What Is ‘Snicko’? The Technology That Saved Portugal’s World Cup Dream

Croatia believed it had produced one of the most dramatic moments of the 2026 World Cup when Joško Gvardiol scored deep into stoppage time against Portugal. The goal appeared to make it 2-2 and send the round-of-32 tie into extra time.

Instead, a sensor hidden inside the match ball detected a contact too slight for television viewers to see clearly. That tiny touch changed the offside calculation, erased Croatia’s equaliser and preserved Portugal’s 2-1 victory in Toronto.