A report published by The Athletic, the sports arm of The New York Times, suggested this Tuesday (30) that there are better ways to resolve a football tie than a penalty shootout.
The newspaper points out that the eliminations of Germany and the Netherlands on Monday were extremely “cruel” and that, despite the Extra time rules have undergone some changes over the years, the penalty mode remains the same.
Questioning the newspaper’s own writers, one of them suggests the return of the “Golden Goal”, in which teams would play 15-minute halves until one of them scores and wins. According to journalist Julian Mckenzie, this would force teams to try to win the match and not hold on to the result to go to penalties.
Another suggests dividing the field in half, playing 5 against 5 (plus goalkeepers) for 15 minutes on each side of the field. The winner gets the victory. In case of a tie, would reduce the number of players on teams. Journalist Patrick Iversen jokes and suggests that teams be eliminated if they don’t score a goal.
Journalist Henry Bushnell follows the same line, reducing players if the goal is not scored, but maintaining the Golden Goal and with the entire field. Others talk about card games, foul play and even eating contests, in a more joking tone.
