World Cup fans turned what might have been the game-tying goal from Croatia against Portugal on Thursday into a Zapruder film — did the ball touch the head of Igor Matanovic before Josko Gvardiol nailed the goal late, thereby negating the offside call that would make it a no goal?
It sure looked like it didn’t touch Matanovic, which means it wouldn’t have been offsides and that the goal should have counted. However! FIFA revealed some noteworthy proof in a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter).
“According to the data provided by Connected Ball Technology housed within the [Adidas] Trionda, the official match ball of the [World Cup],” it read, “it was proven that contact was made by Croatia’s #20 Igor Matanović in the build up to the goal against Portugal, allowing the referee to correctly determine offside and disallow the goal.”
With those sensors picking it up, the call was made. It’s still heartbreaking for Croatia, no matter what the proof is.
