Croatia robbed? "We can't get over it"

After reaching the final in 2018 and only faltering in the semi-finals in 2022, Croatia must say goodbye to the FIFA World Cup as early as the round of 16 in 2026.

Against Portugal, they suffered a narrow 1-2 defeat in Toronto - Match report >>>

It's a bitter defeat for the Croatians, who took the lead in the 53rd minute through Ivan Perisic, but then conceded two goals.

The second one came very late: Goncalo Ramos shocked Croatia in the fourth minute of stoppage time with the 2-1 - but the "Vatreni" didn't give up, pushing for an equalizer. And it even came. Or did it?

Gvardiol equalizer in stoppage time disallowed

It's already the 13th minute of stoppage time when the advanced Josko Gvardiol pushes the ball over the line to the delight of the Croatian fans, celebrating the 2-2 exuberantly. After a few moments of joy, however, came the sobering realization:

Referee Espen Eskas goes to the VAR monitor and, despite not very clear TV images, rules offside in the build-up. Igor Matanovic is said to have headed the ball on to Mario Pasalic, who was in an offside position.

But did he really? The TV images don't resolve it, but the chip technology in the ball, which reportedly measured a slight deflection, ultimately made the difference.

The scene in VIDEO: