Portugal edge Croatia 2-1 on a 94th-minute goal; Spain awaits in the last 16

How it was decided

For an hour the game was goalless. Then Ivan Perisic lashed Croatia in front in the 53rd minute. Portugal answered from the penalty spot: Nikola Vlasic fouled Renato Veiga in the box, and Ronaldo scored the equaliser in the 68th minute before being substituted in the 81st. The winner came from one of his replacements — Ramos rose to a Rafael Leao cross and headed in during the 94th minute. There was still one more twist. Deep in stoppage time an own goal off Ruben Neves looked to have levelled it for Croatia, but a VAR check ruled it out for offside. Portugal held on.

Modric's tournament ends at 40

Even in a losing side, Modric ran the game. At 40 he led Croatia with 66 touches and kept setting the tempo until the whistle. Coach Zlatko Dalic said afterwards it was "probably" his last World Cup, while adding that only Modric can decide his future; the player himself has not spoken about it. This is the generation that reached the 2018 final and finished third in 2022, and its most familiar face was leaving the stage. The Modric-Ronaldo embrace carried that history: the two were Real Madrid teammates from 2012 to 2018, and Ronaldo called Modric a legend of the game.

The last 16 is Spain

Waiting for Portugal are the European champions. Spain beat Austria 3-0 the same weekend, Mikel Oyarzabal scoring twice and Pedro Porro adding the other; teenager Lamine Yamal was named the game's best player and said afterwards that "the World Cup starts now." Spain out-shot Austria 23 to five. That sets up an Iberian tie in the Round of 16, in Dallas, with a quarter-final place on the line — Portugal, who needed 94 minutes to see off Croatia, against a Spain side that dismantled its opponent.

One more result that mattered

The same day, Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0 in Vancouver, Breel Embolo scoring inside 11 minutes and Dan Ndoye adding the second right after half-time. It was Switzerland's first World Cup knockout win in 88 years, ending a run of seven straight knockout exits. The Swiss go on to face the winner of Colombia and Ghana. For a Japanese audience whose team is out, the clearest next watch is the one now set at the top of this half of the bracket: Portugal versus Spain.