Though the World Cup is no stranger to structural changes – 18 World Cups, 18 World Cup rulebooks, it seems – the announcement that FIFA may eliminate draws for the World Cup is still a thumping headline for an organization which has balked at some much desired rule changes recently.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter says consideration is being given to scrapping the draw at the World Cup by bringing in a penalty shootout after 90 minutes or using the golden goal in extra time.Blatter said Saturday on Germany’s Focus weekly that the changes could make the tournament more interesting, claiming teams “above all do not want to lose — that makes for a boring game.”
The immediate thought of more penalty shootouts forces a cringe, since it’s so often a cruel roll of the dice to determine the victor, and golden goal isn’t far behind after witnessing a World Cup with so many suspect goal decisions on almost a daily basis. (Priorities, Sepp.)
But it would certainly make the game more exciting, less cautious and, to a point, reward the more adventurous teams, though you’d still get a number of teams hoping for the fluke goal and/or penalties and the balance of power would shift away from the Cinderella even further.
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