𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Mattias Svanberg’s impact could barely have been more immediate when he came off Sweden’s bench on Sunday night.

Eighteen seconds were all it took for the substitute to score his side’s fourth in an emphatic 5-1 win over Tunisia but his big moment in Monterrey also owed much to the intervention of technology.

The match official team were able to detect a faint touch on the ball by Liverpool striker Alexander Isak in the build-up to Svanberg’s goal, which meant the original offside call was overturned and the goal allowed to stand.

The Athletic looks at how the process worked and how it leaned on technology used in cricket.

What happened in the incident?

Svanberg was sent on to make an impact and did just that with his very first touch. Yasin Ayari’s free-kick from the right was swept into the net by the Wolfsburg midfielder but his celebrations were initially cut short by an offside flag.

UK readers watch here:

That is incredible! 😲

Mattias Svanberg scores for Sweden within seconds of entering the pitch 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IDhpWDfN89

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 15, 2026

Svanberg was clearly standing beyond the last defender at the time the free-kick was taken before arcing his run back to meet the cross. Sweden were adamant that team-mate Alexander Isak had got a touch on the way through, meaning that Svanberg’s initial offside had become irrelevant owing to the fact he had returned to an onside position at that point.

That was when technology came into play. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team on duty were able to detect that all-important touch from Isak and confirm to the match official, Yael Falcon, that the goal should be given.

Much like the “snicko” technology used in cricket, broadcasters were even able to show a graphic illustrating the precise moment that Isak had flicked the ball on.

The graphic showed a spike when Alexander Isak touched the ball (BBC Sport)

What’s the technology being used?

Football’s technological advances, both the good and bad, have been clear in recent times and the match balls being used at major tournaments underline that new era.

Adidas, FIFA’s oldest commercial partner, manufactures the balls used in World Cups and since Qatar 2022 there has been a 500Hz inertial measurement unit (IMU) motion sensor inserted within to help track data and enhance the VAR system.

The connected ball technology is combined with player position data and, through artificial intelligence, offers real-time information to streamline the semi-automated offside process. By delivering data 500 times a second, the sensor helps make the precise moment a ball has been touched clear.

Its primary purpose is to help with offside calls but it is also able to detect if a player has touched the ball.

Adidas’ Trionda World Cup ball (Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Just ask Crisiano Ronaldo, who learned to his goalscoring detriment four years ago. Ronaldo claimed he had got a slight touch on Bruno Fernandes’ cross in a 2-0 win over Uruguay in Lusail, celebrating as though he had, but FIFA would later credit the goal to Fernandes.

The tournament organisers said in a statement that “no external force on the ball could be measured as shown by the lack of heartbeat in our measurements” and the same logic was applied four years on to give Svanberg the green light to celebrate.

Adidas’ latest World Cup ball, the Trionda, also carries a sensor developed alongside FIFA and the German technology company Kinexon. That was able to detect that crucial “external force” on the ball as it passed Isak’s boot, ensuring that Svanberg was not offside when firing in his first World Cup goal.

The state-of-the-art technology used by Adidas was also seen at the European Championship in 2024 but the Premier League, whose match ball partner is Puma, also have not yet adopted use of a motion sensor.

Wasn’t this all a bit reminiscent of cricket?

The graphic that FIFA showed certainly was. In cricket, the Decision Review Process (DRS), whether through the Ultra Edge or Snickometer technology, has long been able to show the ball passing the bat and indicate with a spike if there has been contact made.

That technology can adjudicate on catches and leg before wicket calls but is largely reliant on sensitive microphones positioned at the base of the stumps, rather than a sensor within the ball.

During last winter’s Ashes series between Australia and England, there were calls for ‘Snicko’ to be dropped as the technology used by Cricket Australia after a series of controversial moments where the spike on the graphic did not appear to align with the ball passing the bat on the accompanying footage.

Jamie Smith was controversially given out for this ‘Snicko’ decision in Australia (Fox)

FIFA’s grasp for transparency resulted in them showing viewers Isak’s touch through a graphic that resembled a cardiac monitor, with the telling spike as it flicked his right boot.

That only came, though, after the goal had been confirmed, meaning the moment did not quite have the same sense of theatre enjoyed in cricket.