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FIFA for some reason couldn’t decide whether it was Davide Astori or Alessandro Diamanti who scored Italy’s opening goal against Uruguay in the Confederations Cup.

So they went to their back pocket to check the shiny new toy they’ve acquired…goal-line technology.

And it was an amazing event. As ESPN color commentator Alejandro Moreno said after it was used, “I feel like I should stand up and applaud.”

ESPN showed the hawkeye-esque view of goal-line technology following halftime, which confirmed the goal did indeed belong to Astori, although it was closer than many would have anticipated.

The technology showed the flight path of the ball (first image) and then froze it at the moment Astori kicked it in (second image). You can clearly see the ball at the point of Astori’s touch was not completely over the line, giving him the first international goal of his career.

How have they waited so long to bring this into the game of soccer????

It’s immediately answered the question at hand, which had no bearing on the match itself, but still required a second look.

If this is the future of this new-found gift from the gods, it has a bright future in the sport. I look forward to having the availability of such a simple yet crucial item at the disposal of the referee.

Lots of credit to ESPN as well for getting access to the technology and making use of it, it greatly advanced the broadcast.