The keys to Portugal's triumph against Uruguay 1:03
(CNN) --
As he ran towards the corner flag with open arms, Cristiano Ronaldo thought he had equaled Portugal great Eusebio's record for all-time World Cup goalscorer on Monday.
His teammates pounced on him to celebrate with the 37-year-old, while commentators and pundits praised him for lightly touching Bruno Fernandes's cross to deflect the ball past the Uruguayan keeper.
Ronaldo scored his second goal in his second game at the 2022 World Cup and his ninth for Portugal in World Cups.
Or so we thought.
Cristiano Ronaldo tries to head the ball against Uruguay.
Credit: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
As the party atmosphere at the Iconic Lusail Stadium heated up, the stadium's announcer made a surprising announcement.
The goal was awarded to Fernandes, not Ronaldo.
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After the game, Fernandes admitted that he thought Ronaldo had touched the ball.
"The feeling I had was that Cristiano had touched the ball. He was passing the ball to him," Fernandes told reporters, according to Reuters, after Portugal's 2-0 win that secured their qualification for the round of 16 in Qatar. .
"The important thing is that we went to the next round after playing against a very tough opponent."
Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes celebrate after Portugal's victory over Uruguay in the 2022 World Cup. Credit: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
Piers Morgan, who Ronaldo gave an explosive television interview before the World Cup about his frustrations at Manchester United which led to his contract being terminated with the club, was quick to praise the Portuguese striker, tweeting: "BOOM!!!!"
and tagging Ronaldo with a photo of the Portuguese striker celebrating.
After the goal was awarded to Fernandes, Britain's Andy Murray, a three-time Grand Slam tennis champion, made sure Morgan was aware that he had tagged the wrong player, with this message: "I think @B_Fernandes8 is the Twitter account you were looking for".
Specsavers optometrists also suggested Morgan go in for an eye test.
"It was Bruno, do you need an appointment?" He would say.
Conceding the goal to Fernandes could have always been part of a larger cosmic plan, if Fernandes' sons are to be believed.
"Before the game, my children told me that I was going to score two goals," Fernandes told FIFA, scoring his second goal as a penalty.
Qatar 2022: Brazil, France and Portugal have already qualified for the round of 16 and high-impact matches are expected on the third date of the World Cup.
Varsky's analysis from Doha
When asked about the incident, the Portugal coach, Fernando Santos, did not want to go into details and replied with a laugh: "I think it was a great match, our team played very well and the rest doesn't matter to me." .
Adidas, the manufacturer of the World Cup ball, said in a statement sent to CNN that its technology showed that Ronaldo did not touch the ball.
"In the match between Portugal and Uruguay, using the Connected Ball Technology inside the Adidas Al Rihla Official Match Ball, we can definitively demonstrate that there was no contact with the ball by Cristiano Ronaldo for the first goal of the match," the statement said. .
"No external force on the ball could be measured, as evidenced by the absence of 'beats' in the measurements. The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows for a high level of accuracy in the analysis."
CNN has contacted FIFA to ask if it will review its decision to award the goal to Fernandes.
World Cup 2022 Cristiano Ronaldo
