Spain grabbed control of their UEFA Nations League final against Portugal with a well-worked goal from unlikely scorer Martin Zubimendi, but fans believe the midfielder’s opening should have been ruled out due to an offside call.
Spain rushed forward immediately after the 20-minute mark, looking to open the scoring and establish themselves as favourites to retain their title as international championship champions.
And that is exactly what they did: Zubimendi transferred the ball to Lamine Yamal on the right side before venturing into the Portugal box. The teenage sensation’s enticing cross created havoc and resulted in a goal, but supporters were skeptical.
Fans are upset with the decision to play Spain’s opener against Portugal, stating that they are bewildered. That’s textbook offside.
Yamal’s cross, which was thrown into a chaotic danger zone, was initially flicked on by striker Zubimendi, but that’s not the problem. His header was nodded in the direction of Mikel Oyarzabal, who was offside.
The Spaniard, who eventually scored his country’s second goal on the stroke of halftime, forced Ruben Dias to track his run despite being offside. This created enough room for Zubimendi to have an open shot at goal. Watch it below.
The goal, however, stood after a careful review by those in the VAR room, and Luis de la Fuente’s team, the defending European champions, were ecstatic to have taken the lead inside 21 minutes. However, Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates were upset.
However, many online were disappointed with the choice to give Spain an early lead. “Could you explain how Spain’s goal was not offside? The attacker was offside, forcing the defender into the tackle. I’m confused. “That is textbook offside.”
Given Oyarzabal’s speed towards goal, one fan claimed that his run led Manchester City and Portugal ace Dias to follow him, moving him away from Arsenal-linked Zubimendi’s then-simple path to goal.
“Spain are clearly being favoured man, that’s obviously offside he was interfering with play.”
“How is the Spanish goal not offside? When in offside position, the attacker had a clear influence on the defender. “This is incredibly scandalous,” one admirer remarked on X (previously Twitter), while another simply said, “Comical.” One person commented: “Can’t believe VAR didn’t disallow that Spain goal for offside.”
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