FIFA / FIFA

In a clash for supremacy between two European giants, Portugal and Croatia, VAR prevailed over war of nerves in a thriller that left many in the stands wondering about the outcome.

It was VAR that virtually got the match decided in favor of Portugal as two important decisions went against Croatia. First, it was the VAR verdict that awarded Portugal a penalty following a corner kick, and then, when Croatia thought it had scored an equalizer, VAR declared it no goal, declaring the scorer to be offside.

What a day that saw human judgment ridiculed and rejected by technology. Many in the stands must have been left wondering what the men sitting before computer screens would see and pick that the human eye could not grasp to reverse what appeared to be a straightforward decision.

It was Connected Ball Technology (CBT) that VAR used to rule out the second Croatian goal, leading to protests from the stands as some agitated spectators threw water bottles and cans onto the field. The volunteers had to be called in to clear the field before the remaining period of the game, about a minute, was played out.

Dismayed by the VAR decision that overruled the last-minute equalizer by Croatia, a section of the crowd booed and jeered at the adjudication and threw empty water bottles onto the field to convey their displeasure.

It was the technology-fed decision that broke Croatian hearts.

From the good to the bad, football has made clear technological advances in recent times, and the match balls used at modern tournaments belong to the new era.

Adidas, FIFA's oldest commercial partner, manufactures the balls used in World Cups and, since Qatar 2022, each ball has a 500Hz inertial measurement unit (IMU) motion sensor embedded to track data and enhance the VAR system.

The Connected Ball Technology (CBT), as Adidas calls it, is combined with player position data and, through artificial intelligence, offers real-time information to streamline the semi-automated offside process. By delivering data 500 times a second, the sensor helps make the precise moment a ball was touched clear.

Its primary purpose is to help with offside calls, but it can also detect whether a player has actually touched the ball.

The game had spectators in the sardine-packed stadium on the edge of their seats, with VAR reviewing and overturning decisions by the referee on the field. The award of a penalty following a corner kick was the first VAR ruling. It was held that Vlasic had pulled down Veiga in the box.

Following the award of a controversial penalty, Cristiano Ronaldo scored. That restored parity. And shortly afterward, Ronaldo went out.

Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted in the 81st minute by Ruben Neves.

After Ronaldo's penalty kick goal, this round-of-32 match between Croatia and Portugal was tied 1-1. After all the excitement and drama, Portugal not only survived elimination from the World Cup, it is generally believed that it may be the last appearance for this 41-year-old stalwart in an international tournament.

As one of the European powers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Portugal barely survived a thrilling battle with 2018 finalist Croatia, winning 2-1 on a late Goncalo Ramos winner.

However, the result was very nearly in question as Josko Gvardiol appeared to score a dramatic equalizer for Croatia with essentially the last kick of the game.

The referee, however, went to the monitor and ruled the goal out, leaving Portugal to win the game by a 2-1 score.

In the 12th minute of stoppage time, Josko Gvardiol appeared to score a dramatic equalizing goal for Croatia as they fought to level the score against Portugal.

The officials judged, using advanced technology, that Igor Matanovic had indeed barely touched the ball with his head, thus leaving Gvardiol in an offside position.

Had Matanovic not touched the ball, the goal would have stood because Gvardiol was onside on the initial delivery from deep down the left.

Goncalo Ramos headed in a pass from Rafael Leao in stoppage time as Cristiano Ronaldo, who had earlier converted a penalty kick, watched from the bench as Portugal defeated Croatia 2-1 on Thursday, ending Luka Modrić's fifth bid for a World Cup.

Ronaldo initially tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick to equalize and give the megastar his first knockout-stage goal at the World Cup, but it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory.

The game ended in controversy as Croatia thought it had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments, but Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles onto the field and whistled in protest.

Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic.

Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday in the round of 16.

Besides the Portugal-Croatia game drama, it was mostly a European teams' day. Earlier, Spain beat Austria 3-0.

Spain powered its way past Austria for a place in the round of 16, thoroughly outclassing its opponents in a 3-0 knockout win with a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header.

The European champions were in full control of the game and sliced through the Austrian defense without much of a problem.

The margin of victory could have been bigger as a goal was disallowed after a free kick went off the woodwork. Spain built up the pressure gradually through the first half, creating a string of chances after the first hydration break.

Austria's defense buckled in the 36th minute. Pedri pinged a ball wide left to Cucurella, whose cross to Oyarzabal was calmly side-footed past the keeper.

Spain's dominance grew further, with Yamal tormenting the Austrians, mainly from the right flank.

An Alex Baena free kick hit the crossbar, and Yamal's close-range follow-up shot was well saved. Austria muffed a rare chance at the other end. Romano Schmid played in a late-arriving and unmarked Stefan Posch, but a terrible first touch meant he lost the ball before even attempting a shot.

After the break, Spain continued knocking on the door without quite putting the game to rest.

Austria sent on two giant strikers, Saša Kalajdžić and Marko Arnautović, and immediately went long, with Kalajdžić putting a header over the bar.

But in the 66th minute, Spain struck again. Baena lifted a cross onto the head of Pedro Porro, who nodded in his first goal for Spain.

Some dogged defending kept the scoreline respectable, including a goal-line clearance by David Alaba from Yamal, who was substituted off to rest moments later.

Spain sprayed passes around the pitch as the final minutes ticked down, eliciting "oles" from the crowd, as attention turned to a sterner test on Monday in Dallas.

In the 89th minute, a pinpoint Cucurella cross found a completely unmarked Oyarzabal in the penalty area, who slotted the ball home.

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