On the night of July 3, the football world witnessed one of the most dramatic matches in World Cup history. The Round of 16 clash between Portugal and Croatia, the first-ever meeting between these national teams at a World Cup, turned into a true thriller with a resolution in the final seconds. In the other match of the day, the Swiss national team comfortably defeated Algeria, securing their place in the next stage of the tournament.
Battle of Titans: Portugal vs. Croatia
The first half was dictated by the Portuguese, yet it was the hosts who opened the scoring. In the 53rd minute, Ivan Perisic headed in a cross from Josip Stanišić, giving Croatia the lead. Moments later, Matanović scored a second goal, but the referees disallowed the goal due to an offside.
The main hero of the evening was the Portuguese captain, Cristiano Ronaldo. Initially, his goal was disallowed, but in the 68th minute, the 41-year-old forward coolly converted a penalty to equalize. The decisive moment arrived in the 90+4th minute: Gonçalo Ramos, following a pass from Rafael Leão, put Portugal ahead.
Technology vs. Intuition: Guardiola's Disallowed Goal
The crazy conclusion occurred in the 90+13th minute. Croatian defender Joško Gvardiol sent the ball into the net, seemingly sending the game into extra time. However, a new microchip technology, borrowed from cricket, recorded a barely noticeable contact with the ball by Igor Matanović during the build-up of the attack. This automatically placed Gvardiol in an offside position—the goal was disallowed, and Portugal held onto their victory.
Switzerland: A Confident Triumph and a Historic Record
In the other night match, the Swiss national team comfortably dismantled Algeria. The Europeans settled all questions with two quick goals at the start of each half. Already in the 10th minute, Breel Embolo scored following a pass from Johann Manjambo. And in the first minute of the second half, Dan Ndoye took advantage of an Algerian defensive error and doubled the lead with a powerful shot into the left post.
The son of the legendary Zinedine Zidane—Lucas Zidane, who was defending Algeria's goal—could not save the team. Thanks to this success, Switzerland has reached the Round of 16 of the World Cup for the fourth time in a row. In the three previous World Cups, the Swiss were eliminated exactly at this stage.
Next Opponents: A Super Match and the Draw
The Portuguese national team has formed a Round of 16 super match, where their opponent will be Spain, who crushed Austria (3:0) the day before. This mega-match will take place on Monday, July 6, at 22:00 Kyiv time.
Switzerland will learn their next opponent on the night of Saturday, July 4—they will face the winner of the clash between the national teams of Colombia and Ghana.
