FIFA has officially explained why Croatia's goal in the 90+13th minute of the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 match between Croatia and Portugal (1:2) was disallowed.
Modern.az reports that FIFA considered the decision of Norwegian head referee Espen Eskos to be correct.
In extra time of the match held in Toronto, Croatian defender Joško Gvardiol had equalized the score. However, after a VAR review, the referee disallowed the goal, ruling an offside.
It was determined that Mario Pašalić was in an offside position before the ball reached Gvardiol. The ball was passed to him after a touch from Igor Matanović, who was challenging an opponent in an aerial duel.
According to FIFA's statement, the Connected Ball Technology system integrated into the official ball of the 2026 World Cup confirmed that Matanović touched the ball. It was based on this information that the referee made his offside decision and disallowed the goal.
