Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has defended the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions that saw his side beat Croatia 2-1 in the final. FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32, where Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic criticized the referees but refused to be blamed for his team’s exit.Portugal booked their place in the Round of 16 after coming from behind to beat Croatia in Toronto, and Cristiano Ronaldo he scored from the spot before substitute Goncalo Ramos scored in stoppage time. The game was overshadowed by several VAR actions, including the disallowance of two Croatian goals for offside.Speaking after the match, Martinez rejected suggestions that Croatia were unfairly denied a late equalizer.“There were no bad decisions. Today we had a chance,” Martinez said when asked if Croatia had been robbed of a second goal by VAR.“The chip ball shows that it was offside, the penalty was clear. I understand the role of (Croatian coach Zlatko) Dalic in the team and it is a shame that today there is only one winner,” he added.The Portuguese coach is also looking forward to his team’s clash in the Round of 16 against Spain, predicting a high-profile encounter.“We respect the Spanish nation. I think it will be a great game, it will be the European game of this World Cup,” said Martinez.Reflecting on how exciting the competition was, she added: “I’m losing my hair because of this, but I think it’s really worth it.Meanwhile, Dalic expressed frustration with the referee, believing that Croatia were denied important decisions in the match.“It was very bad,” said Dalic, adding that Croatia “should have been awarded more free kicks.”However, the Croatian manager stopped short of using the referee as an excuse to get his team sent off.“But Croatia lost. I can’t find any excuses,” he said. “We could have won this earlier.”Croatia took the lead through Ivan Perisic, who became the country’s leading goalscorer at the World Cup, before Ronaldo’s penalty put Portugal ahead. Ramos’ late winner ended Portugal’s progress and may have ended it Luka ModricWorld Cup work.
