Cristiano Ronaldo says he will wait until Portugal’s World Cup journey is over before deciding on his international future after the team secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Croatia to reach the next round.
Competing in his sixth World Cup, the 41-year-old finally scored his first goal in the tournament’s knockout stages on Thursday as Portugal advanced in Toronto.
The scoreline, however, only captured part of a tense encounter. Ronaldo converted a penalty to cancel out Ivan Perisic’s opener, but he was taken off in the 81st minute as coach Roberto Martinez introduced Ruben Neves to strengthen the midfield after Croatia gained momentum.
Substitute Goncalo Ramos later netted a 94th-minute winner to send Portugal through.
The closing moments produced further controversy when Josko Gvardiol had a late equaliser ruled out in the 15th minute of added time because of a subjective offside decision. Officials determined that Igor Matanovic had made a slight touch on the cross, leaving Mario Pasalic in an offside position.
A subsequent contact with Portugal defender Renato Veiga was judged to be accidental and therefore did not restart the phase of play.
The decision guarantees Ronaldo at least one more appearance at the World Cup, with Portugal set to meet Spain in Dallas on Monday.
Speculation before the match suggested Ronaldo had already decided to retire from international football once Portugal’s campaign concluded, but the veteran forward said no decision has been made.
“The future isn’t important right now,” Ronaldo told Sport TV.
“I’ll talk about it, I’ll have time – after we win or lose – to talk to my family and then make decisions the way I do.
“I don’t make decisions on the spur of the moment any more. Now, I take everything calmly. For now, it’s about enjoying today.”
Ronaldo’s penalty marked his 31st attempt in World Cup knockout matches. It was also his only touch inside the penalty area among his 25 touches during the game against Croatia.
According to the Opta supercomputer, Portugal have a 5.13 per cent chance of lifting the World Cup trophy for the first time, while Spain are rated at 13.17 per cent to secure a second title.
Spain are slight favourites to progress from Monday’s clash, with a 59.8 per cent probability of advancing, and Ronaldo acknowledged the challenge awaiting Portugal.
“We know Spain have the quality to win the World Cup,” the former Real Madrid star said.
“It’s going to be a difficult game like all of them from now on. We know them well. We are going to be ready.”
