World Cup 2026: Why VAR overturned the offside call ahead of Alex Freeman's goal for the United States

Alex Freeman's first World Cup goal took a video review to be counted.

Freeman gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Australia in the first half after he headed home a deflected shot from Sergiño Dest. However, the offside flag was immediately raised by one of the assistant referees.

But the U.S. had some help from the semi-automated technology that reviews every single goal and consequential offside call at the World Cup. By utilizing a series of cameras mounted around every stadium, officials in the video replay center can better determine if a player is onside or offside.

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After a brief delay for that review, Freeman was deemed to be onside and the goal was given.

If you're new to soccer, two opposing players had to be between Freeman and the goal when Dest kicked the ball. The deflection did not have anything to do with the timing of any offside call.

When Dest kicked the ball, Antonee Robinson on the bottom right of the video below and Folarin Balogun were both offside. Had they been the ones to put the ball in the back of the net or play a role in the goal, the offside would have been correct.

However, neither player was involved. Was the original call because Balogun was near Freeman and clearly offside? We don't know for sure. But what we do know is that the U.S. went into halftime with a 2-0 lead and six goals scored in just three halves of soccer at the 2026 World Cup.