Croatian media furious after elimination: “Everything that was against us”
1 min readAlso the media in Croatia have expressed their disbelief about the defeat of the national team against Portugal in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. Through PSV player Ivan Perisic, the Balkan country still took the lead in the 53rd minute, but ultimately had to bow 2-1 to the Portuguese.
The Croatian press is far from pleased with the referee on duty. In minute 68, Portugal equalized thanks to a penalty after a VAR intervention involving Cristiano Ronaldo.
This decision causes a lot of disbelief. ''Modrić and the Vatreni did not deserve this: the way FIFA pushes Ronaldo forward says enough. What a heartbreaking match and what a disgrace. It leaves behind a bitter taste that will not disappear anytime soon,'' writes the outlet Gol.
Sportske Novosti also has no words for the refereeing. ''We shot ourselves in the foot and the refereeing placed the noose around our neck,'' the newspaper runs as the headline. ''Everything was against us. This match will be remembered for many reasons, but above all for the negative. The FIFA's choice of Ronaldo as player of the match says a lot about what we saw,'' the newspaper concludes.
In stoppage time, Croatia seemed to be heading for extra time with a goal by Joško Gvardiol, but this goal was disallowed for offside because substitute Igor Matanović appeared to have touched the ball. This leaves 24sata in disbelief.
''The shocking decision by the referee will be difficult to process. We were so close... They played a wonderful match. Full of chances, goals, twists, and drama'', the outlet said.
Comments5
"Everything was against us." lol Croatia fans always go for that angle, but fair, that disallowed Gvardiol in stoppage time is brutal. If PSV Ivan is the one carrying that intensity, you expect the rest of the team to finish their chances.
That penalty at 68 is the type that sticks in your throat, ngl. If FIFA are really pushing Ronaldo with that player of the match award, it just fuels the conspiracy talk even more.
"Everything was against us" is such a sore loser line... but tbh the penalty after Ronaldo + VAR would make any supporter explode. Still, Croatia were up and then let Portugal back in, thats the real issue.
Lol imagine seeing Croatia's fans blaming "everything" while PSV's own games prove how fine margins are. Gvardiol offside after Matanović touch sounds brutal, but referees dont decide narratives, VAR does.
Watching that Croatia-Portugal match, the Perisic goal at 53' was legit, but the whole VAR call at 68' killed the momentum. If Gvardiol was offside by Matanović's touch, it still feels like the game swung on tiny margins. Croatia got robbed, imo.