VAR technology denies Croatia late equalizer, sends Portugal into last 16

Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026, advancing to the round of 16 and setting up a meeting with Spain.

Cristiano Ronaldo converted a 68th-minute penalty, Ivan Perišić had given Croatia hope with a goal in the 53rd minute, and Gonçalo Ramos sealed the win with a finish in the 90th minute plus four.

The decisive flashpoint came in the 103rd minute, when Joško Gvardiol put the ball in the net for Croatia’s equalizer. Referee Espen Eskås allowed the play to be checked, and VAR official Jarred Gillett reviewed the sequence before the goal was ruled out for offside. FIFA said Connected Ball Technology in the adidas Trionda match ball detected a faint touch by Croatia striker Igor Matanović in the buildup, which left Mario Pašalić in an offside position.

The rule looks at whether an attacker was ahead of the line of defenders when the ball was played, and whether that player gained an advantage from the position. The new system, used at a World Cup for the first time, speeds up those judgments and sends clear offsides directly to the officials. The technology uses a 500Hz motion-sensor chip in the ball.

This was the first World Cup meeting between Croatia and Portugal. It also brought together Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić, who spent six seasons together at Real Madrid and won four UEFA Champions League titles as teammates. For Modrić, the disallowed goal marked the end of another World Cup run.