World Cup 2026: VAR makes tournament history after call sees yellow card overturned in USA’s opening match victory

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A piece of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) history was made during the USA’s 4-1 dismantling of Paraguay at a raucous Los Angeles Stadium.

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Video credit: SNTV

The USA claimed a three-goal half-time lead, courtesy of a Damian Bobadilla own-goal and a Folarin Balogun brace, before Gio Reyna provided a sublime fourth to give the co-hosts a perfect start in World Cup Group D.

But in the second half, the party atmosphere in LA was momentarily tempered by a never-before-seen sequence of VAR that left fans scratching their heads.

With Mauricio Pochettino's team enjoying a 3-0 lead, former Fulham defender Tim Ream was shown a yellow card after conceding a free-kick, having been deemed to have fouled ex-Newcastle United midfielder Miguel Almiron.

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After the free-kick was taken, Dutch referee Danny Makkelie overturned his original booking after being called to the pitchside monitor.

Makkelie rescinded Ream’s yellow, and instead cautioned Almiron for a clear dive.

It is the first VAR intervention for mistaken identity at a World Cup, one of a number of rule changes introduced by FIFA’s head of referees, Pierluigi Collina.

Under the new law, should a player be booked or sent off, only for the foul to have been committed by the opposition team, the decision can be changed.

Another new law is that second yellow cards that lead to a red can be reviewed and overturned, but not first yellows.

Indeed, the only reason Makkelie was able to rescind this decision was by applying the mistaken identity law.

VAR has already played a big role in the opening matches of this summer's World Cup.

South Africa player Themba Zwane was shown a straight red card following a VAR check in Mexico's 2-0 win in the first game of the tournament.

Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio was sent to the screen and dismissed the midfielder for making contact with Roberto Alvarado's face in an alleged slap, with TNT Sports pundit Ally McCoist calling the decision ”extremely harsh”.

Pochettino calls for calm

After the USA’s opening victory, Pochettino insisted it was too soon to suggest that his side could be the tournament’s surprise package.

"We know in the world of sports, when you see good performances and good results, everyone thinks of success, and people try to flatter you, but when you lose, it is a catastrophe," said the former Tottenham Hotspur manager.

"I think we've had a good match, but I think to be the upset of the World Cup, we need to get to the semi-finals or the quarter-finals, then yes.

"We have to see if throughout the tournament we can be that pleasant surprise that other teams have been at World Cups."

Speaking in his post-match press conference about his team's performance, Pochettino added: "I think we are so happy because I think all we were working today.

"It was fantastic and I think the performance of the team overall was really good, but it's only one game. It's only three points.

"We need to keep improving in many other things and knowing that it's going to the journey is going to be really, really difficult."

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