Portugal the lead. Yet, just when Portugal seemed to have secured their passage to the next round, Croatia appeared to find a dramatic equaliser.

In the 103rd minute, Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol reacted quickest to meet Mario Pasalic’s cross and fired the ball into the net, sparking wild celebrations among the Croatian supporters.

However, the jubilation was short-lived. Premier League referee Jarred Gillett immediately referred the goal to VAR for a possible infringement in the build-up to the equaliser. Bottles were thrown from the stands as nervous tension gripped the Croatian fans.

After reviewing the footage on the pitch-side monitor, Norwegian referee Espen Eskas confirmed that the goal would be disallowed for offside. Replays showed that Pasalic had received the ball following a slight deflection off the head of Igor Matanovic, placing him in an offside position when he delivered the cross.

Earlier in the match, Matanovic himself had a potential goal ruled out for offside after Ivan Perisic’s opener, with Nikola Vlasic adjudged to have interfered with play. The Torino midfielder later conceded the penalty that allowed Ronaldo to equalise, after he was judged to have held Renato Veiga inside the box.

Following the defeat, Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic criticised the VAR decision, expressing his frustration at the emotional toll such interventions can have. “Sometimes VAR can’t help, but it kills the emotions, it kills everything within you, it kills what you are experiencing, and it’s not easy to cope with all this,” Dalic said.

Portugal will now face Spain in the next round, carrying momentum from their hard-fought victory, while Croatia’s World Cup journey comes to an agonising end.