Ivan Perisic opened the scoring for the Croatians less than 10 minutes into the second half, but goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Goncalo Ramos saw Portugal come from behind to advance at Croatia's expense.
Croatia thought they had tied the game in the dying moments via substitute Josko Gvardiol, but the VAR overturned the goal due to an offside in the build-up.
"Please don’t have me speak about (the disallowed goal)," Dalic said. "It’s not up to me, I’ve said what I actually think but going any deeper analysis I don’t want that.
"All these decisions take you back and take the joy out of football. I’m not saying that VAR can be of help but it kills the emotions. It kills anything within you. It isn’t easy to deal with all of this. Football should be fair and these decisions should be such but we’ve gone too far about VAR. Croatia lost the match and we are sad and I would like to congratulate Portugal but I don’t want to go into discussions."
Dalic also pointed out how difficult it was to concede in stoppage time.
"It’s never easy to concede a goal in the last minute of the match. We should’ve resolved this different. Be better in the first half-time, there were a lot of centre shots. We had good chances. Dramatic, filled with emotions but that’s life. That’s football."
Croatia finished as finalists back in 2018, before claiming third at the last edition in Qatar. This was their earliest elimination since 2014, when they were knocked out in the group stage.
As expected, several questions were asked about captain Luka Modric, who has all but certainly played his fianl World Cup match.
"This was probably his last World Cup and I’m sorry it ended this way," the 59-year-old said. "Very sadly with a defeat. Luka played in the second half and was again one of our key players. I feel really sorry that it ended this way. He has shown his quality and his character and he was leading Croatia to the end."
He also ttok a moment to thank the fans for their presence at Toronto Stadium. "There was a lot of support from our fans. It was truly wonderful football. I would like to keep the feeling that football is such and not become a business."
World Cup 2026
The 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament will feature 48 national teams and will be played in 16 modern stadiums.
Match schedule and times | Draw | England at the World Cup | Team rosters at the World Cup | How to watch the World Cup | Predictions and odds | Team of the Group Stage
Watch the World Cup 2026 live on ITVX via Prime Video here - live coverage, highlights, and analysis.
