Croatia’s tragic exit from the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Portugal went down in one of the most surprising VAR decisions of the tournament, with FIFA later explaining that advanced ball technology played a key role in ruling out a stoppage-time equalizer.Croatia looked to have made it 2-2 in the 103rd minute of their Round of 32 clash with Toronto when Josko Gvardiol tapped in from close range following a cross into the box. The goal sparked wild celebrations before VAR intervened and disallowed it for offside. The controversy centered on whether Croatian forward Igor Matanovic made contact with the ball before it reached Mario Pasalic, who was standing in an offside position. At first, it appeared that Pasalic received the ball after a deflection from Portugal defender Renato Veiga, which should have kept the goal alive. However, VAR determined that Matanovic had taken a slight touch moments earlier.
How ball technology decided Croatia’s fate
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 using the Connected Ball Technology installed inside the official Adidas Trionda match ball.“According to the data provided by the Connected Ball Technology located inside the @adidasfootball Trionda, the official match ball of the @FIFAWorldCup, it was confirmed that the contact was made by #20 of Croatia Igor Matanović in the build-up to the goal against Portugal, allowing the referee to correctly determine offside and disallow the goal.“The IMU sensors placed inside the Trionda ball have the ability to determine any small contact, shown to the broadcast viewers as a ‘heartbeat graphic’, and allow the officials an unprecedented level of data to make fast, accurate decisions,” shared FIFA Media in X.Croatia took 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.