You have a penalty about 40 metres out with 45 seconds left. You are 5 points ahead. You are allowed up to 1 minute to place the ball and kick for goal, so you know that if you get the ball dead, kicking the ball after the 80th minute has started, you have won the game. So why not kick the ball sideways over the touch line, just 20 metres away, rather than kick at the posts? Was it that they thought they could ensure that France would get 0 points by losing by more than 7 points if they kicked the penalty? I for one was shouting at the screen for them to kick the ball ot of play sideways and ensure their win....is there anything to stop them doing that?I only watched the second half, but Argentina seemed to have amazing guts in defence, and you can only admire them - you can read the match report here. It will be interesting to see how France react.
3 comments:
Totally agree, my dad and I were shouting the same thing at them. Did kind of sum up their lack of clear thinking in attacking positions (though you wouldn't have seen much of that if you only watched the second half), but they got away with it. Just.
They had to go for the kick to try and take it out of bonus point range for France - which could play a major factor in whether or not they progress to the knockout stages - that however doesnt excuse the fact that the ball should have ended up in the stands whether he made the kick or not....
Fair point, maybe they were thinking more clearly than I gave them credit for. Still a risky strategy though.
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