# Soccer may get rid of penalty kicks to decide games **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 28, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293 "2012-05-28T00:07:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/61 "2012-05-28T19:32:27Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > ooooohhhh I got it! > The team with the best flop during the game wins. What on earth is a “flop”? ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/62 "2012-05-28T19:49:00Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > What on earth is a “flop”? A dive, I want to say. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/63 "2012-05-28T20:08:05Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > I’ve got one: in extra time every third (or fifth) corner you win means you get a penalty kick. I think they’ve had this idea before and it is definitely something that is used in ‘pick up’ games you play on the streets. It will push teams to attack (or at least stay away from your own goal) and benefit the team that does so best. > > BTW nothing will change anytime soon,this will just be a futile exercise without any hope of ending in a proposal that has even a glimmer of a chance in FIFA (they make the catholic church look progressive). That would still be as far from an actual match as PK’s. The figure of a corner-making forward and specialized corner-avoiding strategies would appear. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/64 "2012-05-28T20:17:44Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > I’ve got one: in extra time every third (or fifth) corner you win means you get a penalty kick. I think they’ve had this idea before and it is definitely something that is used in ‘pick up’ games you play on the streets. It will push teams to attack (or at least stay away from your own goal) and benefit the team that does so best. If they wanted most professional footballers could win a corner quite easily. Simply play the ball into the corner of the field. The defender will have two options, close you down or stand off. Standing off isn’t an option for obvious reasons, so once the defender closes in the attacker simply plays the ball into touch off the defender. Any professional is well capable of doing this every time. Corner to the attacking team. This will just repeat until you reach the point where you may as well just give the team five penalties anyway. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/65 "2012-05-28T21:21:47Z")
Being a bit bored, I went back through World Cup results to see how extra time matches ended up. Here is the summary going back through 1978: 36 matches, 4 finals 17 matches with goals in OT, 6 with multiple goals 19 matches with no goals in OT 3 of 5 matches in 2002 had golden goals England in 5 OT matches: 2 OT wins, 3 PK losses I’ll put the details in a spoiler box, in case anyone wants details. WC 1978 Final: Netherlands-Argentina: 2 OT goals (Argentina wins) WC 1982: West Germany-France: 4 OT OT goals (WG 5-4 PKs) WC 1986: Soviet Union-Belgium: 3 OT goals (Belgium wins) WC 1986: Brazil-France: 0 OT goals (France 4-3 PKs) WC 1986: West Germany-Mexico: 0 OT goals (WG 4-1 PKs) WC 1986: Spain-Belgium: 0 OT goals (Belgium 5-4 PKs) WC 1990: Cameroon-Columbia: 3 OT goals (Camaroon wins) WC 1990: Ireland-Romania: 0 OT goals (Ireland 5-4 PKs) WC 1990: Spain-Yugoslavia: 1 OT goal (Yugoslavia wins) WC 1990: England-Belgium: 1 OT goal (England wins) WC 1990: Argentina-Yugoslavia: 0 OT goals (Argentina 3-2 PKs) WC 1990: Cameroon-England: 1 OT goal (England wins) WC 1990: Argentina-Italy: 0 OT goals (Argenina 4-3 PKs) WC 1990: West Germany-England: 0 OT goals (WG 4-3 PKs) WC 1994: Nigeria-Italy: 1 OT goal (Nigeria wins) WC 1994: Mexico-Bulgaria: 0 OT goals (Bulgaria 3-1 PKs) WC 1994: Romania-Sweden: 2 OT goals (Sweden 5-4 PKs) WC 1994 Final: Brazil-Italy: 0 OT goals (Brazil 3-2 PKs) WC 1998: France-Paraguay: 1 OT goal (France wins) WC 1998: Argentian-England: 0 OT goals (Argentina 4-3 PKs) WC 1998: Brazil-Netherlands: 0 OT goals (Brazil 4-2 PKs) WC 2002: Sweden-Senegal: 1 OT goal (Senegal wins golden goal) WC 2002: Spain-Ireland: 0 OT goals (Spain 3-2 PKs) WC 2002: South Korea-Italy: 1 OT goal (SK wins golden goal) WC 2002: Spain-South Korea: 0 OT goals (SK 5-3 PKs) WC 2002: Senegal-Turkey: 1 OT goal (Turkey wins golden goal) WC 2006: Argentina-Mexico: 1 OT goal (Argentina wins) WC 2006: Switzerland-Ukraine: 0 OT goals (Ukraine 3-0 PKs) WC 2006: Germany-Argentina: 0 OT goals (Germany 4-2 PKs) WC 2006: England-Portugal: 0 OT goals (Portugal 3-1 PKs) WC 2006: Germany-Italy: 2 OT goals (Italy wins) WC 2006 Final: Italy-France: 0 OT goals (Italy 5-3 PKs) WC 2010: US-Ghana: 1 OT goal (Ghana wins) WC 2010: Paraguay-Japan: 0 OT goals (Paraguay 5-3 PKs) WC 2010: Uruguay-Ghana: 0 OT goals (Uruguay 4-2 PKs) WC 2010 Final: Netherlands-Spain: 1 OT goal (Spain wins) ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/66 "2012-05-29T05:07:33Z")
Does anyone know what, if any, options Beckenbauer et.al. are considering? I would think that any sudden-death/Golden Goal scenarios are off the table. Unlimited rounds of extra-time most likely is a non-starter, too (unless some sort of tweak was made to substitution rules–as per my earlier post). Although I don’t like it, some sort of alternating corner-kick thing might just barely be on the radar, but there are some big problems with that. A few that haven’t been mentioned here yet (I think) are: Penalty fouls committed during a tie-breaking corner-kick. Do you award a penalty-kick for a direct-kick foul by the defense in the penalty area–just like in normal play? If so, and the penalty is made, is the game over? Referees are already far too lenient about letting fouls go in the penalty box because awarding a penalty-kick is such a game changer. They would probably be even less likely to call those fouls when it could lead to a game-ending penalty-kick. And what if the attacking side commits a foul during the kick? What then? You can’t give them a free-kick because it would be meaningless. How many players participate in the corner-kicks? All 11? Do you alternate corner-kicks one-for-one until there is a winner? What if during the course of the corner, the ball goes over the goal-line off a defender? Do you award another corner to the team that just took one? What else? — Might they seriously consider some sort of NASL/early MLS-style shootout where one attacker starts at, say, 35-yards out and has 5 seconds to beat the keeper? I sure hope not. IMO, I don’t believe that running shootouts are being seriously considered, but that’s just a guess. — Replay the match on another day? That sure would mess with scheduling and TV during big tournaments. Not to mention the match-fitness/injury problems of the winning team when they face their next opponent who is a lot more rested. — The PK shootout after 90 minutes for half a goal? I think that one has some merit, but are Franz & Co. considering it? Has there been any indication of what there thinking is on this whole thing? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/67 "2012-05-29T12:49:41Z")
\ **I** am Spartac-- no wait, that’s not it. OK, here it is. I love soccer, and I watch it a lot, but I think that changing the rules to increase scoring would be an improvement. I am an American, but resent being written off as having a 13-year old bigger-is-better-and-more-explosions mentality. In fact, I think the NBA (and to some degree the NFL) make it too easy to score. But while I can appreciate the drama of a 1-0 match, it’s very unsatisfying as far as being an interesting _game._ We haven’t found out who the better team is; we’ve found out which team had the bad luck to have a fullback slip at the wrong millisecond. So it’s not that I want OMG MORE COOL GOALZ!!. I’d just prefer to think that the best team wins a little more often (Is anybody seriously saying that Bayern looked like the worse team?). And does anybody really enjoy watching a team take a one goal lead and then play turtle for 40 minutes? And low scoring is not the reason futball is poplar. Futball’s popularity is pretty simple: First, it’s extremely simple and cheap to play: you need a flat surface, a ball, and some players, and the rules are easy. And importantly, without needing to change the rules significantly it’s an interesting game at every skill level from 12 year olds to beer league 40 year olds to the top athletes on the planet. If low scoring is the reason for popularity, why is basketball now the number two team sport worldwide? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/68 "2012-05-29T13:38:56Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It’s also, in my opinion, why so many Americans believe that the system needs changing: because they turn on the soccer every four years during the World Cup, or occasionally during a Champions League final, and see a few penalty shootouts. What troubled me about it personally was seeing the biggest game, on the biggest stage, for the biggest sport in the world decided in such a silly way. I wondered how soccer fans could accept this type of outcome. In the US, we got all pissed off over the unsatisfying end of an [exhibition](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game) baseball game, and we are rather tame in comparison to soccer fandom. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/69 "2012-05-29T14:50:17Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > What troubled me about it personally was seeing the biggest game, on the biggest stage, for the biggest sport in the world decided in such a silly way. > > I wondered how soccer fans could accept this type of outcome. In the US, we got all pissed off over the unsatisfying end of an [exhibition](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game) baseball game, and we are rather tame in comparison to soccer fandom. To be honest, I find the large championships to be examples of very boring football and I cringe at the thought at that being someone’s only experience of it. Teams play very safe and, especially these days, in very similar styles. Every tournament since about 1990 has been a disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/70 "2012-05-29T14:53:56Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/may/12/the-question-important-possession](http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/may/12/the-question-important-possession) > > At the bottom of this article is one of the greatest stories I have ever heard about football. Copied and pasted here: > > At Milan, Arrigo Sacchi got fed up of players moaning about his obsession with team shape, and so proved its worth with a simple drill. “I convinced [Ruud] Gullit and [Marco] Van Basten by telling them that five organised players would beat 10 disorganised ones,” he said. “And I proved it to them. I took five players: Giovanni Galli in goal, [Mauro] Tassotti, [Paolo] Maldini, [Alesandro] Costacurta and [Franco] Baresi. They had 10 players: Gullit, Van Basten, [Frank] Rijkaard, [Pietro Paolo] Virdis, [Alberigo] Evani, [Carlo] Ancelotti, [Angelo] Colombo, [Roberto] Donadoni, [Christian] Lantignotti and [Graziano] Mannari. They had 15 minutes to score against my five players, the only rule was that if we won possession or they lost the ball, they had to start over from 10 metres inside their own half. I did this all the time and they never scored. Not once.” > > In short, messing around with the number of players on the field is quite possibly not going to address the issue of how difficult it is to score. You might point out that not every defending side has Maldini, Costacurta and Baresi in it - but then not every attacking side has Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, Donadoni and Colombo in it either. A well drilled unit could easily last out for quite a while (admittedly the team of 5 above are never going to score - but the principle of it being very difficult to break them down still holds). I don’t think it is a fair comparison due to the “the only rule was that if we won possession or they lost the ball, they had to start over from 10 metres inside their own half”. That meant that pressure, especially involving the play putting the defending team out of shape as they’d be allowed to reset, was completely lost whenever the defending team got hold of the ball, no matter where it was or how close the attackers were to getting it back. A slow reduction in the number of onfield players is still my preferred method. Even if it gets down to five mean a side. I mean, let’s face it, five a side footie is what most of us grew up on. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/71 "2012-05-29T17:23:40Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It’s also, in my opinion, why so many Americans believe that the system needs changing: because they turn on the soccer every four years during the World Cup, or occasionally during a Champions League final, and see a few penalty shootouts. I watched dozens of English Premier league matches this season, as well as a whole bunch of FA Cup matches, and a lot of highlight shows (BBC Match of the Day, etc.). You know how many penalty shootouts i saw? Not one. Isn’t this a good argument for why the system DOES need to be changed? That is, if you can watch dozens and dozens of matches and not see penalties, why does it make sense to have penalties in cup competitions? I understand that a winner must be chosen, so you need some sort of system, but bastardizing the game seems like the worst possible solution. I’m no hockey fan, but I believe they made the same mistake by catering to the US audience, getting rid of ties and instituting the overtime shootout. I loathe penalties. It’s by far my least favorite aspect of football. When any match goes to penalties I basically refuse to watch, I hate it so much. I’m not in favor of sweeping changes to the game just to eliminate a corner case, but there has to be an overtime system that allows football to remain football, while deciding a victor. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/72 "2012-05-29T17:24:05Z")
[QUOTE=Bijou Drains] The simplest way to increase scoring is to use the NHL type offside rule. Which means that once you go beyond a certain line, there is no offside. Works great for hockey. It also takes away some judgement calls from the refs and we know those guys are not perfect. [/QUOTE] Huh? I’m not a huge hockey fan, but I’m unfamiliar with such a rule. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/73 "2012-05-29T17:27:23Z")
> [@RetroVertigo](#): > > Huh? I’m not a huge hockey fan, but I’m unfamiliar with such a rule. It’s the blue line. The skater with the puck has to be the first player crossing the blue line or it’s offisdes. Once the puck is past the blue line, other offensive players can be closer to the goal than the puck. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/74 "2012-05-29T17:59:46Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > I’m no hockey fan, but I believe they made the same mistake by catering to the US audience, getting rid of ties and instituting the overtime shootout. In fact it’s a bit funny to compare the NHL to soccer in this way. In the NHL, there are shootouts in the league season but not in the playoffs; in soccer there are shootouts in playoffs but not in the season. > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > bigger goals won’t help because that does not increase the amount of offense or shots. I imagine that making the goals bigger would increase the amount of shots, since the chances of scoring from distance would be increased. Whether “offense” would increase might depend on your definition - scoring would likely be up, but that might be due to many goals from distance, with fewer from longer, strategic building up of attacks. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/75 "2012-05-29T19:03:07Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > It’s the blue line. The skater with the puck has to be the first player crossing the blue line or it’s offisdes. Once the puck is past the blue line, other offensive players can be closer to the goal than the puck. Oh I see. That is not what I thought they were saying. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/76 "2012-05-29T19:17:37Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I love soccer, and I watch it a lot, but I think that changing the rules to increase scoring would be an improvement. Then we are back to the age old argument. How many goals are the optimum per match? Another one? two? more than that and you are changing the sport fundamentally. The game is inherently low scoring. That is part of the appeal. Each goal is a monumental event and matters a huge amount. It isn’t like nothing happens in between each goal because every single near miss has enormous significance as we know exactly how important a goal would be. > [@](#): > > But while I can appreciate the drama of a 1-0 match, it’s very unsatisfying as far as being an interesting _game._ We haven’t found out who the better team is; we’ve found out which team had the bad luck to have a fullback slip at the wrong millisecond. If you want to find out who the best team is, you need to run a league over the course of a full season. The one at the top…is the best. If you want to find out who the best team is on any given game then you need to change the metrics used to determine success. At the moment it is goals but, like you say, one team can dominate in any of the metrics you choose to use (possession, territory, corners, shots) and still lose to the single goal scored on the counter. There is a reason why we say “that’s football!” to encapsulate exactly those circumstances. > [@](#): > > So it’s not that I want OMG MORE COOL GOALZ!!. I’d just prefer to think that the best team wins a little more often (Is anybody seriously saying that Bayern looked like the worse team?). And does anybody really enjoy watching a team take a one goal lead and then play turtle for 40 minutes? > > And low scoring is not the reason futball is poplar. Actually, it is to certain degree. The low scoring increases the chances of an upset in a single game at least. This obviously lends itself to incredible excitement when mis-matched teams come together. On the day, pretty much any team has a chance. If you understand why the “miracle on ice” was so exciting then you’ll understand why knock out football works so well. > [@](#): > > Futball’s popularity is pretty simple: First, it’s extremely simple and cheap to play: you need a flat surface, a ball, and some players, and the rules are easy. And importantly, without needing to change the rules significantly it’s an interesting game at every skill level from 12 year olds to beer league 40 year olds to the top athletes on the planet. yes, that is a valid reason as well. > [@](#): > > If low scoring is the reason for popularity, why is basketball now the number two team sport worldwide? It is part of the reason for the popularity as a tournament and competitive spectator sport but scoring regularity is irrelevant in the wider context. There are short versions of football played all over the world with much higher scoring rates and yet they haven’t supplanted the the standard association model. Higher amounts of scoring is not “better” it merely cheapens the effect of each score. Basketball is popular as a participant sport for the same reason that football is and the same reasons you cite above. Low levels of equipment, simplicity and adaptability in form. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/77 "2012-05-29T20:13:31Z")
Let them play until someone scores. That team wins. Forces someone to play offensive ball. Unless they want to stay up all night defending their goal. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/78 "2012-05-29T20:33:41Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Let them play until someone scores. That team wins. Forces someone to play offensive ball. Unless they want to stay up all night defending their goal. Yeah, that was the golden goal. Turned out offense gets tired way before the defense. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/79 "2012-05-29T21:03:44Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Yeah, that was the golden goal. Turned out offense gets tired way before the defense. Well then just pass it to Messi. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293/80 "2012-05-29T22:23:35Z")
I think the suggestions in this thread nicely demonstrate how good penalty kicks are at determining the result of a drawn game in a knockout competition. The only one that I think has not been totally shot down is the shoot-out after 90 minutes, but the injury/cramping up problem is a serious one and does not seem easy to overcome. So we are back to the model we have at the moment. If there were a simple, elegant solution, someone would probably have come up with it already. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soccer-may-get-rid-of-penalty-kicks-to-decide-games/623293.md?page=5)