Suspected wrong decision before 2:1

War the ball out before the Japanese winning goal or not? The decisive cross from Kaoru Mitoma to Ao Tanaka was a matter of millimeters. Even after viewing the video images and photos, those involved were still unsure. “On the video scoreboard I had the feeling that the ball was out of bounds,” said Spain central defender Pau Torres: “But the VAR is not there without a reason.”

Spain coach Luis Enrique was downright irritated by the images circulating on the internet. “I saw a picture that must have been manipulated. This cannot be the real picture. It must have been rigged,” Enrique said just after midnight in the press conference room at ar-Rayyan’s Chalifa International Stadium.

Photos were commented on Twitter in which it appeared that Kaoru Mitoma put the ball well past the line into the middle, where Ao Tanaka shot in to make it 2-1. A bit of green on the turf can be seen in these pictures between the outer goal line and the ball – but the question of whether the ball is outside the field is not relevant to its contact area, but that it has completely crossed the line.

Referee Victor Gomes of South Africa stood on the pitch for several minutes waiting for Mexican video assistant Fernando Guerrero’s review to be over. Then Gomes gave up the originally denied goal, which in the end brought Japan the group victory and Germany the early end of the World Cup. “It was half off for me, but I couldn’t really see it. If he spent it and didn’t count the goal, I would have accepted it and wouldn’t have been disappointed,” said goalscorer Tanaka.