Cristiano Ronaldo Did Not Score in Portugal’s Match Against Uruguay, Football Technology Confirms – See Photos

Following the confusion as to whether Portugal’s opening goal against Uruguay on Monday was scored by Cristiano Ronaldo or Bruno Fernandes, Adidas’ football technology has confirmed that Ronaldo did not make contact with the ball.

During Monday’s match, it appeared that Ronaldo had netted the opening goal with a glancing touch to the ball after Fernandes’ cross, and the 37-year-old celebrated what would have been his ninth World Cup goal for Portugal. But subsequent replays suggested that no contact was made, and the goal was awarded to Fernandes. Fernandes went on to score in overtime, and Adidas have now declared both goals for the 28-year-old.

Reports state that the Connected Ball Technology used in the official match ball did not detect external force during Ronaldo’s attempted header. The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the Adidas ball provides a high level of accuracy during analysis, and no force was measured on the ball, as displayed by the lack of ‘heartbeat’ in the released photos below.

During a post-match interview with the press, Fernandes said that he had intended to pass the ball to Ronaldo during the game and believed the goal was made by him. Fernandes added that what mattered was that Portugal had advanced to the next round after facing a challenging team like Uruguay.

After their 2-0 win against Uruguay, Portugal has advanced to the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup. If the Portuguese succeed in getting a point against South Korea in their upcoming match, they will be named the winners of Group H.