Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has defended the video assistant referee (VAR) decision that sealed Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Croatia. fifa world cup In the round of 32 in 2026, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic criticized the referees but refused to blame them for his team’s elimination.Portugal defeated Croatia in Toronto and advanced to the round of 16. cristiano ronaldo In stoppage time, substitute Goncalo Ramos scored the winning goal with a header. The match was overshadowed by a series of VAR interventions, including two Croatian goals being disallowed for offside.After the game, Martinez dismissed suggestions that Croatia’s chance to score a dramatic late equalizer was unfairly denied.“No wrong decisions were made. We were lucky today,” Martinez said when asked if Croatia were denied a second goal by VAR.“The chip was clear for offside and the penalty was clear too. I understand (Croatia coach Zlatko) Dalic’s job in this team and it’s a shame there was only one winner today,” he added.The Portuguese coach also looked ahead to the team’s round of 16 match against Spain, which is expected to be a high-quality game.“We respect the quality of Spain. I think it will be a good game, it will be the European game of this World Cup,” Martinez said.Considering the drama of the game, he added: “I lost my hair because of it, but I think it was worth it.”Dalic, meanwhile, expressed his disappointment with the referees, believing Croatia were denied important decisions during the game.“The referee was very bad,” Dalic said, adding that Croatia “should have given more free kicks.”However, the Croatian coach did not use the referee’s enforcement as an excuse for the team’s elimination.“But Croatia lost. I won’t make any excuses,” he said. “We could have won this earlier.”Croatia took the lead through Ivan Perisic, the country’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup, before Ronaldo’s penalty equalized for Portugal. Ramos’ late winner finally sealed Portugal’s progress and potentially ended the game Luke ModricWorld Cup career.
