Call time on the shootout
MAJOR tournaments often throw up questions about the future of the game and this one has been no different. It will be interesting to see what UEFA’s take on the 24-team format is but equally pressing should be a discussion about how best to settle drawn games. What is clear is that extra-time isn’t working. Prior to last night’s game in Paris, four ties — Croatia-Portugal, Switzerland-Poland, Poland-Portugal and Germany-Italy — had gone to extra-time and from a total of 120 added minutes just one goal had been scored. Most coaches see extra-time as something to be negotiated carefully in order to reach a penalty shootout where the odds will always start at evens. That being the case, it is time to look at something new. My preference would be to play until someone scores, preferably with a man being withdrawn from each side at 10-minute intervals. It may feel unusual but it would never be dull.