CURITIBA - Goalline technology and referees spraying the pitch to mark a line where defensive walls must stand are among the innovations at the Fifa World Cup in Brazil, showing how the game is subtly evolving.
The following are some of thenovelties that fans have enjoyed over the first round of matches.
GHOST GOALS LAID TO REST
In use at a World Cup for the first time, goalline technology showed both its value and limitations last Sunday when Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladares knocked a rebound from the crossbar over the line before scrambling it clear.
NOW YOU SEE IT
Referees have been whipping out a canister of vanishing spray when free kicks are awarded to mark the exact spot where defenders have to stand, 9.15m away.
MARCELO'S MISERY
Defender Marcelo goes down in history as the first Brazilian to score an own goal at the World Cup. He inadvertently turned a Croatian shot into his own net after only 11 minutes of the opening match.
BOSNIA JOIN THE PARTY Bosnia, one of the nations to emerge from the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, made their World Cup debut when they met Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro last Sunday.
CLINT MAKES A DAY FOR US
Striker Clint Dempsey became the first American soccer player to score in three successive Fifa World Cups when he struck after 30 seconds against Ghana
Classic points of Brazil World Cup
CURITIBA - Goalline technology and referees spraying the pitch to mark a line where defensive walls must stand are among the innovations at the Fifa World Cup in Brazil, showing how the game is subtly evolving.
The following are some of thenovelties that fans have enjoyed over the first round of matches.
GHOST GOALS LAID TO REST
In use at a World Cup for the first time, goalline technology showed both its value and limitations last Sunday when Honduran goalkeeper Noel Valladares knocked a rebound from the crossbar over the line before scrambling it clear.
NOW YOU SEE IT
Referees have been whipping out a canister of vanishing spray when free kicks are awarded to mark the exact spot where defenders have to stand, 9.15m away.
MARCELO'S MISERY
Defender Marcelo goes down in history as the first Brazilian to score an own goal at the World Cup. He inadvertently turned a Croatian shot into his own net after only 11 minutes of the opening match.
BOSNIA JOIN THE PARTY Bosnia, one of the nations to emerge from the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, made their World Cup debut when they met Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro last Sunday.
CLINT MAKES A DAY FOR US
Striker Clint Dempsey became the first American soccer player to score in three successive Fifa World Cups when he struck after 30 seconds against Ghana
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