A close-range header from Portugal substitute Ricardo Quaresma secured a 1-0 win over Croatia after the game burst into life late in extra time on Saturday and set up a Euro 2016 quarter-final against Poland next week.
Quaresma struck three minutes from the end of the extra period after a Cristiano Ronaldo shot was brilliantly saved by Danijel Subasic to settle the tie just a minute after Croatia’s Ivan Perisic had hit the post with a header.
Croatia almost snatched an equaliser at the death but Domagoj Vida hooked the ball agonisingly wide.
“We expected Portugal to counter and we were playing really well for 120 minutes, controlling the match, not conceding any chances except the last one that was our mistake and we were punished for that,” said Croatia coach Ante Cacic.
There was some lovely one-touch play from both sides but plenty of passes also went astray in a tense, cagey last 16 game in which neither side managed to register a shot on target until Ronaldo’s late effort led to the winning goal.
Croatia were on top for most of the first half but Portugal had the first chance when Pepe headed Raphael Guerreiro’s free kick over the bar after Ronaldo was tripped by Perisic.
Perisic, who had a patch of his hair dyed to match the red-and-white checked pattern of his shirt, then cut in from the right but he dragged his shot outside the near post.
Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic returned from injury for Croatia, with Mandzukic spurning an excellent first-half chance when he headed Dario Srna’s corner wide of the target.
With Mandzukic on his own up front and Nani and Ronaldo shackled, neither side could break the deadlock and a smattering of boos and whistles were heard at the halftime whistle.

WASTEFUL FINISHING
Croatia continued to dominate possession after the break, but their wasteful finishing continued as Marcelo Brozovic narrowly failed to connect with Ivan Strinic’s cross and then followed up by blazing over from the resulting corner.
Sanches registered Portugal’s first shot of the second half when he broke forward and played a one-two with Joao Mario but steered the ball wide of the target. Croatia centre-back Vida then had a glorious chance to give his side the lead on the hour but headed wide with the goal at his mercy and Mandzukic lurking behind him.
Earning his 100th cap, Nani had a penalty appeal turned down when he went sprawling in the box under pressure from Strinic.
Ronaldo did not fare much better and, despite occasional flashes of skill, he was kept quiet for most of the game.
The match finished scoreless and went into extra time with Nikola Kalinic, who replaced Mandzukic, blasting a shot wide halfway through the first period.
Croatia still looked livelier and Vida was frustrated again as he headed another corner just over with Portugal keeper Rui Patricio stranded after coming out for the cross.
Perisic flashed the ball across the goal and then saw a header come back off the post before Portugal countered and Ronaldo’s shot was parried into the path of Quaresma who scored.
Croatia poured forward in search of an equaliser and Vida made it a hat-trick of misses as he hooked the ball wide leaving Portugal to go through to face Poland in Marseille on Thursday.
Cacic lamented his fancied side’s failure to score. Croatia enjoyed 17 shots to their opponents’ six, but failed to register a single effort on target though they did hit the post through Ivan Perisic’s header just before Portugal scored.
“Everything was perfect except we didn’t score,” Cacic told reporters. “So we weren’t successful in attack.”
Croatia scored five goals in the group stage but have failed to find the net against Portugal in all four of their matches, losing every one. “We played really well and were controlling the match,” he added.
“We conceded no chances, except the last one.
“They scored in the 117th minute, I congratulate them. They kept us far from goal and that’s why they scored from the counter-attack.
“That was our mistake and we were punished,” Cacic added, “but that’s football and many times the best team doesn’t win.”
Croatia’s odds of winning the tournament were slashed after they came from behind to beat Spain 2-1 and top Group D, but they failed to produce a dynamic performance against Portugal.
“I am really sad as we had a great chance,” added Cacic. “The draw was perfect for us, we knew if we beat Portugal we had an open path.”
Quaresma’s left coach Fernando Santos praising his team for executing his orders after a tactical game
“It was a very tactical match. Portugal tried to take over but Croatia didn’t let us, but when they tried to take over we didn’t let them,” Santos told reporters. “You have to look at both sides of the coin. We faced an amazing team.”