World Cup 2026: Why VAR overturned the offside call ahead of Alex Freeman's goal for the United States
Alex Freeman's first World Cup goal took a video review to be counted. Freeman gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Australia in the first half after he headed home a deflected shot from Sergiño Dest. However, the offside flag was immediately raised by one of the assistant referees. But the U.S. had some help from the semi-automated technology that reviews every single goal and consequential offside call at the World Cup. By utilizing a series of cameras mounted around every stadium, officials in the video replay center can better determine if a player is onside or offside. After a brief delay for that review, Freeman was deemed to be onside and the goal was given. If you're new to soccer, two opposing players had to be between Freeman and the goal when Dest kicked the ball. The deflection did not have anything to do with the timing of any offside call. When Dest kicked the ball, Antonee Robinson on the bottom right of the video below and Folarin Balogun were both offside. H...