Portugal Beat Croatia In Dramatic Fashion To Set Up Spain Clash

MPortugal secured a place in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup after edging Croatia 2-1 in a dramatic encounter on Friday.

Croatia struck first in the 53rd minute through Ivan Perisic, putting Portugal under pressure in the second half.

Cristiano Ronaldo restored parity for Portugal in the 68th minute from the penalty spot before substitute Goncalo Ramos completed the comeback with a stoppage-time header in the fourth minute of added time.

Croatia believed they had forced extra time when Josko Gvardiol found the net moments later, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review, handing Portugal a dramatic victory.

The result sets up a blockbuster Round of 16 clash between Portugal and European champions Spain.

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Spain underlined their title credentials with a commanding 3-0 victory over Austria in Los Angeles Thursday.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice, while Pedro Porro added another as Luis de la Fuente’s side produced one of their best performances of the tournament.

Oyarzabal opened the scoring in the 36th minute before Porro headed home Spain’s second in the 66th minute. Oyarzabal then sealed the victory with his second goal after finishing off a cross from Marc Cucurella.

Spain, who began their campaign with a goalless draw against Cape Verde, have steadily improved with each match and will now face Portugal in a highly anticipated Iberian showdown.

Meanwhile, Switzerland booked their place in the Round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over Algeria in the early hours of Friday.

Breel Embolo gave the Swiss an early lead in the 10th minute before Dan Ndoye doubled the advantage in the 46th minute to seal the win and end Algeria’s World Cup campaign.

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