At the World Championships the difference is so good.
On Thursday night in Toronto in the round of 16, Portugal and Croatia had goals disallowed due to offside rules.
As it turned out, there could have been many more goals in the game, including a potential tie at the death that was overturned for Croatia.
In the first half the score was zero, but in the second half the ball continued to hit the net.
Some goals simply didn’t count.
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Why were Portugal and Croatia offside?
These were all relatively simple variations of offside: when the ball is played, the attacker cannot get past the last defender.
Here’s what Cristiano Ronaldo did, by the slimmest of margins:
Another look at how Cristiano Ronaldo was caught offside in what could have been an equalizer for Portugal. pic.twitter.com/Pw4BB39pbR
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 3, 2026
Then in Croatia, Peter Sučić was similarly found to be offside:
ANOTHER offside goal in this match 😱
Petar Sučić would give Croatia the lead pic.twitter.com/YeqKaGcTbr
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 3, 2026
And then the most important: Croatia lost a decisive goal in the 12th minute of added time in the second half due to the slightest touch while a player was offside:
After VAR review, Croatia was called offside and the goal was disallowed. pic.twitter.com/QOhSueZzrL
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 3, 2026
It’s just heartbreaking.
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