Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat part-timers Auckland City 1-0 in the opening game of the Club World Cup on Thursday when FIFA used goal-line technology for the first time.
Toshihiro Aoyama’s dipping drive in the 66th minute lit up a pedestrian encounter and sent the J-League champions into the quarter-finals where they will face Egypt’s Al-Ahly.
The match was the first in which soccer’s governing body officially used the goal technology although there was little opportunity to test its effectiveness in a game of few chances.
FIFA are using two systems in Yokohama and Toyota City after finally bowing to calls to eliminate ‘ghost’ goals from the game.
GoalRef, which uses a microchip coil in the ball and low magnetic waves around the goal, was used in Thursday’s game with no problems reported.
FIFA said pre-match tests conducted by the referee at both ends of the pitch 100 minutes before kickoff were successful.
Hawk-Eye, widely used in cricket and tennis, will be used in Sunday’s quarter-finals in Toyota.
FIFA will be given analyses from the competing companies in January and decide which system to use at next year’s Confederations Cup in Brazil.