"You can't think of winning anything in 2026 with a 41-year-old Ronaldo"

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in his role as a Fox Sports commentator, vehemently criticized the disallowed Croatian goal in the final moments of their match against Portugal, labeling the decision a "robbery" and accusing VAR of ruining the game. The AC Milan advisor believes the intention was to ensure a clash between Portugal and Spain in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16.

The former Swedish striker held nothing back when analyzing the incident that nullified Gvardiol's goal. "It was a great game, ruined at the end by VAR. I see nothing irregular about the 2-2 goal. VAR disallowed it, but for me, it was a robbery," Ibrahimovic stated, suggesting a technical glitch or an error in interpretation.

"The sensor in the ball didn't work, or something went wrong, as Renato Veiga touched the ball, which means there was no offside. Look at the angle: Croatia's number 20 doesn't touch the ball; it doesn't alter its trajectory in the slightest. It's Portugal's number 13 who touches it! How can it be offside? An opponent touches the ball, and suddenly the Croatian scorer is offside? Absurd!" he declared.

Ibrahimovic lamented the impact of the decision on the Croatian players, who "fought with heart" and were "deprived of a dream moment in this World Cup." For the Swede, the decision lacked clarity. "To disallow a goal in the 90th minute, the decision has to be crystal clear. Here, it wasn't at all. This wasn't refereeing. It was a blatant robbery. To me, it's clear they wanted Portugal and Ronaldo to reach the Round of 16 to face Spain," he concluded.

Zlatan's criticisms extended to Cristiano Ronaldo, whose starting position he considered "pure madness dictated by nostalgia." According to the commentator, the Portuguese captain no longer possesses the same ball control and mobility, limiting himself to staying in the box.

"You can't think of winning anything in 2026 with a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack. Especially when Gonçalo Ramos, who came on and scored, is on the bench," he analyzed, adding: "This isn't legendary leadership. It's ego holding the team hostage. At this point, it's his aura that sustains him more than his legs."

Despite the controversy, Ibrahimovic acknowledged that Portugal qualified for the Round of 16 and were superior overall. "In the end, Portugal qualified. That's football... Sometimes the rules work in your favor, other times against you. It's a shame that this time they penalized Croatia," he commented, praising the effort of Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic.

Regarding individual performances, the Swede highlighted Rafael Leão as "excellent," stating that the forward "put the Croatian defense in serious trouble." In contrast, he felt that Pedro Neto and Bruno Fernandes were "below expectations." Ibrahimovic also praised Roberto Martínez's "intelligent substitutions," bringing on Semedo, Francisco Conceição, Bernardo Silva, and Gonçalo Ramos, with the latter scoring the winning goal after a "beautiful assist" from Leão.