U.S. Women Advance to WWC Semifinals

[danzig6767]

Common complaints, and I don't entirely disagree. "Sudden death" is commonly used in soccer, just not in the World Cup. It's referred to the "Golden Goal." Personally, I agree that it should be used in the World Cup.

 

Shoot-outs hare hard to defend too, other than it's been part of the game for a long, long time. There does come a point in a match where the length of the game gets ridiculous. Common complaint is the game is too long and boring for casual American fans, so I don't think extending the match indefintely would help.

 

Probably the best solution would be to add two 15 minute period, and use Golden Goal. Chances are somebody scores i nthat time, but if not you go to shoot-outs.

If that is the case, i think it would be better to say have each team take 5 corner kicks each instead of penalty kicks, at least that removes so much of the luck factor involved with penalty kicks.

 

I understand that more is involved than whether the goalie makes the correct 50/50 guess as to whether to dive right or left, and sometimes a goalie can probably read whether the kicker will kick it in a certain direction, but in most cases, it sure looks to me that they are mostly just guessing. So it just strikes me as a lame way to decide the premier event of the most popular sport in the world.

[tristarscoop]

Yea, those playing must be exhausted after 120 minutes, but tired athletes in sports generally leads to mistakes and someone eventually would score the winning goal. It would be like the Stanley Cup being decided in the 7th game on penalty shots instead of a real goal because the players are tired or the game is going on to long. That would be ridiculous.

Why would you want a game that ends because one of the teams gets tired and makes a mistake? That's taking skill completely out of the game. At least penalty kicks are a skill that require talented players. Penalty kicks aren't gimmes - the USA missed three in the final and Argentina missed four in the Copa America final.

[danzig6767]

Yea, those playing must be exhausted after 120 minutes, but tired athletes in sports generally leads to mistakes and someone eventually would score the winning goal. It would be like the Stanley Cup being decided in the 7th game on penalty shots instead of a real goal because the players are tired or the game is going on to long. That would be ridiculous.

Why would you want a game that ends because one of the teams gets tired and makes a mistake? That's taking skill completely out of the game. At least penalty kicks are a skill that require talented players. Penalty kicks aren't gimmes - the USA missed three in the final and Argentina missed four in the Copa America final.

Fatigue potentially leading to mistakes is common in a lot of sports except maybe baseball. Rewarding those that are more fit is something that should be applauded.

 

In hockey playoff games that go multiple overtimes, they don't just say screw it, let's go to a shootout instead because a lot of the players are gassed and some to a lot are cramping up.

 

An NBA Finals games in say double or triple OT isn't stopped and instead decided by a three point contest because many of the players are flat out exhausted.

 

If an NFL game in a hot climate goes to OT and many players are both tired and beat up, they don't decide a tie game by a FG contest with just kickers on the field or a

quarterback and one wide receiver being matched with a single

cornerback, throwing 5 times each in the end zone for the most

touchdowns while the rest of the players just watch.

 

In physically taxing sporting events where a game needs to go extra time to decide it, that's where the athletes who put in the harder workout regiments, who eat right, and who have the tougher will to push through extreme fatigue can capitalize on those who are more susceptible to fatigue affecting their performance more. It's at the heart of what sports are all about, who can still perform as fatigue and adversity hit.

 

Lastly, if a game needs to go beyond the 120 minutes, allow both teams say an extra 2-3 subs for players most dragging from fatigue. Give a short break every 15 minutes. That would be easy to address.

 

I can understand using penalty kicks for qualifying matches to the Olympics/World Cup, but IMO once it gets to the semi-finals or at least the final game, have a real soccer goal and play decide who wins the World Cup. Nobody is going to collapse and die on the field. Fans aren't going to get up and leave when the next goal decides the World Cup. Decide the sport's premier event playing actual soccer, not a kicking contest while the rest of the players do nothing except sit and watch.

 

BTW, i never thought the day would coming where i'm debating anyone over soccer, but i enjoyed watching the men's World Cup really enjoyed this women's version, except for how the Finals game was decided, regardless if the US has won or lost. Hell, i even watch parts of games where the US wasn't playing. That's shocking for me.

[yoshii8]

I've played soccer my whole life, and the only time I had a problem w/ pk's is when we lost on them. Otherwise, I believe they are a very exciting part of the game, and are not going anywhere soon on the world stage.

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

Not to take this thing in a dark direction, but the main reason I'm glad that games are decided after 120 minutes is player safety. It seems like every other year or so, a club player dies while on the pitch. I would hate to see something like that happen in the 215th minute of a final. The physical strain of playing that long would be unsafe.

[Funketown]

What about just giving teams two additional subs for each of a few extra time periods? Perhaps a fifteen minute intermission after each 30 minutes of extra time?

 

I agree that at some point you have to stop standard extra time play. I'd like to see at least 60 minutes of extra time rather than 30, but after 60+ minutes of extra time I do think player health starts to become a concern, especially in hot weather. I do wonder about something like deciding the game with corners or set plays. That could be interesting.