World Cup 2026: Did ball hit spidercam before England goal? Snicko says not – Norway unsure

Fifa later said there was “no evidence” the ball had touched a wire.

Fifa Media posted on X, external: “Before England’s goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the connected ball showed no peak in the ‘heartbeat of the ball’ when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball.”

Solbakken added: “I cant say anything about that because if there was no sound from the chip, what can I say?

“The ball dropped down straight from heaven, says everyone – including the goalie, including the guy who was going to receive the ball. I think it was pretty clear that it did. It was a strange thing.”

The Snickometer-style technology, usually associated with cricket had already been at the centre of controversy at this tournament during Portugal’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Croatia in the last 32.

Croatia thought they had equalised deep into stoppage time through Josko Gvardiol but their celebrations were cut short after the technology deemed Igor Matanovic had made a slight touch in attempting to flick the ball on in the build-up while in an offside position.

England head coach Thomas Tuchel said: “There is a chip in the ball who can tell you if a hair touches it as we know since the Croatia v Portugal game, so they should be able to tell you if it [a touch] happened [here].

“I didn’t see [the incident].”

Tuchel did however admit that his side had been fortuitous overall at key times.

“I’m not saying we are lucky to win, but we are lucky in decisive moments,” he said.