Validated and Disallowed Goals, All Correct: Pedro Henriques' Analysis of Portugal vs. DR Congo

13' Sola. A yellow card was rightly shown to Bernardo Silva for a sliding tackle, studs up, with his left foot on Edo Kayembe's left ankle/heel. A negligent challenge that was correctly sanctioned.

23' Hydration Break. Law 7 (The Duration of the Match), page 87, point 3, "Allowance for Time Lost," states that medical stoppages, such as for hydration (not exceeding one minute), and cooling breaks (90 seconds to three minutes) are permitted by the regulations. In the World Cup, these are mandatory midway through each half (23rd and 68th minute), but only when the ball is out of play or the game is stopped. In this specific match, the first-half break lasted 3 minutes and 42 seconds, and the second-half break was 3 minutes and 2 seconds.

32' Grab. While challenging Pedro Neto for the ball, Chancel Mbemba first struck him in the face with his right arm, then grabbed and pulled the Portuguese winger's shirt with his right hand, preventing him from turning and pursuing the ball. A yellow card for a tactical foul.

45' The referee only added four minutes of stoppage time, which was insufficient. The medical break for cooling and hydration alone accounted for almost four minutes, and time should also have been added for the two yellow cards and the goal celebration.

45'+5'. Legal. There was no offside infringement on Congo's goal. At the moment Arthur Masuaku passed to Yoane Wissa, who headed it in, Wissa was played onside by Renato Veiga. The assistant referee validated the goal, and VAR confirmed it.

48' No penalty. In Congo's box, there was only a normal contact between Arthur Masuaku and Francisco Conceição, who complained of being held and pulled. However, this was merely natural contact in contesting for space and the ball, not an infringement warranting a penalty kick.

55' Offside. The Portuguese team's goal was correctly disallowed by the assistant referee and immediately confirmed by VAR. At the moment of the chest pass/assist from João Neves to João Cancelo, Cancelo was ahead of the second-to-last defender.

57' Stamp. A yellow card should have been shown to Wan Bissaka for a late challenge. As he stretched his right leg, he ended up stamping on Nuno Mendes' right ankle/heel from behind. This was a negligent tackle deserving of a caution.

87' A yellow card was correctly shown to Nélson Semedo, who ran in from behind and committed a tactical foul. To stop a counter-attack, he grabbed and pulled Yoane Wissa in the shoulder/neck area. The disciplinary sanction was appropriate.

90'+2' A yellow card was correctly shown to Tomás Araújo. Far from his goal, and at the edge of midfield, he obstructed Yoane Wissa using his body and right arm, solely with the intention of breaking up the play. The contact was merely negligent, not violent conduct. Given the distance to goal and the ball not being under control, it was not a clear goal-scoring opportunity, only a promising attack. Therefore, there was no reason for a red card. This was also VAR's interpretation. Both the direct free-kick and the yellow card were good decisions.

90' The referee added five minutes of extra time, which was once again insufficient for the incidents in the second half. Besides the yellow card shown in regular time, there were five stoppages for substitutions involving eight players, and the hydration break (3 minutes and 2 seconds). All of this should have resulted in at least seven minutes of additional time.

In all throw-ins and goal kicks, neither team exceeded the current five-second limit once they were ready to execute. Similarly, during substitutions, no player took more than 10 seconds to leave the field of play.

Qatar referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim's rating: 7