Why Goals Are So Hard to Reach

                It’s no secret that goals in a soccer game are few and far between.  Often, each team will score only one or two and it is considered monumental if either team’s score reaches double digits. This is largely the result of having only 11 players on a team for a field 120 yards long and 75 yards wide. The concentration of players per square foot is extremely low compared to that of say, basketball (5 players per team on a court generally about 30x16 yards). This large field area makes the opportunity for goals infrequent.  Also, the off sides rule prevents players from hanging out behind opposing defenders, in front of the goal, leading to fewer opportunities to score.  To get a shot on goal with the off sides rule requires a perfectly passed ball past the last defenders, an attacking player sprinting past the defenders, beating them to the ball, and then maneuvering closer to the goal before shooting.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to low-scoring soccer matches. When soccer players have to battle for each goal, it gives the goal more value, so that each one is celebrated highly. Because of the enormous pressure of only leading by one or two points, momentum can shift at any second, which adds to the excitement.  This keeps spectators who understand soccer involved and engrossed in the game until the final minute.



USA women Shannon Boxx (#7), Abby Wambach (#20), and Amy Lepealbet (#6) celebrate
Wambach's goal in the World Cup quarterfinal against Brazil.

                A downside to a low-scoring game is that often, the winner of a match is not the better team.  For example, say England and France were in a matchup. England dominates France the entire game, out passing, outshooting, and outplaying them, but neither team has been able to score. Suddenly, with a stroke of bad luck, the ball ricochets off of an English player’s leg, past his own goalie and he scores on himself. Since getting goals is so difficult, England is not able to reply with a goal for itself and loses. Even though England was the better team, it lost the game.  Since the winner was meant to be the better team, the game of soccer has failed at its fundamental purpose of determining the better team. The point that low-scoring games are also more boring is merely opinion, and should not be considered because soccer is a complex game that is interesting when understood.  However, ties are exceptionally common, and winning by a shootout after regular time and two overtimes fails to determine the deserving winner.

                Despite the hullabaloo about whether or not low-scoring games are good for the game, there is always one up-side: The constant shifting of momentum is great for betting.