World Cup Story Feed / 世界杯事情流
World Cup Story Feed / 世界杯事情流
110 seconds into the kickoff, Vert still lay face down on the turf holding his face, while Sane was already sliding on his knees in front of over 80,000 people at MetLife Stadium.
110 seconds into the match, Wirt was still lying on the grass clutching his face, while Sané was already sliding on his knees in front of over eighty thousand people at MetLife Stadium.
Ecuador had only one point from their first two games; a loss here meant elimination. Germany had a full six points and a goal difference of +7, already strolling around with the group lead secured. A do-or-die clash met a warm-up match, and within 110 seconds, a stud raised high overhead ripped through all pretenses.
Pavlovic challenged for a high ball, lifting his leg above his waist, and his studs slammed solidly into the head of Ecuadorian midfielder Pedro Wirt. Wirt fell to the ground immediately and didn't get up for a while. The referee, Tori Penso, didn't blow her whistle, and VAR remained silent. The ball rolled to Sané, Wirtz set it up, and he fired it into the net. 1-0.
It was Sané's fifth World Cup match and his first personal World Cup goal. Former German referee Manuel Gräfe bluntly dismissed it in his post-match analysis for Bild, calling it "a joke." Another ex-Bundesliga referee, Patrick Ittrich, broke down the rules in finer detail: "Pavlovic raised his foot too high and struck an opponent in the head; the goal should not have counted."
Both retired referees were of one mind. Gräfe also tore away the veil of injustice against weaker teams, pointing out that they had been treated unfairly.
The Ecuadorian players erupted on the spot. They surrounded Penso to argue, but their protest was dismissed. This came on top of unresolved grievances from their previous match against Curaçao—where Curaçao's goalkeeper, Room, made 15 saves in a single game while Ecuador fired 27 shots with an expected goals (xG) value exceeding 3, only to settle for a 0-0 draw. The suffocating feeling of being a small-nation team continued here.
In the 9th minute, Nilson Angulo equalized, making it 1-1. In the stadium of 82,500 people, the Ecuadorian bench rushed frantically toward the corner flag. A team that had to win channeled all its pent-up frustration into a blistering strike that slammed into the net, just eight minutes after the controversial conceded goal.
Tori Penso, 40 years old, American, is one of only two female referees at the 2026 Men's World Cup. FIFA's assignment of an all-female officiating team for this critical match was a high-profile gesture of equality for the tournament. Penso had previously officiated the group stage match between Czech Republic and South Africa and also refereed the 2023 Women's World Cup final. The 110th second of this do-or-die match became the most glaring mark on her résumé.
RMC had already reported that this tournament encourages fluid play with relaxed officiating standards. But relaxed standards didn't mean referees should officiate blindly. VAR's powers have been expanded, yet it turned a blind eye to Pavlovic's studs raised to head height. New rules only allow the captain to communicate with the referee, but when a group of Ecuadorian players surrounded Penso, she didn't even bother to show a yellow card as a warning. On Reddit's r/soccer section, a highly upvoted comment put it bluntly and crudely: "So far, this World Cup has been shamefully biased in favor of big teams to an absurd degree."
On June 17th, FIFA stated on camera that it was "extremely satisfied" with the refereeing standards at this World Cup, claiming "fewer referee errors." Nine days later, on the grass of MetLife Stadium, a pair of studs crashed into Wirt's head. The referee didn't blow her whistle, VAR remained silent, and eighty thousand people watched the goal stand.