2026 World Cup: Ecuador left furious after controversial non-call on Germany's early goal

It took less than two minutes for Germany to take the lead in Thursday's group stage match against Ecuador. Off a throw-in, Germany got the ball to Leroy Sané, who sent in a lovely shot that slipped past goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez.

But on replay, there was a clear high boot foul in the immediate run-up to the goal. German midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović, who received the throw-in, lifted his leg high in the air to wrangle the ball.

Pavlović's kick was not only in line with the face of Ecuador midfielder Pedro Vite, but appeared to have even made contact with Vite's face. The kick appears to be a high boot or high foot challenge, which should have resulted in a foul. That would have disallowed the goal and given Ecuador a free kick at the spot of the foul.

However, after review, the goal did not get called back. Ecuador players (and fans) were furious after the non-call, and argued with center referee Tori Penso. In the end, though, it was the decision of VAR (video assistant referee) Joe Dickerson, who reviewed the goal but did not see a reason to have Penso take a closer look at the foul.

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Ecuador ended up getting the equalizer just seven minutes later, tying things up at 1-1. It was the first goal of the World Cup for La Tri, who has struggled mightily in this tournament, and who needed a win in order to keep their goals of advancing to the knockout stage alive.

Later, in the second half, Dickerson and VAR did step in on another foul, this time in Ecuador's favor: Penso had initially given Germany a penalty kick, but after review, Ecuador was instead awarded a free kick further back.

In the end, though, the missed foul didn't end up mattering: Ecuador's Gonzalo Plata ended up scoring a tough finish in the 77th minute to secure a 2-1 win and a knockout berth. It's just the second time that La Tri has ever advanced past the group stage at the World Cup.