Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo Photo: AFP
The International Federation of Football Federations (FIFA) has confirmed that Bruno Fernandes, not Cristiano Ronaldo, scored Portugal’s opening goal in Monday’s win against Uruguay.
It was reported that Adidas technologies confirmed that Ronaldo did not touch the ball sent by Fernandes. Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo initially thought he had scored his ninth goal in a World Cup final and celebrated the goal, but FIFA later awarded the goal to Fernandes, who scored his first” goal” in a World Cup final.
Fernandes then also scored a penalty as Portugal progressed to the round of 16. “During the Portugal-Uruguay match, using the ‘Connected Ball Technology’ incorporated in the Adidas Al Rihla ball, it was established that Ronaldo had no contact with the ball,” FIFA said in a statement.
“No external force on the ball was measured, as evidenced by the lack of ‘heartbeats’ in our measurements. The 500 hertz IMU sensor inside the ball allows us to be very precise in our analyses,” explains FIFA.
The decision also means Fernandes has scored seven goals in Portugal’s games in 2022, more than double any other Portuguese player, with Ronaldo leading with three ‘goals’. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is still a goal short of catching Eusebia, who holds Portugal’s record of nine goals scored in World Cup finals, all scored in 1966.
