FIFA cancels big World Cup knockout round rule change after making a decision
FIFA made a big about-face after suggesting a major change to the rules in the middle of the World Cup. The 48-team tournament has now moved into the exciting round of 32. Canada became the first team to reach the round of 16 by scoring a last-minute goal against South Africa, thanks to Stephen Eustaquio in Los Angeles.
Brazil followed up by coming from behind to beat Japan 2-1, with Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli scoring a dramatic late winner in Houston to avoid extra time.
Before the round of 32 started, there were reports that FIFA wanted to change how penalty shoot-outs work. They talked with IFAB (the group that sets football rules) about having just one coin toss before penalties. The winner of that toss would choose either to take the first penalty or pick which goal to shoot at, while the loser would get the other choice. The idea was to make things fairer and avoid giving one team two advantages.
However, according to The Athletic, the talks ended with the decision to keep the current system. BBC’s Dale Johnson said IFAB was open to trying the single coin toss idea in the future, but not during this World Cup.
So, if a World Cup match goes to penalties, there will still be two coin tosses. The first decides who shoots first, and the second decides which goal to use.
In the recent Champions League final, Arsenal lost both tosses to Paris Saint-Germain. PSG held onto their title after Gabriel Magalhaes missed a crucial penalty at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
Captains make the call during the second coin toss. In the thrilling 2022 World Cup final, Lionel Messi and Argentina won the second toss, letting Argentina take penalties in front of their fans at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. France captain Hugo Lloris won the first toss, so France took the first spot-kicks. In the end, Argentina won when Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning penalty, giving Argentina their third World Cup win.