World Cup 2026: Huge VAR call extends Ronaldo’s last dance but ends Modric’s

So what exactly happened in that dramatic ending?

Snicko is associated with cricket, but in recent years, football has adopted similar technology.

The Trionda match ball, made by Adidas for this year’s World Cup, has a microchip that can detect when the ball has been touched.

It allows precise data, such as each touch of the ball with a boot or hand, to be immediately sent to the video assistant referee in real time.

Just after the incident, Fifa issued a statement explaining the decision, saying that technology proved that Matanovic touched the ball.

Sweden benefited from a technicality against Tunisia earlier in the tournament.

Mattias Svanberg deemed the goal unfair at first, but Snicko showed teammate Alexander Isak a slight touch on the ball – and when he did, Svanberg was back in the offside area, meaning the goal was allowed.

The same technology was used in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 European Championship.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic refused to give too much thought to his side’s equalizer last night.

“I won’t comment too much on it, but I will say that the referee was very bad,” he said.

“There is no foul play, there is no scrutiny from our side which should have been the case but it is not a reason to talk about defeat. It was worse than the referee.

“He was able to see how much emotion was killed and, all these decisions set you back and actually took the joy out of football.

“VAR kills the emotions, it kills everything inside you. We have gone too far with VAR.”

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez was very forthcoming.

“It’s a shame that one of the two teams lost,” said the Spaniard. “But there was no bad decision or lucky decision. It was a defining moment.

“The balls now have a chip and the sensor shows that the ball has been touched.”

At the time of the goal, former England defender Matt Upson, speaking to 5 Live, said it was difficult to tell in real time whether Matanovic touched it.

Upson said: “It’s the feeling of an equalizer at the last second and it’s taken away from you. Has that affected you?

“We’re watching the replay here. Can we make sure you’re going to watch that?”

“The spin on the ball doesn’t change, that’s all I know. I don’t think he touches that ball. It’s the first angle I’ve seen on that and I’m not convinced he touches that ball at all.”

After seeing it again, Upson added fully: “From what I see, I don’t see any change there in football.

“The important thing is that the swing of the ball does not change and it looks like Matanovic touched that ball, but what is interesting is that they said it without any doubts that he has.

“I don’t see that clearly.”

Meanwhile, the former assistant referee in the Premier League, Darren Cann, wrote to Mark Chapman, who was presenting a BBC One report on the game, and said: “He was offside when the ball was last played by his team-mate and the ball was caught by the defender and was not played on purpose, the offside has stopped.

“Snicko… that 100% proves that you touched it in an instant.”