Adidas claims that the first goal scored by Portugal against Uruguay in their FIFA World Cup 2022 match had no contact from Ronaldo and is credited to Fernandes.
Portugal and Uruguay locked horns for their second fixture in Group H on November 29, 2022, at Lusail Stadium, Qatar. The final tally went in favor of Portugal for a fair and square victory of 2-0, making Portugal the third team to qualify for the Round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, according to news source.
That, however, was kept aside by the argument that the first goal should be registered in the name of Cristiano Ronaldo. It was in the 54th minute when Santos’s side took a successful shot on target that surpassed Rochet easily. The kick was initiated by Fernandes, following which Ronaldo attempted a header to connect with the ball for a clear direction.
FIFA’s official website ended up giving it to Fernandes instead of Ronaldo. Portugal’s football federation claimed that they had enough evidence to prove that the goal should be given to Fernandes.
Adidas jumped in to state that there was absolutely no contact made by him with the ball, and hence, the goal goes to Fernandes. The Germany-headquartered sports company expressed this with certainty by clarifying that their statement is based on a reading delivered by the 500 Hz IMU sensor inside the Al Rihla Official Match Ball.
The company also said that there was no outside force on the ball that could be measured and that the 500 Hz IMU sensor was enough to make the analysis very accurate.
Portugal scored their first goal of the tournament, either through Ronaldo or Fernandes. The side went for the net again during the extra time after 90 minutes. Ronaldo was substituted by Ramos during that time, leaving Fernandes in charge to lead the strike. He delivered the final blow to their opponent, cementing a spot in the knockout round that begins on December 3, 2022.
Portugal has been in an offensive mood for a considerable amount of time, thus an additional goal was overdue. A penalty was awarded in the 90th minute for a clear handball committed by Alonso’s team. Fernandes was called to take a shot. He took his time, but his patience was rewarded with two goals.
Regarding the first goal, Fernandes stated that the celebrations happened as if Ronaldo had turned the shot into a goal, adding that it is irrelevant because the team ultimately defeated Uruguay.
Upon seeing the winning attitude of the team, Santos decided to rest some of his players. Apart from Ronaldo, two more players were substituted in the 82nd minute. These were Felix, substituted by Nunes, and Carvalho, substituted by Palhinha.
Uruguay takes a risk by following suit. The team recalled Olivera and substituted Vina for the final few minutes. The final scoreboard indicated a 2-0 victory for Portugal.
The next time Portugal plays South Korea will be on December 2, 2022, at 8:30 p.m. IST. Uruguay will attempt to advance by defeating Ghana at the same time.