For all the talk and debate, there could yet be a fairytale ending for Cristiano Ronaldo in his bid to conquer the world.
The Portugal superstar’s final World Cup crusade seemed destined to end in heartbreak in Toronto before he marked his 26th appearance at a World Cup finals, second only to Lionel Messi, by finally plundering a goal in a knockout match, cancelling out Ivan Perisic’s opener to make history and keep Portugal’s hopes alive.
He wasn’t on the pitch when Goncalo Ramos’ stunning bullet header clinched Portugal’s place in the Last 16.
But his dream of winning the World Cup with Portugal is, for now at least, very much alive.
Had it not been for Ramos’ intervention, it could have been the end of Ronaldo and Portugal altogether; prior to Thursday’s do-or-die clash with Croatia, Ronaldo’s sister, dropped the bombshell of all bombshells when she all but confirmed this is the icon’s last dance.
That means retirement, at least from the international game, is likely imminent.
Given Ronaldo is 41 and his powers have significantly waned, that shouldn’t come as a massive shock. Plenty of us have speculated that this tournament is indeed the end. And yet Katia Aveiro’s words still felt seismic.
Ironically, not only did Portugal start brightly in Toronto, they laid siege upon Croatia in the opening 10 minutes with a flurry of dangerous crosses in a bid to get the best out of Ronaldo.
But he ended the first half without a single touch in the Croatia penalty area.
Too often he dropped deep in a desperate trance to try and influence proceedings. On the occasions he was where he was supposed to be, the ball just would not drop in the vicinity of those magic feet.
How he would have craved the opportunity that fell Perisic’s way: the veteran made no mistake when a cross fell perfectly to him towards the back of the penalty area, rifling a low strike beyond Diogo Costa.
An offside flag denied Croatia an instant second before Rafael Leao rattled the crossbar to briefly raise Portuguese hopes.
Ronaldo had never scored in a World Cup knockout game prior to Thursday night’s game and the offside flag correctly ruled him offside by a shoulder to deny him on the hour.
Minutes later, he was offered a chance to make history from the penalty spot. He may not be the god-like player he once was, but there was never any doubt he would stick it away.
It would prove to be his final contribution with Roberto Martinez making the bold call to withdraw Ronaldo in the 81st minute shortly after Petar Sucic too had a goal ruled out for offside.
He was playing cheerleader when Ramos’ moment came in second half stoppage time. The cheer evaporated from the Portugal bench, though, when Josko Gvardiol appeared to have notched a remarkable equalising goal in the 13th minute of second half stoppage time.
But it was ruled offside following a VAR check to let Portugal and Ronaldo off the hook.
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