sports
Portugal beats Croatia 2-1 and United States beats Bosnia 2-0 after VAR reviews in World Cup round of 32
A microchip in the match ball detected a touch by Igor Mantanovic that led to an offside ruling on Josko Gvardiol's stoppage-time goal. Portugal advanced while Croatia exited the 2026 World Cup. The United States also won its round-of-32 match 2-0 over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Portugal defeated Croatia 2-1 in a FIFA World Cup 2026 round-of-32 match on July 02 at Toronto Stadium after video review disallowed a late equalizer. The goal, scored by Josko Gvardiol 13 minutes into stoppage time, was ruled offside when sensors in the Adidas Trionda ball detected a touch by Igor Mantanovic that altered the sequence.
FIFA confirmed the ball's microchip can register any slight contact and display it as a heartbeat graphic during broadcasts.
Croatia manager Zlatiko Dalic said the decisions remove joy from the game. Portugal manager Roberto Martínez said the chip made the VAR intervention clear and removed subjective opinion. The United States defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 on July 01 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Referee Raphael Claus issued a red card to Folarin Balogun after VAR review of a foul on Tarik Muharemovic. FIFA has spent years developing player-tracking tools, artificial intelligence and ball sensors to limit human error. Goal-line technology has removed doubt on whether a ball crossed the line.
Semi-automated offside systems have reduced review times while increasing consistency. VAR has corrected mistaken-identity calls, missed penalties and unseen dangerous fouls. Forbes reported that the Portugal-Croatia decision hinged on data unavailable to the naked eye and that the United States finished its match with 10 players after the red card.
