***Official 2022 World Cup Thread***

If every goal in soccer was worth 7 points Spain would be up 49-0 for those counting at home.
I honestly think that if you you changed the scoring and how many points were awarded for each goal the casual American would actually enjoy it. By no means am I saying to do that but it’s funny coming from fans of teams say us this year and Iowa where they average very little scoring.
 
I honestly think that if you you changed the scoring and how many points were awarded for each goal the casual American would actually enjoy it. By no means am I saying to do that but it’s funny coming from fans of teams say us this year and Iowa where they average very little scoring.
There is way more too it than just score. I like soccer, but is there a moment similar to an important 3rd or 4th and 1? Big defensive stop in that situation? Only a true save on goal? Just one of a hundred examples.

Spain had a total of 8 shots on target and scored 7 times. Costa Rica had 0. Now…when the ball is going in the net, it’s poetry, but there were and are no big 3rd down stop equivalents. No QB sack equivalent. No big pass play or break up, unless you’re talking about “set pieces”. Etc.
 
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That is one of the best things about soccer, I'll watch 3 games today in the same time span as 3 halves of football with a fraction of the ad time.
I couldn't ever get into soccer - tried to follow MLS after the last few World Cups with no success. I finally decided to adopt a top team in the Premier League about a year ago and now I'm hooked. You have to watch the great teams in order to "get it." And then, once I got it, I realized how much better the structure of a soccer game is than every major American sport, because of this very reason. Continuous action, games are the perfect length.

On another related topic, the solution to American football games taking too long isn't starting the clock immediately after first downs, or considering keeping the clock running even with incompletions (insane). Those kind of ideas are missing the entire problem. The solution is cutting down on the number of commercials and other breaks in the action. The number of long media timeouts is crazy. But, then you couldn't make nearly as much money, and people are still willing to watch anyway even with it. Well, now that I've discovered soccer, I am way less willing to sit through long football games. It's weird how it's happened for me, but I just find myself changing the channel or putting on something else now because it drags on forever and there is no flow to the game. I've gone from watching CFB all day on Saturdays to pretty much just watching ISU because of it.
 
There is way more too it than just score. I like soccer, but is there a moment similar to an important 3rd or 4th and 1? Big defensive stop in that situation? Only a true save on goal? Just one of a hundred examples.
Set pieces in the final minutes of a tied game or with one team down a goal? Like the end of Germany-Japan today where Germany pulled their keeper into the box and had the one last chance? Those happen at the end of big games all the time. During the middle of the action, there are tons of corners and other set pieces that produce goals at a high clip.
 
Not going to lie, even as an American, watching Canada walk onto the pitch and seeing their fans and players during that national anthem was goosebumps. Can’t believe it’s been since 1986 for them.

Unlike Mexico, I will be cheering for Canada, as their top three are so much fun to watch when they get the counter going.
 
Set pieces in the final minutes of a tied game or with one team down a goal? Like the end of Germany-Japan today where Germany pulled their keeper into the box and had the one last chance? Those happen at the end of big games all the time. During the middle of the action, there are tons of corners and other set pieces that produce goals at a high clip.
Ok. Not the same.
 
Ok. Not the same.
Of course not. The game is much less "organized" than something like football that has a defined number of plays/downs. Goals and set piece opportunities mean a ton because they are relatively rare. A football team could have 15 3rd downs in a game while in soccer, you might be in a game where you only get a couple good scoring chances in 90 minutes.
 
There is way more too it than just score. I like soccer, but is there a moment similar to an important 3rd or 4th and 1? Big defensive stop in that situation? Only a true save on goal? Just one of a hundred examples.

Spain had a total of 8 shots on target and scored 7 times. Costa Rica had 0. Now…when the ball is going in the net, it’s poetry, but there were and are no big 3rd down stop equivalents. No QB sack equivalent. Not big pass play or break up. Etc.

It’s always amazing to me that so many Americans like baseball but HATE soccer. (Not saying this you just an observation). I find more parallels between baseball and soccer than with football and soccer.

Although the analogy of soccer as chess and football as speed chess is also a good one I’ve heard.
 

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