FIFA have responded to claims that England’s first goal of Saturday’s FIFA World Cup quarterfinal should not have counted.
Norway was furious after England keeper Jordan Pickford’s goal kick appeared to strike the wire over the pitch supporting the overhead camera at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla. By rule, play should have been stopped, but the potential incident went unnoticed and England scored to make it 1-1 just before halftime seconds later.
After the game, FIFA released video that was meant to demonstrate that the ball did not hit the wire. The balls used in the World Cup are equipped with sensors that detect contact to the ball, and in this instance, those sensors did not pick up any contact with the wire.
Before England’s goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the Connected Ball showed no peak in the 'heartbeat of the ball' when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball. pic.twitter.com/gYf9ukfveT
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 11, 2026
The ball does look like it changes direction while in the air, and Norway players and staff were adamant that it did make contact with the wire. Of course, with some of the officiating decisions at this World Cup, many will be disinclined to believe that FIFA is being fully transparent about the incident.
Very similar incidents have been missed in the NFL before, too. FIFA officials would not be the only ones who have failed to spot that sort of thing.
