Fifa later stated there was no indication the ball made contact with an overhead wire.
In a post on X, Fifa Media said that before England’s goal in the 45+2 minute against Norway, the connected ball’s sensor showed no spike in its “heartbeat” while the ball was in the air, indicating no contact with the wire and no change to its trajectory.
Solbakken said he couldn’t really comment, noting that if the chip didn’t register anything, there wasn’t much he could add.
He added that everyone felt the ball appeared to drop straight down — including the goalkeeper and the intended recipient — and he believed it likely did make contact, calling the situation unusual.
The Snickometer-style technology, typically associated with cricket, had already sparked debate at this tournament during Portugal’s dramatic 2-1 win over Croatia in the last 32.
Croatia thought Josko Gvardiol had scored a stoppage-time equaliser, but the celebration ended when the system detected that Igor Matanovic made a faint touch while trying to flick the ball on from an offside position in the buildup.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel noted that the chip in the ball can detect even the slightest touch — as seen in the Croatia–Portugal game — so it should be able to confirm whether any contact occurred in this case. He also said he didn’t see the incident himself.
Tuchel acknowledged his team benefited at crucial stages, saying they were fortunate in decisive moments, though not simply lucky to win.