Croatia’s heartbreaking exit from the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Portugal came down to one of the tournament’s most dramatic VAR decisions, with FIFA later explaining that advanced ball technology played a key role in ruling out a stoppage-time equaliser.Croatia looked to have made it 2-2 in the 103rd minute of their 32-man encounter in Toronto when Josko Gvardiol tapped in from close range after a cross into the box. The goal sparked wild celebrations before VAR intervened and disallowed it for offside. The controversy centered on whether Croatian striker Igor Matanovic had made contact with the ball before it reached Mario Pasalic, who was in an offside position. Initially, it appeared that Pasalic had received the ball after a deflection by Portugal defender Renato Veiga, which would have kept the goal alive. However, VAR determined that Matanovic had taken a light touch moments earlier.
How the technology of the ball decided the fate of Croatia
According to the decision, Pasalic was in an offside position when Matanovic made contact with the ball, meaning that his assist for Gvardiol could not stand.FIFA later confirmed that the crucial touch was detected with the Connected Ball Technology installed in the official Adidas Trionda ball.“According to the data provided by Connected Ball Technology housed in the @adidasfootball Trionda, the official ball of the @FIFAWorldCup, it was proven that the contact was made by Croatia #20 Igor Matanović in the build-up to the goal against Portugal, allowing the referee to correctly determine the offside and disable the goal.“The IMU sensors housed in the Trionda ball are able to determine every slight contact, displayed to the viewers in the broadcast as a ‘heartbeat graph’, and allow the officials an unprecedented level of data to make quick and accurate decisions,” FIFA Media shared on X.Croatia had taken the lead through Ivan Perisic early in the second half before Cristiano Ronaldo equalized with his third goal of the tournament. Goncalo Ramos then scored the winner in stoppage time, heading home a Rafael Leao cross to send Portugal into the last 16.
