A hair-trigger offside from a chip in the ball sends Portugal past Croatia and into a storm of controversy

A match decided in stoppage time

Ivan Perisić gave Croatia the lead in the 53rd minute, finishing off a move involving substitute Igor Matanović. Cristiano Ronaldo thought he had levelled soon after but his effort was ruled out for an offside; moments later he did score, converting a penalty after a foul on Renato Veiga. Goncalo Ramos, a 63rd-minute introduction, restored Portugal's lead in the 94th minute and the game appeared settled.

In the 13th minute of added time Croatia launched one more attack. A Perisić cross flew past Matanović and off the back of Veiga before falling to Mario Pašalić, who nudged it into the net. Croatian players and fans erupted, convinced they had forced extra time. Referee Espen Eskas was called to the monitor and, after a prolonged VAR review, disallowed the goal for offside.

The technology behind the call

Replays from broadcast cameras showed the ball missing Matanović's head by a few centimetres; no change in flight or rotation was visible. The decision rested on data from the chip embedded inside the match ball. The sensor registered a very faint contact – described in reports as a touch on the attacker's hair. That marginal touch meant Pašalić was in an offside position when the ball arrived, and the goal could not stand.

The chip in the ball detected contact with Matanović's hair. It was this minimal contact that convinced the officials Mario Pašalić was offside.

Polish outlet WP SportoweFakty noted that some observers argued the sensor might have recorded the bounce off Veiga's back rather than a contact with Matanović, but the technology available to the VAR team indicated otherwise.

Reactions in Toronto

Croatia's coach Zlatko Dalić described the officiating as "fatal" in his post-match press conference. Midfielder Mateo Kovacić, who had hit the post and worked tirelessly throughout, was filmed in tears after the final whistle. Luka Modrić immediately went to console him and later told reporters what the moment meant.

He, Pero and the rest – that shows our emotions, what Croatia means for us, how we live for every success, every match, every win. When you lose, especially in big tournaments, it hits you hard because we know how much support we have and how many people follow and love us.

Off-field drama and a famous fan's fury

Ivana Knoll, the Croatian model who became a global icon during the 2022 World Cup, watched from the stands in a red bikini top and leggings. Afterwards she took to Instagram, posting a message with a middle-finger emoji aimed at the Norwegian referee.

Norwegian referee, you botched the job.

She added a video of the disallowed goal with the comment "This is so sad" and later wrote: "Proud to be Croatian. At least we played and scored fairly!" Knoll's posts were shared widely, drawing both support and criticism.

A separate lighter note came from Croatian women's international Ana Maria Marković, who had joked before the match that her Portuguese boyfriend, defender Tomas Ribeiro, would sleep on the couch if Portugal won. After the defeat she followed through on the threat.

What happens next

Portugal advance to the quarter-finals and face Spain on Monday 6 July. Portuguese media hailed coach Roberto Martinez's substitutions – the quadruple change in the 63rd minute that included Ramos – and debated whether the match-winner now deserves a starting spot. The Spaniards, reigning European champions, come into the tie on the back of a 3-0 win over Austria.