Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup Nightmare Continues

The match began with Croatia quickly taking the lead, with a powerful tap in from the edge of the box from Ivan Perisic in the 5th minute. Portugal keeper Rui Patricio, despite making a valiant effort to stop the goal, was unable to do so. The rest of the half unfolded with Croatia continuing to dominate, as Portugal failed to create any real opportunities. The second half began in much of the same fashion as the first, with Croatia continuing to take control of the match. In the 50th minute of the match, a breakaway from Mateo Kovacic found the back of the net and Croatia had taken a comfortable 2-0 lead. As the match continued, Portugal continued to struggle to mount any kind of meaningful attack. In the last fifteen minutes of the match, Croatia ran riot, scoring five more goals. The fourth goal saw a well-placed shot from Luka Modric beat an outstretched Rui Patricio, while the fifth was a header from Ivan Perisic. The sixth was a well-timed volley from Ivan Rakitic that sailed over Rui Patricio’s head and into the back of the net. The final goal was a shot from Mario Mandzukic that found the bottom corner of the goal. At the sound of the final whistle, Portugal had been soundly beaten 7-0 by Croatia. Cristiano Ronaldo, sat sadly on the bench, unable to influence the game and powerless to stop the onslaught from Croatia. His face was filled with disappointment and his teammates shared similar emotions. The world reacted with shock at the result and many speculated that the loss would be a huge blow to Portugal’s World Cup dreams. Many were quick to point the finger of blame at Ronaldo and his inability to influence the game. Despite this, some were sympathetic to Ronaldo’s plight and understood the difficulty of the situation. No matter what, Croatia had had a truly outstanding victory and will long be remembered for their incredible performance.