The English player (Rashford) who hit the post in the PK shootout will probably have nightmares about it - but only for the next 20 years or so!
I’m far from the first to make this point. But PKs are a stupid way to decide the outcome of an important game.
UEFA and FIFA almost certainly don't care what I think. But here are some ways to settle tie games without resorting to idiotic penalty-kicking contests, and without as much danger of an interminably long game.
- Make the regular overtime sudden death (this reduces the odds of ending in a tie in the first place).
- If after 30 minutes of regular OT the score is still tied, reduce the number of players on the field, so as to make the game 7 on 7. This greatly increases the odds of scoring a goal within a relatively short period of time. If after, say, 45 minutes of 7 on 7, there is STILL a tie, cut back to 5 on 5.
Reducing the number of players does admittedly change the nature of the game. But it's not nearly as ridiculous and arbitrary as using PKs.
If any FIFA or UEFA officials are reading this, and decide to adopt the idea, I hope you will also consider not allowing World Cup host nations to forcibly displace people in order to build stadiums (as happened in Brazil and Russia during the last 2 World Cups).