2026 World Cup: Croatia boss blames 'very bad refereeing' not Ronaldo brilliance for Portugal loss

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalić expressed deep frustration over what he labelled "very bad refereeing" following his team's agonising 2-1 defeat to Portugal.

The heartbreaking Round of 32 loss officially eliminated the Vatreni from the 2026 World Cup, bringing a dramatic and controversial end to their campaign in Toronto.

The high-stakes encounter unravelled in a storm of controversy during the latter stages of the match. Portugal was initially awarded a contentious penalty following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, which Cristiano Ronaldo calmly slotted home to draw the teams level.

With momentum swinging, Gonçalo Ramos struck a lethal blow in the 94th minute to fire the Portuguese ahead. Absolute chaos ensued deep in stoppage time when Joško Gvardiol thought he had snatched a dramatic equaliser for Croatia.

However, a lengthy VAR review determined the ball had grazed Igor Matanović on its path through, rendering Gvardiol offside. To the bewilderment of the Croatian bench, Norwegian referee Espen Eskås disallowed the goal after a lengthy check.

Speaking to the press after the final whistle, the 59-year-old Dalić pulled no punches regarding the officiating, saying, "It was very bad refereeing. I felt my team should have been given more free kicks. But Croatia lost. I'm not going to find any excuses. We could have won this earlier."

The defeat marks a sombre turning point for Croatian football, signalling the final World Cup appearance for their legendary 40-year-old captain, Luka Modrić.

Having served as the undisputed heartbeat of the national team for almost two decades, the iconic midfielder leaves the global stage without the elusive gold medal. "Well, this was probably his last World Cup," Dalić reflected somberly. "And I'm sorry that it ended this way."

While Dalić conceded that their trademark tournament luck from the previous two editions had finally run out, he remained fiercely optimistic about the next generation.

Refusing to comment on his own managerial future after leading the nation since 2017, Dalić concluded: "We've come to an end of a wonderful era, and some new beginnings await us. I'm not afraid for the future of the Croatian team. We have a lot of young players coming in and some of them have shown their quality today."