That’s not a bad thing. Having a strategy for smaller teams to beat bigger teams makes the outcome of the game more unpredictable and well fun
Went to the fan fest in Moscow to see the match. Had to stand around for hours but got to see a couple of free performances mainly by Russian artists, I think Tatu was one of them. Anyhoo, what a match! I'm actually kind of sorry to see the hosts go out. Will miss scenes like these: The equalizer was especially intense. After the final kick went in, there was almost total silence for a couple of seconds, and then a huge round of applause I guess in appreciation for both teams, and for their teams effort and quite a festive atmosphere about Moscow last night even though their team was out which was quite cool.
I have an idea... what about 'kit style' or maybe 'nicest haircut' or, better yet, what about going all the way and having 'Artistic interpretation' of the play. We could replace the ref with these guys... I keeed fellas, I keeed... Just trying to bring a little humour into a tense situation
Oh, I dunno... they've only been trying for the past 146 years. I'm sure they'll crack it ANY day now
It's always the losers that want to "change the game". I bet there is not one person today in France, Belgium, Croatia or England that's asking for a change. There might be next week in 2 of those countries. And the week after that there'll be more in another country... Suck it up! https://giphy.com/gifs/angry-man-the-godfather-F5QxPzLen8rwA
Cannot agree more. Football fans need to chill. Unfortunate to see people dismiss the 2018 WC, just like they did with 2002 WC: "Ooooh, this WC is very weird!" "My favorite teams did not make the latter stages, boo-hoo!" "Nothing better than a traditional champ winning an additional WC trophy!" *Make the World Cup great again!* Come on. I was afraid some Semifinalist would get by with dodgy/handball goals. It did not happen. Some players now show physical fatigue, so kudos to them for putting in a great effort. Godspeed to each of the 4 remaining squads, despite their sore winner / trolling loser fans. I'm sure many better fans outweigh them.
Just about anything can be gamed and thus subverted from its true purpose. The randomness of penalty shootouts reflects the unpredictability of the actual game, which in turn models the chances we take (or not) in life. This is why football is the greatest and most significant of all games.
Sure it is unpredictable but skill should show reward generally, and rules that are games to the detriment of the game are a problem PKs incentivize anti-soccer. That’s undeniable. The arguments in favor of it really are silly. As for the issue with shots on goal from 1i idea, avoiding gaming is the issue. To which the answer is this: 1) have an hour of overtime and allow 11 subs. Let the benches duel for the tie break 2). Only count shots on goal during the last half hour of overtime. This means no gaming from extra time and will push teams for balls to the walll attacking to get those shots or a goal. No sitting back for PKs The solution isn’t to fall back to a demonstrably worse tie break it’s to devise a better one.
I hope you never work for FIFA, this is horrible from top to bottom. An hour of extra time to avoid penalties? There's a good chance that a big chunk of it would be like the 2nd half of Japan - Poland. Penalties are the least worse way of deciding a draw. And it does reward skill, the skill of penalty taking (and mental strength). I can't believe I'm speaking up in favour of penalty shootouts, given the amount of pain they've given me over the years ...
We should not underestimate England? bollocks mate Croatia isnt Panama Tunisia or Sweden Croatia is better then Iceland, which is bad news for the 3 lions and her majesty I predict Croatia 2-0 England
Agree. Although, personally, I still think there's some mileage in my 'nicest haircut' option but, other than that, agreed!
Regarding deciding a draw, I think a good way rather than penalties, would be to maybe take off one player and field 10v10, and after 30 min if it is still the same result, take off another player and field 9v9. That should really open it up.
Given that russia Spain was Japan Poland times ten, literally, yes PKs are one of the worst ways to resolve ties. Extra time is one of the best because it increases the odds that a goal is scored. No team is going to kick around to play for enalties. Have you seen a single overtime that’s been like that, except with teams that are parking and praying? Never Again, the arguments in favor don’t hold water
I found Japan - Poland to be more obviously against the spirit of the game. At least in the Spain - Russia match there was one side attacking. At Japan - Poland there was no attempt from either side at times. It was a cowardly stitch up designed to keep Senegal out of the next round. Even the Japanese manager expressed regrets after the game. For Spain, I know it's frustrating but breaking down and scoring against ultra defensive opponents is part of the game - a lot of that squad must do it every week playing for Real & Barca in La Liga. Once it had gone to penalties Spain had just as good a chance as Russia and they blew it. Another problem with your "more extra time" idea is that if a team has played two and half hours of football in one match, wouldn't they be at a massive disadvantage in the next round? They'd be destroyed. I know that you're trying to compensate for this by allowing 11 subs, but this will only stack the extra time in favour of the big countries, with a lot of depth. For a small population country like Croatia, Uruguay or Iceland, once you get past the first 11 there isn't a lot of quality (unlike Brazil or Germany). It just stacks it in favour of the big teams. The way I look at it, if a big, skilful side can't beat a small side in 180 minutes of football, they don't deserve more than a 50:50 chance of going through. Besides, neutrals like upsets. I really enjoyed seeing Germany go out (if it had been on penalties it would have been perfect). It's about time we came up with an English word for "schadenfreude".
Comparing a group-phase match with a R16 match, literally. Where advancement is determined by different parameters, literally. Comparison doesn't hold water, but does contain applies and oranges, figuratively. Glad to see England advancing thru PK shootouts. Proves everyone can shoot PKs successfully, if they prepare accordingly.
What wad the song played in the stadium after Croatian goals in Sochi? It was fantastic. I checked their national anthem but it's not that.
They usually play ljepa li si my beautiful country but you know some people might be offended by this so they play srce vatreno.
I would like to see Croatia in the final. They really were impressive Saturday. Mandzukic ran out of gas at the end, but I can understand why. He really got beaten up. I was super impressed with Luca Modric. After 118 minutes of intense soccer, at 32 years old, he still had enough in the tank to dead sprint thirty or forty yards to keep the ball from going out for a Russia corner kick that could have changed the game, and kept possession with Croatia. I also know the Director of Coaching for the local youth club who is Croatian, so I'm slightly bias. In fact, he played on the Croatian national team back in the day.