FIFA explained the cancellation of Croatia's goal in the match with Portugal at the 2026 World Cup

Canceling the goal of the Croatian national football team during the match of the 1/16 World Cup finals against Portugal is the right decision, as the offside was detected by a special sensor that is embedded in the ball. This was announced on July 3 on the FIFA Media page on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

According to the federation, Connected Ball Technology has proven that Croatian soccer player Igor Matanovic touched the ball before the goal. This allowed the referees to correctly determine the offside position.

"IMU sensors <...> allow judges to obtain an unprecedented level of data for fast and accurate decision—making," the report says.

Sports weekend with Izvestia

2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs, Wimbledon and other events

Last night, the Portuguese national team beat the Croatian team 2-1 in the match of the 1/16 finals of the FIFA World Cup. It was specified that in the 1/8 finals of the world championship, the Portuguese national team will face the Spanish team.