Experts agree to disallow Germany's opening goal

The situation where Leroy Sane opened the scoring for Germany in the second minute, confirmed by VAR despite Aleksandar Pavlovic's dangerous challenge on Pedro Vite moments earlier, has become one of the tournament's most controversial decisions.

In the second minute of the match between Germany and Ecuador, Leroy Sane put the "Panzer" ahead after an assist from Florian Wirtz. However, the goal instantly became a focal point of controversy due to a preceding incident where Aleksandar Pavlovic raised his foot very high and struck Pedro Vite in the head area during a challenge near Ecuador's penalty box.

Although the Ecuadorian player fell to the ground, American referee Tori Penso allowed play to continue. After review, the VAR team led by Joe Dickerson also confirmed the goal as valid.

This decision immediately sparked strong reactions from experts and fans alike.

On social media, renowned commentator Danny Baker did not hide his frustration. "Germany still got the goal even though their player kicked an opponent in the face. VAR is now nothing but a lottery machine to protect big teams."

Not only Baker, but numerous football analysts in England also agreed that the referee and VAR made a mistake. On television, Peter Drury and former England striker Alan Smith both insisted Germany's goal should not have been allowed.

Alan Smith analyzed: "VAR absolutely had to review this. The boot was raised far too high, and the Ecuadorian player's head was right there." He emphasized this was an extremely dangerous play that directly impacted the goal. "I'm not sure how much contact there was, but Ecuador has every right to complain." Shortly after, slow-motion replays circulated on social media showing Pavlovic's studs making contact with Pedro Vite's face.

On SBS's commentary program, former Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng was among the harshest critics. According to Boateng, this decision could directly affect Ecuador's fate at the World Cup. "That's a clear foul. The leg was raised very high, the studs hit the opponent's head while Vite wasn't even ducking. I can't believe the referee didn't blow the whistle. Four people were watching the VAR monitor and no one intervened. VAR was created to handle exactly these situations."

On BBC, legend Alan Shearer initially thought there was no contact between the two players. However, after reviewing the slow-motion replay, he changed his mind. "At first I thought there was no touch. But watching it again, the sole of the boot grazed the Ecuadorian player's face. That's enough to disallow the goal."

Meanwhile, former England goalkeeper Joe Hart believed Pavlovic endangered his opponent. "As soon as the foot is raised above eye level, all the Ecuadorian players stop because they think the referee will blow the whistle. In my view, that's a clear foul."

Despite the setback from the controversial decision, Ecuador did not lose their spirit. The South American team needed a win to keep their hopes alive and responded with a courageous performance. Nilson Angulo scored the equalizer to make it 1-1, ending Ecuador's streak of 40 shots without a goal at the 2026 World Cup. In the 77th minute, Gonzalo Plata capitalized on a chance inside the box to score the decisive goal, completing a 2-1 comeback against group leaders Germany.

The historic victory earned Ecuador a spot in the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams.