Replaying the final sounds like a decent idea. Penalties sounds better than decision by lottery though.
If you’re gonna play a different game to decide a draw, why not go all out? The two captains and two goalies would fit nicely into a bridge game. Or do a golf foursome next day.
I see your point, but I would not characterize it as “punishing the team” any more than I would characterize Croatia playing more time in their match before they play France as punishment. Nobody is forcing them to do that. They’re welcome to concede. If one team has to play thirty minutes longer than their next opponent did, who might even have played a day earlier, is that considered punishment?
No. It’s the consequence of competition. If you can win the game in time, you will. If you can’t, you should have to play until you do. Playing until you win isn’t a punishment, and different strategies start to weave in as coaches start to consider their reserves as the match goes forward, and they look to the possible matches ahead. What players do I rest? What players can I afford to extend?
Look, I know that soccer is a sport of endurance. I’ve played it. There’s a ton of running in basketball too, but it’s not the same (size of court/unlimited subs/timeouts/etc). So I do get your point. You can see the health meter draining as the extra time goes on and I feel for those players. But changing it to something else makes no sense to me as a solution.
-xtien
Ok, you kind of convinced me. The clincher for me is picturing a Croatian team that’s too exhausted to play their next game, so in the next round, the starters are all formerly bench players. I don’t know why I was thinking of this as a negative, because after your last post, I played that out in my head. What’s the next step? They lose because they don’t have their main players, let’s say. Or they draw again, and have to play another extended match, and then they lose in the next game. What’s the next step? The next step is teams realizing how playing extended matches can destroy your chances in the tournament, and as a consequence, teams play even more offensively, to avoid extended overtimes.
I like it.
Many years ago I was at a NCAA soccer final that went 4 OT SD. By that stage, no matter whom we were rooting for, we wanted somebody, anybody to score so it would end…
If it was not sudden death they might still be playing.
Just got home and watched the match.
I feel that England was at a vast disadvantage at only having two days rest. That seems ridiculously short for football.
That’s some proper Eurotrash closing ceremony.
I take that back, they made it all worthwhile by going with some Morricone when Lahm brought in the trophy.
Purina uniforms in full effect for Croatia!
Croatia very much in control here in the early going, though they haven’t been able to really harry the goal just yet.
France look extremely tentative.
Totally. So they will probably get lucky, take the lead and shut up shop after that.
Croatia do look really good here, let’s hope they can capitalize on it.
Ah crap, 1:0 France.
And it appears that own goal struck again, this time from Mandzukic.
France is now going to go into full bus-park, I’d imagine.
“Like pulling the curtains in front of the keeper when you end up that deep. Any touch of the ball and it’s in the back of the net.”
Yep.
Mandukic scored that last goal against UK, now the first goal in the match.
France better not let up trying to get through that Croatian midfield though. Way too early to go defensive.
BTW, hasn’t Croatia trailed by a goal in every one of their knockout stage matches?
Perhaps they’ve got Les Bleus right where they want them.
French now playing more aggressively and confidently post-goal.
Fuck yeah Perisic, what a strike!
NO PARKING THE BUS FOR YOU, FRANCE
We’re level! Perisic just ripped that strike!