Football: the Dreaded Penalty Shoot-out

Football is never far away. The Premier League is over for this season, and all the promotions and demotions within the leagues. We have had cup finals galore, and can still look forward to the Women’s Euros and to World Cup qualifiers. This has made me think about some of the rules of the sport.
One aspect of the beautiful game which I dislike is the penalty shoot-out. It is very dramatic, but often I can’t watch. I feel sorry for a penalty-taker who fails to score. He/she will feel devastated, and may come in for vile abuse, particularly in the case of a young black player from England.

I wonder if it would not be better for the shoot-out to take place, in those matches where one may be needed, not at the very end of extra time but at the end of the normal 90 minutes. If scores are equal at that stage, the shoot-out could take place then. The team which wins it, gets one point, which is put on hold. Extra time of 30 minutes then takes place. Any goal scored by a team in extra time gets it two points. Thus, if the team which lost the shoot-out wins the extra time, it will win the match. If the scores in extra time are equal, the winner of the shoot-out wins, as the one point is then unfrozen.
In that way the shoot-out is still important but may not be decisive. The team that lost the shoot-out has a second chance. Tactics in extra time would be fascinating. The team which lost the shoot-out would surely have to go all out for attack. A striker who had missed a penalty would strain every sinew to score. Does the team which won the shoot-out stick or twist? It may be dangerous to sit back and defend for 30 minutes with tired legs. But they may hope to score in a breakaway.
If these rules ever came into force, I would feel able to watch the shoot-out, and extra time would be most entertaining. Under current rules, extra time can be sterile in those matches where both teams shut up shop and hope to win the shoot-out.

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