Soccer record keeping question: I’ve noticed that when a game is decided in overtime or by PKs the official score is listed as a draw. While this alone is confusing, I noticed on Ussoccer.com that they have the USA vs. Belgium game from the World Cup listed as a draw, yet when you read the match summary at the bottom it lists the new USA vs. Belgium all time record, and it shows that USA and Belgium have never tied, so while the official result is a draw, the all-time record between the teams records the game as a Belgium win. Does this make sense to anyone else? Am I missing something? Why can’t the official result of the game count as a win for Belgium? That would seem to make more sense to all parties involved. Is this some weird quirk in soccer?
I've never seen games settled in extra time being regarded as draws before. PKs yes, but not extra time wins. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/headtohead/team1=usa/team2=bel/index.html FIFA's head to head doesn't mention the game specifically, but does show no drawn games between the two.
I had not either, that is what through me off. This is what I am referring to - if you scroll down you'll find the USA vs. Belgium game and they have it listed as a 0-0 draw with Belgium advancing in OT the same as you would see with a PK win: http://www.ussoccer.com/matches
And how FIFA does not show any draws matches up with how US SOCCER has their record keeping done for USA vs. Belgium. In the all time record between the teams it shows no draws, but on the official record of the game it shows it as a draw. It is very confusing. I wish they would just change the rule and say if you win the game, whether it be in regular time, OT, or PKs it's a win all the same.
My point is that due to FIFA not calling it a draw, the problem is with ussoccer.com's stats, not the FIFA's ruling. I can see the sense it calling a game settled by penalties a draw, technically, as the the penalties are a tie-breaker rather than part of the actual game - goals scored in shoot-outs don't could towards career goal tallies etc.
I understand the reasoning behind it for sure but in the end you're advancing over another team, why not just call it a victory? You can have an asterisk next to it if you'd like but I think it would be more logical to count it as a win. Yes I agree the problem is with how US Soccer is reporting the game. It's a very odd mistake to make. Maybe wishful thinking?
It is correct to not show draws, since USA and Belgium never ended a match with a draw after regular time (for friendly or group stage matches) or extra-time (for the knock-out matches). As said by RichardL, the problem is with the site US Soccer that lists the World Cup match as a draw, although it ended with the extra-time.