<p>I think PKs don’t really mean penalty. They are actually tie-breaking kicks. And winning the game by PKs does not mean winning by luck. PKs test the ability of the goal keeper and the 5 best kickers of each team. If each team can have only one kick then you can call it luck. But 5 kicks fairly represent the strength of the team. And team members are prepared for that since they start playing soccer.</p>
<p>I like PKs because they give me more time to watch the game.</p>
<p>wow, what a finish to the Uruguay / Ghana game…</p>
<p>I think Suarez will be back for the final (if they make it), if it is even up for discussion. It’s not like he punched someone or gave someone a broken jaw with his elbow.</p>
<p>waving bye to Brazil as the Netherlands march onward.</p>
<p>I think they said Brazil was 35-0-2 in the WC when leading at halftime.</p>
<p>I feel really bad for Ghana. They deserved to win and it would have been awesome to see an African country in the semis. Poor Gyan, I can imagine how he feels. Trezeguet (one of the best strikers in the World) missed a penalty kick against Italy in the Finals of the 2006 World Cup, costing France its second World Cup title.</p>
<p>Damn Domenech! If France had another (better) coach, Trezeguet would have been on this year’s squad. With better team chemistry, better leadership and an additional striker of Trezeguet’s quality, France could have gone far.</p>
<p>I wished the USA team to have PKs with Ghana last week because Tim Howard is a strong goal keeper. Unfortunately, it did not happen.</p>
<p>Alexandre - Could you explain why the France players and Domenech did not get along? Thanks.</p>
<p>I don’t even know what to say…</p>
<p>I do not know the particulars coolweather, but it is clear that he did not have the respect of the team. Admittedly, the French players are not an easy bunch to coach. A team made entirely of stars will have major egos. Just look at the clubs they play for. Abidal and Henry play for Barcelona, Diarra and Benzama play for Real Mardid, Evra plays for Man United, Gallas, Sagna, Clichy and Nasri play for Arsenal, Ribery plays for Munich and Anelka and Malouda play for Chelsea. But a good coach should know how to keep a team from imploding and Donenech didn’t know how. Plus the man seems to be pretty rotten. He did not shake hands with Parreira (the South African coach) after the loss. That is a disgraceful display. </p>
<p>France has an incredible depth of young talent. Hopefuly, the next coach (Laurent Blanc)will know how to optimize their performance. Given his temperment and attitude during the 1998 World Cup, I think he will do a good job. We’ll have to wait and see how France do in the Euro championships in 2012.</p>
<p>Alexandre,</p>
<p>Let’s hope that when Laurent was interviewed it was made certain that the zodiac would not enter into any of his decisions, and that they make it clear to the players that refusing to practice is not an option.</p>
<p>Given the French team’s attitude, yours are lofty goals indeed! LOL!</p>
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<p>5 kicks really aren’t a good sample size. And beyond that, penalty kicks aren’t a good representation of the team strength as a whole. Goal scoring in open play and penalty taking are mostly different skills, and the best goalkeepers aren’t always the best penalty stoppers either.</p>
<p>Unfortunately there isn’t really a better way to decide a winner at that point in the game.</p>
<p>Off course PK kick is not miniature version of the regular game. But it does represent the strength of the team. A lot of times a team can win by a PK kick during the regular time. The best goal keepers are the ones that can predict the direction of the balls and can deflect them or catch them. Similarly, the best kickers are the ones that can make the balls not catchable by the goal keepers. Good players don’t kick the balls directly to the goal keepers. The USA team lost the game because they have not mastered this kicking art yet.</p>
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<p>Rock, paper, scissors?</p>
<p>I really would hate to see instant replay reviews but it is so frustrating watching some of the calls that have been made. I admit that I am not very knowledgeable about the rules of the game so I have to depend on the tv announcers to explain things. The handball/yellow card called against Mueller made no sense to me. I find myself rooting for whichever team seems to have more bad calls made against them.</p>
<p>I’m rooting for Larissa Riquelme, so I guess that means I want Paraguay to win.</p>
<p>Hate shoot outs.</p>
<p>Germany played at a different speed, difficult to keep up with them. A little surprised on how well they played, nice win.</p>
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Becoming a fan. Much more exciting than this morning’s game.</p>
<p>So glad Germany won! Even a defender scored a goal. Hoping Spain pulls out a win over Paraguay. Please don’t underperform like so often in the past.</p>
<p>Whichever team plays Germany, I hope Germany appeals that card to Muller. A free kick, yes, yellow, no.</p>
<p>Agree that Muller did not deserve that yellow. I will miss watching him play.</p>
<p>It looks like Germany and Netherlands will have a rematch of the World Cup 1974, the first world cup that I had the chance to watch on TV. Gerd Muller, Franz Backernbauer, and Johan Cruijff are always in my head.</p>