In an international friendly on Saturday, Croatia defeated Portugal 2-1 with to goals in each half from Luka Modric and Ante Budimir. Cristiano Ronaldo was rested from the starting lineup and this was Croatia’s historic first victory against Portugal in eight meetings.

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In the Oeiras neighbourhood of Lisbon, Zlatko Dalic’s team defeated the Euro 2016 champions to give rivals Spain and Italy in Group B a scare.

Portugal, one of the favourites to win the competition, suffered just their second loss in 13 games under the Spanish coach Roberto Martinez.

Shortly after the game began, Vitinha took down Mateo Kovacic in the box, which led to a penalty. Diogo Costa, the Portuguese custodian, correctly predicted where Modric would aim, but his lunge to the right was narrowly unsuccessful as the Real Madrid midfielder netted his 25th goal for Croatia.

However, three minutes after entering the game, Portugal’s replacement Diogo Jota levelled the score when fellow substitute Nelson Semedo found him inside the six-yard box with a quick cross from the right. The Liverpool striker executed the close-range finish flawlessly.

Costa tried his hardest to stop Budimir’s attempt from going over the bar, but eight minutes later, Croatia took the lead again. Budimir quickly recovered the rebound and easily headed it into the net.

On Friday, Ronaldo arrived in Portugal following his conclusion of his Saudi Arabian club career with Al Nassr. The 39-year-old will compete in the European Championship for the sixth time in history. Ronaldo, the all-time top scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals, assisted Portugal in winning the 2016 European Championship.

On June 18, Portugal, who had defeated Croatia six times in their previous seven meetings, takes on Czechia in Group F of the 2024 European Championship. Next Saturday, Croatia’s first Group B matchup is against Spain.

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