The technology—with the chip in the ball—showed that Croatia’s goal should have been disallowed beyond any doubt, as Portugal’s coach, Roberto Martínez, after his team advanced to the Round of 16.
“This is one of those examples where technology helps the game, because it was offside. There’s no room for subjective opinion. It’s not a matter of opinion—it’s offside! Why? The chip in the ball showed that Matanović made contact first, followed by Renato Veiga… “I think all the decisions and the use of technology today were correct,” said the Spanish coach.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
As for why he chose to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo? “The first half was our best first half of the World Cup in terms of intensity, structure, and the desire to control the game against a dominant opponent. The only thing missing was a goal. The second half was a different story. The first was when Croatia scored, and we made the most of the players we had. Gonzalo Ramos is a player who always adds value when he comes on. We took a big risk with two forwards, but then we needed an extra midfielder, so we took Cristiano off,” he said.
*photo source: AP
