Croatia’s heartbreaking exit from 2026 World Cup fifa world cup In Toronto’s last 32 tie against Portugal, VAR made a dramatic decision to equalize in stoppage time.Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol thought his 103rd-minute goal had saved Croatia, sparking huge celebrations. However, Norwegian referee Espen Eskars was asked to review the goal after a VAR check and it was ultimately disallowed for offside. The decision sparked outrage among Croatian fans, with some throwing plastic bottles and cans onto the pitch, delaying the restart.watch:
Why the goal was ruled out
The dispute centered on whether Igor Matanovic made contact with the ball before it reached Mario Pasalic, who was in an offside position before setting up Gvaldiol’s shot.Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cane explained the ruling in an interview with BBC Sport.He said: “When his teammate passed the ball for the last time, he was already offside, and the ball was deflected by the defender, and it was not passed intentionally, so the offside was valid.”“Snicko, this 100% proves he touched it with a flick.”Croatian midfielder Petar Susic questioned the decision after the game.“The referee said he didn’t see the ball being touched by our side. He said there was a sensor in the ball and that’s what he decided. But I don’t know what it was,” Sucic said.“It’s really hard to explain but we want someone to explain it to us because if what I’m seeing is [Igor] Matanovic did not touch the ball. So, for me, it’s a regular goal, but I don’t know. I say we need to watch it a few more times. And, they told me, my target was in a difficult position.“They need to do more checks because he made a decision in one second and it was a difficult situation. I have no idea. That’s it for today. Luck was on their side. “
Cristiano Ronaldo, Goncalo Ramos seal Portugal win
Croatia took the lead early in the second half through Ivan Perisic. VAR awarded Portugal a penalty for a foul on Renato Vega and Cristiano Ronaldo then equalized from the penalty spot. This is Ronaldo’s third goal of the game.After Ronaldo was substituted in the 81st minute, Goncalo Ramos scored the winning goal in the 94th minute to send Portugal into the last 16, where they will face Spain in Dallas on July 6.Mateo Kovacic was in tears when the final whistle sounded, while Luka Modric, who is likely to play his last World Cup at the age of 40, was consoled by former Real Madrid team-mate Ronaldo. An emotional Ronaldo later wore the jersey of the late Diogo Jota as the Portuguese players celebrated with fans.
