"FIFA" explains the reason for the cancellation of Croatia's goal.

FIFA confirmed that the decision to disallow the equalizing goal scored by the Croatian national team against Portugal, due to offside, was correct, thanks to the technology integrated into the official World Cup ball.

The British news agency "PA Media" reported that Gonzalo Ramos's header gave Portugal a 2-1 lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time during the Round of 32 match, before it seemed that Croatia had dramatically equalized nine minutes later through Josko Gvardiol.

Ivan Perisic sent a ball into the penalty area, which deflected off Renato Veiga to reach Mario Pasalic, who set it up with a single touch for Gvardiol, who then shot it into the net.

The goal was initially counted, and replays showed that Croatian Igor Matanoevic failed to touch the ball with his head while attempting to redirect it, which would have meant that Pasalic was not in an offside position before assisting Gvardiol's goal.

However, referee Espen Eskas was called to review the incident via VAR, and FIFA's integrated technology within the Adidas Tricolore ball showed that Matanoevic did indeed make a slight touch on the ball, which put Pasalic in an offside position during the buildup to the attack.

When the ball reached Matanoevic, replays showed a graphic indicating a slight rise in the indicator, suggesting that a touch on the ball occurred, which ended Croatia's hopes of continuing their World Cup journey and granted Portugal a ticket to the Round of 16.

FIFA explained the decision in a post on its account on the social media platform "X," stating: "According to the data provided by the integrated connected ball technology within the Adidas Tricolore, the official ball for World Cup matches, it was confirmed that there was contact by Croatian player number 20 Igor Matanoevic during the buildup to the goal against Portugal, allowing the referee to correctly call the offside and disallow the goal."

FIFA added: "The inertial measurement sensors integrated within the Tricolore ball can detect any touch, no matter how slight, and display it to viewers during the broadcast in a graphic known as 'heartbeat,' providing referees with an unprecedented level of data to make quick and accurate decisions."