FIFA have confirmed the ball remained in play by the barest of margins during the build-up to Japan's World Cup winner against Spain on Thursday night.
Ao Tanaka found the net shortly after half-time to secure a famous 2-1 win for Japan and top spot ahead of Spain in their group. Despite beating Costa Rica 4-2 in the other group game, Germany were knocked out of the tournament on goal difference.
Many supporters believe Tanaka's goal shouldn't have stood as the ball appeared to go out of play before Kaoru Mitoma crossed the ball. The assistant referee initially gave a goal kick before the VAR officials discovered a tiny part of the ball was still in play.
