Cristiano Ronaldo equals Lionel Messi in World Cup history after penalty vs Croatia
The eternal duel between Cristiano Ronaldo again Lionel Messi he has given birth to yet another immortal chapter. After the In PortugalThe 2-1 victory was over Croatia in the 32nd round, the earthquake milestone was reached. Stepping up to the penalty area, Ronaldo fired a historic strike, officially equaling Messi’s World Cup legacy.
The playoffs in Toronto delivered what was expected of two experienced European teams. Croatia took the lead Ivan PerisicPortugal responded with Ronaldo in the penalty area, too Goncalo Ramos beat Portugal in the round of 16.
Portugal endured a frustrating opening period despite creating promising conditions in Croatia’s penalty area. Ronaldo went close a few times, and Joao Cancelo looked dangerous again and again down the left, but neither team could break the deadlock before the break.
The game burst into life after a while when the Checkereds grew in confidence. Mateo Kovacic has been tested Diogo Costa before Perisic fired home to give Croatia a crucial advantage and put the Selecao das Quinas under immediate pressure.
Zlatko Dalic’s men almost doubled their lead late on as Costa produced another key save. Portugal, however, gradually regained control and found success at the back Renato Veiga he was brought down inside the penalty area.
Ronaldo is equal with Messi for the most recent World Cup trophy
As Portugal needs an answer, Cristiano Ronaldo calmly converted the resulting penalty in the 68th minutekeeping calm under great stress. Although previously he saw that the game ended well and was called offside, the captain did not make a mistake as he scored 12 yards.
That successful penalty also saw Ronaldo equal Lionel Messi in one of the most remarkable episodes of World Cup history. Both superstars have now scored four penalties in FIFA World Cup matches (excluding penalties), which ranks them among the tournament’s greatest penalty takers.
Only Harry Kanewith five successful penalties in the World Cupit currently sits ahead of both soccer icons. With the playoffs still underway, that record could change before the tournament ends.
Portugal completes comeback as Ronaldo adds more milestones
Roberto Marinez and his players continued to push for an equalizer and finally got their reward deep into stoppage time. Replace it Goncalo Ramos he timed his superb run to head home Rafael Leao’s cross and complete a memorable comeback victory.
Croatia believe they have saved more time after that Josko Guardiol found the net. However, following a lengthy VAR review, Mario Pasalic he was ruled offside in the build-up, leaving Croatia in agony as Portugal celebrated qualification.
Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates after scoring against Croatia.
The penalty was more important than helping Portugal advance. It was Ronaldo’s first goal in a FIFA World Cup qualifiercompleting the calculations that had followed him throughout his extraordinary international career.
Prior to the match, the Portugal captain had gone eight World Cup matches without finding the net. The strike happened again Ronaldo is the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout stage matchadding yet another record to an already remarkable CV.
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