After going 1-0 down, Portugal came back and won the match 2-1 to reach the Round of 16. Portugal will play Spain in the Round of 16 at Dallas Stadium next Monday.
During the match against Croatia, Cristiano Ronaldo managed to score the equalizer for Portugal via a penalty kick. Ronaldo scored his third goal of the 2026 World Cup this summer.
In the 81st minute, Portugal head coach Roberto Martínez decided to take off Ronaldo and replace him with Ruben Neves. It was the first time in the 2026 World Cup that Ronaldo was taken off.
Ronaldo played the full game for Portugal in the group stage against DR Congo, Uzbekistan, and Colombia.
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
After the match, Martinez was asked about his decision to take off Ronaldo late in the match.
Roberto Martínez on Cristiano Ronaldo Being Taken Off
Cristiano Ronaldo played 81 minutes against Croatia, where he scored a penalty kick in the 68th minute of the match.
Martinez made four changes in the 62nd minute, but did not take Ronaldo off until the 81st minute, when he took the striker off for Ruben Neves.
After the match, Martinez was asked about making four changes at once, including taking off Bruno Fernandes and Vintinha.
Martinez said, "We have very specific attacking patterns. Today was a good day to use our inside play, but we couldn’t, so we decided to use width and depth more with Rafael Leão and to reach the box. It was about drawing the midfielder through the movement of Bernardo Silva. We had to make substitutions in the first half. Today we made four substitutions at once. The first half was very good. It was just about following the flow of the match.”
When answering why Ronaldo was taken off, Martinez insists that he planned to add more midfielders to the pitch.
Martinez said, "Goncalo Ramos is a player who always adds something when he comes on, like Bernardo Silva and Conceicao. It is important to start well and finish even better. We took a big risk by playing with two strikers, but then we needed an extra midfielder, so we took off Cristiano."
