Touching the ball confirms that Ronaldo did not score

Official match ball sponsor of the 2022 World Cup Adidas announced on November 29 that: "Using Al Rihla's Left Inner Link Ball technology, we made sure that the ball did not touch Ronaldo at the opening goal of the game. Portugal. No external force was applied to the ball on its way into the net, as evidenced by the absence of a 'heartbeat'-like expression in our measurement method, as shown in the attached image."

The Al Rihla fruit is placed inside a sensor with an inertial measurement unit attached. Thanks to this sensor, the organizers have additional parameters such as the speed of the shot, or the spin of the ball. The sensor also supports semi-automatic offside detection technology, or identifies the scorer as in the case of Ronaldo.

In the 54th minute of the match at Lusail, Fernandes crossed from the left for Ronaldo to head down. Although he did not touch the ball, the Portuguese captain's movement distracted goalkeeper Sergio Rochet and let the ball fly into the net. Ronaldo raised his index finger to the sky, then ran to hug Fernandes without jumping to celebrate the goal as usual.

Initially, this goal was assigned to Ronaldo. At that time, he was happy, signaling to a member of the team outside on the field. But a few minutes later, the electronic board showed a picture of the goal that was counted for Fernandes. Ronaldo saw it, raised his arms to the sky and laughed.

Whether the goal belongs to Ronaldo or not is the subject of controversy in the media and social networks after the match. Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported that FIFA "considered" passing the goal to Ronaldo, while former US international Alexi Lalas said Ronaldo confirmed he had touched the ball in a text message to presenter Piers Morgan after the match. fight.

Ronaldo and Messi are both scoring eight goals in the World Cup, although still only half the record of Miroslav Klose. If the goal is counted for Ronaldo, he will surpass Messi in this statistic, and equal the achievement of compatriot Eusebio.

Portugal won an early spot in the 1/8 round, before playing the last match against Korea on December 2. They aim to top Group H to avoid potential rival Brazil in the knockout stages.