Ramos, Ronaldo score as Portugal rallies to beat Croatia 2-1 and advance to round of 16

TORONTO (AP) — Goncalo Ramos headed in the stoppage-time winner as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a wild finish that also included a Croatian goal disallowed for offside just before the final whistle in a World Cup round of 32 match on Thursday night.

The game featured a matchup 40-somethings Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia's Luka Modrić, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.

Ronaldo initially tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick and give the megastar his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute. But, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.

Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.

“First half we dominated the game. In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football,” Ronaldo said. “After the penalty, I think it was a little bit better for us. We created a few chances and I think at the end of the day we deserved to win the match.”

The game ended in controversy as Croatia thought it had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments, but Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.

Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic.

Ronaldo, booed loudly by Croatia fans every time he touched the ball, got his chance from the spot after Nikola Vlasic was called for a holding foul inside the box. Portugal’s megastar hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.

Modrić led Croatia to second- and third-place finishes in 2018 and 2022, and the match carried the weight of the two aging stars each trying to realize the dream of winning the World Cup. Modrić is 40, while Ronaldo is 41.

The men, who were teammates at Real Madrid, shared a few smiles and an embrace ahead of the coin toss before the match. The two met on the pitch after the match, and hugged and exchanged a few words.

“I played with Luca so many years,” Ronaldo said. "We’re nearly the same age. I think he’s a legend of football. He’s still a legend of football.”

__

Lexie Linderman is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.

—-

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Portugal's Renato Veiga gestures during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match against Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) scores on a penalty kick past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic (1) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Croatia's Luka Modric (10) reacts to a call as Portugal's Bernardo Silva (10) looks on during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) celebrates after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Portugal's Ruben Dias (3) celebrates a win during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (7) celebrates after scoring their opening goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A rush rescue mission to save a NASA space telescope remains grounded, this time because of a last-minute launch problem.

Northrop Grumman ’s rocket-launching plane took off from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific on Thursday, following weather delays all week. But a software issue resulted in an abort, keeping the Pegasus rocket strapped to the plane's belly, according to NASA.

The problem has since been fixed, and another launch attempt was set for Friday.

The rocket holds a three-armed robotic spacecraft built by Katalyst Space Technologies to capture the Swift Observatory, which will come crashing down by October if no help arrives. No new launch date has been set.

NASA paused Swift's science operations earlier this year to preserve its orbit as long as possible. It has detected thousands of gamma ray bursts and exploding stars since its launch in 2004, tipping off other telescopes for more detailed observations.

Anxious to continue Swift's scanning of the universe, the space agency hired Katalyst Space last September for the $30 million salvage operation.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This photo provided by NASA shows Kieran Wilson, LINK’s principal investigator, and Hunter Robertson, a space systems engineer, both at Katalyst Space, standing next to their spacecraft inside the SES (Space Environment Simulator) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., April 17, 2026, ahead of thermal vacuum testing. (Sophia Roberts/NASA via AP)