VAR wipes off Ecuador goal in the World Cup opener on the closest offside call

It legitimately does not get any closer than this.

The 2022 World Cup is underway in Qatar, with the host nation facing Ecuador in Group A action. Things got off to a hectic start as the visitors seemingly scored a goal just five minutes into the game. But after a VAR — or Video Assistant Referee — review, the goal was wiped off for being offside.

At first glance, this seemed impossible with a plethora of Qatari defenders in the box. Per Law 11 of FIFA’s Laws of the Game, “A player is in an offside position if he (any part of the head, feet or body) is closer to the opponent’s goal line than the second to last defender and the ball – and he is in the opponent’s half of the field.”

This might be the closest call you’ll ever see.

The offside call released by VAR. pic.twitter.com/ibdL5opzhw

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 20, 2022

Many viewers were stunned by the overturn, but Ecuador got the goal back with a penalty kick from Enner Valencia at the 16 minute mark. Valencia added another 15 minutes later to give Ecuador a 2-0 lead in the first half.