After the game, whether Ecuador's goal was offside was also heated by many fans and the media. Some say offside, and some say no offside. So is Ecuador's goal offside? This requires a full understanding of the offside rules, and a detailed interpretation of the entire goal process.
Let’s first understand the offside rules of football: At the moment when the offensive player makes his foot, in the opponent’s half, the receiver is closer to the end line than the penultimate defensive player including the goalkeeper, and is closer to the end line than the ball, and try to use this position to interfere with the opponent’s players in the competition and the game. If the ball rebounds from the goal post and the opponent’s rebound, he will be punished to be offside.
Next, let’s explain the entire goal process in detail. At 1 minute and 19 seconds of the game, Ecuador's Kesédo passed through the midfield and was fouled by Miguel. Ecuador won a free kick in the frontcourt. Estupinan fell to the right side of the penalty area on the left side of the arc. Goalkeeper Xiebu was very nervous and rushed out immediately to hit the ball out of the dangerous range. Unfortunately, he did not succeed. Torres 's shot of inverted gold hook turned into a pass. Valencia easily scored an empty goal with a header in front of the goal.
Please note that Valencia, who scored the goal, did not have offside. When Estupinan sent free kick , there was no offside among all Ecuador players. So why was Valencia's goal judged as offside? Let's take a look at the picture below.
When the goalkeeper attacked, Ecuador's No. 11 player Estrada crossed the red line with one foot, which means he was in an offside position. There may be fans saying that behind Estrada, isn’t there a Qatari player? Yes, there is indeed a Qatari player behind Estrada. You can read the offside rules above again. Although Estrada did not touch the ball, he interfered with the opponent's players' competition in the offside position. Even though he did not interfere with the opponent's players' competition, the ball passed by Torres to Valencia was passed by Estrada after retracing in the offside position.
In this matter, the referee can have two reasons to punish Ecuador for offside. First, Estrada played a role in interfering with the opponent when his players and Qatari goalkeeper competed for the ball, and made a profit if he was offside. Second, Estrada returned to the ball in the offside position and passed the ball. Some fans are discussing whether the Qatari player's goalkeeper has encountered the ball when he attacks. In fact, Estrada's offside has nothing to do with whether the goalkeeper has encountered the ball.
To sum up, Ecuador's first goal was indeed an offside goal, not because the referee intended to favor the host Qatar. Although football seems simple, just send the ball into the opponent's goal, there are still many rules that need to be understood and understood thoroughly. Ecuador's offside goal also gave fans a further understanding of offside knowledge, which has to be said to have increased knowledge!
