How Sweden had cricket to thank in their World Cup win against Tunisia

[p]With [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/OQyqbHWB/"]Sweden[/a] 3-1 up, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/svanberg-mattias/z522mgfh/"]Mattias Svanberg[/a] came off the bench and scored with his very first touch of the game just 18 seconds later - the second-fastest goal ever by a substitute at the World Cup.[/p][p]But it took an awful lot longer for the goal to be confirmed - Svanberg's initial celebrations were cut short by the offside flag being raised and the linesman's decision looked to have been proven correct by replays showing the Wolfsburg man beyond the last defender from the free-kick.[/p][p]However, following a VAR review, the celebrations started again and Sweden did have their fourth goal in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/sweden-OQyqbHWB/tunisia-QqZVYk95/?mid=UaJKzaHN"]the comfortable win[/a].[/p][p][b]The officials on VAR duty were able to confirm that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/isak-alexander/p41IV42c/"]Alexander Isak[/a] got the slightest of touches on the ball as it passed him at the near post and ran on through to Svanberg, who had moved back into an onside position by the time the Liverpool man grazed the ball.[/b][/p][p][b]And it was thanks to "Snicko" technology, a relatively new innovation in football but used already for several years in cricket, that quickly gave concrete proof of Isak's touch.[/b][/p][p]Snicko manufactures "Connected Ball Technology" - sensors that are implanted in the official match ball which measure and relay information 500 times a second, determining exactly when the ball is touched.[/p][p]A touch of the ball is represented in the form of a spike on a graph. The graph shown to the officials was also displayed on TV screens for the watching public.[/p][p]The sensors are often used in cricket to understand whether a batter has touched the ball with his bat, his body, or not at all in situations where he may be given out.[/p][embed guid="0ffd1c9d-942f-4ad9-b9fb-16d15e9b99f6" url="https://x.com/Slasherrrr/status/2066420190657601566" social-type="twitter" /][p]This was the first time it was used to determine whether or not a FIFA World Cup should stand, but was used in a slightly different capacity at the 2022 tournament in Qatar - proving that Bruno Fernandes, and not Cristiano Ronaldo - had scored for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a] in their 2-0 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uruguay/xMk44orG/"]Uruguay[/a].[/p][p]Svanberg praised referee Yael Falcon during the whole process: [b]"I think he was calm and we weren't too heated. We just tried to explain that Alex was on the ball and get that across."[/b][/p][p]The goal would not have stood had it been scored in Allsvenskan, Sweden's top flight, which does not use VAR, something Svanberg accepts.[/p][p][b]"Since the technology has been around for so long in international football, the only option is to continue developing it. In my case and for the team, it was a step in the right direction. But I understand the fans in Sweden who don't want it."[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/world/world-championship/"]Follow Sweden at the 2026 World Cup on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]