Portugal and Croatia went into the break level at 0-0 in their round of 32 tie in Toronto on 3 July, despite the game being almost entirely one way traffic in the Portuguese favour.
Roberto Martinez’s side finished second in Group K with a single win from three games, while Croatia claimed six points to also finish runners up, this time in Group L. Whoever comes through will face Spain in Dallas on 6 July.
Portugal started brightly down the left, with Nuno Mendes threading a fine ball through to Rafa Leao, making his first start of the tournament, before the wing back later made a driving run of his own to drag Croatia’s defence out of shape. The pressure told inside five minutes when Bruno Fernandes forced a save from Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, only for the follow up to be scrambled clear.
Chances continued to stack up for the Portuguese. Joao Cancelo volleyed over from a dropping corner, Cristiano Ronaldo saw a trademark free kick crash into the wall, and Renato Veiga somehow headed over unmarked from close range with the goal gaping. Ronaldo himself rose highest to meet another corner but could not quite make contact, and was later denied by a smart block from Josko Pongracic after a foul on Nuno Mendes gave the forward another dead ball chance.
Croatia offered little going forward, with Ante Budimir starved of service as a lone striker and the visitors largely happy to sit deep and soak up pressure. Their best moment arrived when Martin Baturina broke clear alongside Ruben Dias with only the goalkeeper to beat, but Pedro Neto recovered brilliantly to poke the ball away before a shot could be threatened.
Ruben Dias picked up Portugal’s only booking of the half, shown a yellow card for a high elbow in an aerial challenge, while Croatia’s frustrations were more evident among the crowd, with chants aimed at the officials growing louder as the half wore on. Rafa Leao’s best chance of the closing stages went begging when he arrived at the back post to meet a cross but volleyed over the bar.
By the interval, Portugal’s dominance was stark on the numbers, with passing figures running at more than two to one in their favour, yet they had nothing to show for it beyond a stubborn Croatian rearguard and a series of blunt final touches. Luka Modric, at 40, continued to look for openings from deep but found few teammates able to meet his passes as Croatia sat camped on the edge of their own box.
Both captains arrived at the match among the most experienced World Cup performers in the tournament’s history, with Ronaldo having featured in 67 per cent of Portugal’s World Cup matches and Modric 68 per cent of Croatia’s, a rare meeting of longevity at the highest level of the sport.
