Rafael Leão drops to his knees on the turf in Toronto. His cross has just been flicked home by Gonçalo Ramos, and the expression on his face is not joy — it is pure, shuddering relief. Portugal are through to the last 16 of the World Cup, but they have earned it the hard way. This was billed as a farewell for two icons.

At 40, Luka Modrić has almost certainly played his final World Cup match, walking off to applause he deserved more than the scoreline suggested. Cristiano Ronaldo, by contrast, plays on — he scored, he was substituted, and he was bewilderingly named player of the match despite being far from the most decisive man on the pitch. The real story, though, was bigger than either of them. This was a ferocious, old-fashioned tournament battle in which momentum lurched one way, then the other, then back again, never settling until the final whistle.

The first half belonged largely to Portugal. Pedro Neto was relentless down the right, repeatedly winning his duel with Ivan Perišić and whipping tempting crosses into the box that somehow came to nothing. Bruno Fernandes fired off two early shots — one saved sharply by Dominik Livaković, one blocked — and the pattern was set: Portugal pressing, Croatia holding firm, confident in their defensive shape and looking to isolate Martin Baturina against João Cancelo on the break. Then came the record books.

For the first time in World Cup history, four goals were disallowed in a single match — including one that would have levelled the score for Croatia in the very last second. Football rarely writes endings this violent.