Josko Gvardiol had a stoppage-time goal ruled out after VAR stepped in. Croatia thought it had an equaliser against Portugal in Toronto, but the late finish did not stand.
Gvardiol and VAR in Toronto
The decision came in a World Cup knockout match, deep into stoppage time, when Gvardiol scored what looked like the leveler. After the review, the offside call wiped out the goal and kept Croatia from drawing level.
That sequence is the whole story: a late finish, a video review, and a ruling that changed the match outcome. For Croatia, the equaliser never reached the scoreboard.
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Portugal Holds the Lead
Portugal kept the advantage after the review, and the match continued with Croatia still chasing. A stoppage-time equaliser is the kind of moment that can reset everything in a knockout game, but this one ended at the screen instead of the restart.
The ruling also shows the narrow margin VAR works with on offside decisions. One touch, one line, one final check can decide whether a goal counts, and Gvardiol’s effort was caught on the wrong side of that line.
For Croatia, the immediate consequence was simple: no equaliser against Portugal. The late goal that briefly looked like a rescue was removed, and the World Cup knockout match in Toronto moved on with that result intact.
