Big Question: How can the World Cup be Improved?

[...] Bob in his Big Question asks how the World Cup can be improved. He offers a few possibilities, and they are all good. But I want to add another one, and then run for cover! [...]

Bob:

Nice post, but i think I have never disagreed with you more than today. lol.

First: Penalty kicks are what give emotion to not too soccer fan. I was one of them I used to hate soccer and just saw the World Cup to suport my country, and although we are the worst team in that area, I enjoyed those games a lot. Maybe we should have penalty kicks in the first round to give 1 or 2 points to teams that end in a tie, and do a rematch to teams that end with a tie in elimination round.

Final: The final is the final, its like the superbowl. Don’t ruin that. You play for all the marbles in 90 minutes, you screw it your done, you play with perfection you win. After all the World cup is about being perfect, you have to win at least 4 or 5 straight games to win it all.

More qualifiyng games: Agree, hell of a game between Trinidad and Barein. Imagine seing Uruguay versus Nigeria for a spot, that would’ve been great.

Seeds. Hey!! Mexico deserved that spot. lol just kidding, maybe they should work on that.

My ideas:

Groups. Make a way to do better groups I mean: Group A: has germany and 3 not so bad teams. Groups C and Group E, have 4 good teams, and group G and H its anybodys win.

Game schedule: The reason why I hated the 02 WC was because I had too watch Mexico’s game at 3 or 4 in the morning. I know its a 24 hour world, but still something could be done to schedule the games in an hour wich the two countries and the host country can play.

Hosts: They don’t need to qualify, imagine if the home team doesn’t advance !!!!! Besides, they have all done a good job, I think the poorest job is cuarter finals wich is good, that until we go to southafrica, je.

More teams in the world cup: I hate to see Nigeria, Camerun, Uruguay et all out of the cup, make room for them!!!!

Do a half world cup tournament. I agree with the fact the world cup needs to be held every four years. But we need to see action, do a single elimination tournament every 2 years, that could set up the seeds for the next world cup, or whatever.

Thats it. Nice post.

Luis Carlos, I understand where you come from about the Game Schedule, but then again they can’t schedule the games when it’s too hot to play in a hot country. I’d rather wake up at 3am and watch a good game than watching players struggling to walk… At least in South Africa it’ll be winter (maybe spring, anybody know if it’s still going to be in June/July?) during the World Cup in 2010, so the heat shouldn’t be too problematic.

As for the seeding formula, the nature of a tournament’s seeding is to reward the competitors that have performed better in the past, so they have it easier to progress and the final rounds are more competitive. Nobody wants to see all the heavyweights out by the third round. This sort of thinking is also applied in, say, tennis tournaments, where even if a player has gone down in the world rankings, he/she still has a chance to be seeded if he/she did well in the previous tournament. The difference is that most of those tournaments are held every year. So maybe the seeding formula shouldn’t take into account performances three or two tournaments ago, but it should definetly take into account the last tournament’s standings.

About the penalty shootouts, before they were introduced games that ended in a draw after 120 mins would be replayed. I guess the size of the current tournament and the schedules of millions of people can’t afford to wait for a rematch nowadays. Also, games can’t go on forever as players get more and more tired. Maybe after every 15 mins of added time teams should be allowed one extra substitution so the tired players can get a bit of rest, and they could even be allowed back in too!

Also, another suggestion, referees should add more time if there was deliberate time wasting. I get so annoyed when keepers take forever to kick a goal kick, and players start rolling on the grass to take minutes of the clock. I have hardly seen more than 4 minutes added at the end of the second half, and there never seems to be more than 2 minutes added at the end of the first. Somehow I think more than that time is usually wasted in a match.

Don’t decide games on penalty kicks: Fearless leader, I do beg to differ. Brasil-Netherlands in 1998 – 4-2 on penalties after a lukewarm 1-1 affair. The penalty shootout was nail-biting, Taffarel-worshipping high drama. I only felt cheated when Brasil collapsed in the final.

Play a two-game final: Eh?

More qualifying play-in matches between federations: Now this I find interesting. Moreover, I think the UEFA teams have far too easy a time qualifying.

Don’t give an automatic qualifying spot to the host country: Controversial. I like it.

Make the seeding process more relevant: Yes, and while you’re at it, sort out those insane FIFA rankings.

As for the other comments, I disagree that refs should add more time when players are deliberately dossing about. Red card the bastards, instead.

I will suggest having more teams from other continents. At the moment Europe has far too many teams compared to other continents.

Wow, Gus, I think you are right.

About Bob’s opinions:

I just hate penalty kicks. You can toss a coin instead. I would rather see players crumble under physical stress until someone score (golden goal) than watch any penalty lottery.

A final is a final, as Gus said. We can’t wait for the sevond match. Here in Brazil the country stops at every game we are invlolved, can you imagine the damage to our economy if there were a second final? If it was to be a second final, we would need a second quarter final, e second semi final… no thanks. The format is perfect.

More qualifying among federations? I disagree. Each continent will fight to represent the best among their neighbors, and the last hopes are in the inter-continental matches. Don’t mess with that! You want to see Africans and Europeans fight, let them be worthy of their spot in the World Cup.

Another disagreement! Hosts MUST play!!! Imagine the host country hating to host other countries!!! I can’t even begin to imagine such scenary. Your country spends billions of dollars to host the competition but you can’t root for your own country? I would become a mad man if Brazil hosted a World Cup for others. I would bomb the Maracana Stadium!!!

I agree with Gus again, seeding is a cool reward for teams that did well at the previous competition. It’s like in Formula 1. The starting grid rewards the best pilots. Imagine those Japanese pilots and Japanese teams starting at the front! It would be an utter mess, and completely unfair to the good drivers.

Gus thinks like me, when he says that “referees should add more time if there was deliberate time wasting”. I would like to see a ref giving 9 more minutes to punish the anti-game. To punish that coward that falls on the ground like he was shot at his pennis and keep rolling for 4 minutes until the medic comes to spray that magic potion that makes the guy jump up and start running again.

No games should be replayed. Keep them playing until people start to fall. Imagine the 2 goalkeepers trying to drible one another, shooting from far away. In a sporting arena you can’t just flip a coin (penalty shootout) you must be brave and fight to the end. The coach should be allowed as many substitutions as he want, even returning players that were in the game previously, as Gus said.

I like the way Gus thinks!

[...] Bob’s proposals are italicised (you can check out his reasoning over here). My responses follow. [...]

Right now, the best teams aren’t in the WC.

If the best teams would be there, we might end winding up with 26 teams from Europe.

On the one hand, it’s supposed to be a World Cup. On the other hand, that’s not too fair, too.

And about a qualification for the host: Whatever you took buddy, I want some, too. Given the fact that a tournament lives (at least for 2 weeks) from the athmosphere, the home team must at least be IN for it.

“Right now, the best teams aren’t in the WC.”

Really? There are probably about 10-12 teams with a reasonable chance of contending for the Cup. The rest simply rounds out the field. Considering that, European teams that couldn’t make it past qualifying aren’t significantly better than the finalists from other regions. Sure, I get that Norway’s probably better than Trinidad & Tobago, but not enough to lose any sleep over it. If a “deserving” (i.e. underachieving) European team doesn’t make it, it has more to do with the qualifying format than not having enough spots.

Penalty kicks? A necessary evil. It’s easy for us to say “Play till their legs fall off” when we don’t have millions of euros invested in said legs, or don’t need them for walking. Players start to hit the wall around the 75th minute and risk of injury increases wit every minute – 120 minutes is the absolute limit. And if the score is even after 120, the two teams are pretty even – whatever happens in the shootout isn’t great injustice.

We all want matches decided in the run of the game, but there’s little excitement in two exhausted teams walking the ball up the field. And like Bob himself says, shootouts are great drama.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a couple more play-in matches too. Otherwise, why fix something that ain’t broke?

“Sure, I get that Norway’s probably better than Trinidad & Tobago, but not enough to lose any sleep over it. If a “deserving” (i.e. underachieving) European team doesn’t make it, it has more to do with the qualifying format than not having enough spots.”

Norway’s better than T&T? On what grounds? ;) Just don’t say the FIFA rankings.

As for European teams – can anyone name 26 world class European teams? Currently UEFA, with 52 national teams, has 13 (.5) of the 32 slots – the most in the tournament. CAF – with 52 countries – has 5. Hmm.

Grr. CAF has 54 countries. I’ll wear my glasses next time.

stacy-marie –

heh, I stand corrected re: Norway. But the perception is there, I think.

As for CAF, I think they have the right number of slots given their performance and size (that sounds much dirtier than it should), but they really need to fix the qualifying format. The current winner-take-all format leaves too much to fluke results and teams like Nigeria and Cameroon end up staying home.

i have to disagree with the unlimited substitutions idea, if it were really the case, games might go on for 5-6 hours… now think in a world cup… 100000 people at least sitting in the stadium watching… for 5-6 hours… its just not appropriate,

i agree somewhat witht he idea of no penalties though, however with limited subsitutions as is the current situation… all is needed is for the golden goal time to be longer, and eventualy one team would be too worn out to defend againts the other and the glory would be to the golden scorer… it would add competition to having better stamina

If anyone remembers the first couple of seasons from MLS, they had an interesting alternative to the shoot-out.

Instead of spot-kicks, each offensive player had a 1-v-1 with the keeper. You started at about 30 yards out (while the keeper started on his line), and when the whistle blew, you could move in for a better shot, while the GK could rush out and cut off the angle… and you had to take your shot within (I think) 5 seconds.

Each team would do this 5 times, taking turns.

In my opinion, it was more entertining than a shoot-out, and it also displayed more skills.

[...] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Leave aReply [...]

I would change the rules in xtratime like that.

If it is a 0-0, every team needs to take a player of the field, so they start with 10 vs 10 in extratime. Then, every 10 minute, another player has to leave the pitch, so if it is 30min XT, in the end there will be 7 vs 7 for the penaltys.

If it is not 0-0 after 90min, the team, that had not shot the first goal would need to have his second player of not after 10 minutes, but after 5 minutes, then 15 minutes, then 25 minutes.
They would be a player less, for every 5 of ten minutes then, as a penalty for NOT SCORING THE FIRST GOAL.

This would make sure:
a) each team trying to score first in a k.o. game
b) avoiding red cards, as they count bitter in the XT
c) more goals scored in XT
d) interesting tactics on which player would be withdrawn by the trainer.

can anyoneone name 26 good soccer countries in Europe. I can only count 10 or 11 tops. (Please don’t say that Spain or Poland are good teams).

World Cup Improvements (Or Not)

The World Cup Blog asks an interesting question – how would you change the World Cup to make it better?…

England
Germany
France
Italy
Czech Rep
Spain
Holland
Denmark
Sweeden
Norway
Swiss
Austria
Turkey
Greece
Serbia
Poland
Russia
Wales
Belgium
Croatia
Romania
Bulgaria
Hungary
Portugal
Ukraine
Ireland
Thats 26, all of these would be worthy of the World Cup finals.
Maybe the final 6 could be made up of:
Brazil
Argentina
Mexico
Iran
South Korea
Ivory Coast

Australia has been drawn in Group F with Brazil, Croatia and Japan. How many matches will Australia play in
elimination round?

Someone plz help me with this question ASAP….
Thankx

monika,
Australia will play 3 matches 1 against each Brazil, Croatia and Japan, if it gets 2 wins or more (by some god luck charm, in my opinion) then it will enter the knockout round.

I like team Brazil…2006 brazil is win world cup in germany…brazil win

I think that there should be 8 more spots added to the cup. Add one to each group. As far as where those spots come from, I would give 2 spots to Africa, another 2 spots to Asia, then give Europe 1 spot and the Americas another 1 spot. The last two spots could be an at large bids, that way a team that most likely would get in but for some reason or another did not make it could compete for that spot. You can keep the same format for advancement where you have 16 teams in the second round. Or you can move to an alternate format where you could give the top 4-6 teams (determined by goal differential) would have byes the first round (kind of what the NFL used to do). You would see alot more offense in the first round. Also I would make the world cup every three years instead of four. It sucks waiting four years for the Cup, though it that long time frame makes the Cup more valuable.
The time thing is a problem. The referee should maybe use a stop watch and stop it when there is a delay, or have an official time keeper, maybe do a countdown rather than go to 45 and 90. Also I would add another referee to the pitch. A back judge perhaps. The referee can’t catch everything.
Well that’s my two cents.

FIFA should implement a rule that effects players who fake injuries and call for treatment to stymie attacking opportunities for rival teams.

I believe that if a player goes down and a stretcher is called onto to the field they should have to leave the playing feel for 5 minutes before being allowed to reenter the game.

Anybody know how we make this suggestion to FIFA

Has anyone ever thought like this?:

Think of the world cup as a 2 year tournament that begins with Regional qualifiers as the first round. The world cup we have been watching are merely the 32 teams remaining from the 200 or so that began in qualifying.

In many ways all nations have already competed in this world cup because qualifiers pitted all of them against other teams and the thinning of the herd was acheived. If you cant qualify in your regional group, you cant win the world cup. So basically this month long tournament is the end of a really long tournament that started with all nations. These are the 32 teams that survived. And Italy and France survived out of the 32.

Even though there are some good countries that are not in the world cup, none of them would have won.

*****
Also if FIFA corrected its rankings: what if the top 32 ranked teams made it to the world cup, that would really stir things up

ITALY RULEEEEEZ THEY WILL WIN TOMORROW WITH 2 GOALS VS 1

ITALY RULEEEEEZ THEY WILL WIN TOMORROW WITH 2 GOALS VS 1

i want lotto winning number on 12th wesday of july 2006, Please iwill looking forward for it before 12.oopm of tommmorrow.
Thanks

?

Download Cool Ringtone Right This Time: ?