"0-0 draws in FIFA World Cup group stage should be no points instead of one" - Brad Gilbert's outlandish suggestion
Former tennis player Brad Gilbert has made an outlandish suggestion regarding the points allocation to teams in case of goalless draws in the FIFA World Cup group stage.
At the ongoing edition of the quadrennial tournament in Qatar, there were two goalless draws on the third day. Denmark and Tunisia played out a 0-0 stalemate in their Group D opener, before Poland and Mexico did likewise in their first game in Group C.
The latter game saw Robert Lewandowski's second-half spot-kick saved by Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who guessed and dived the right way. That meant the prolific 34-year-old striker — Poland's all-time top scorer with 76 goals — is yet to open his World Cup account after four games. The Barcelona man went goalless in three games in the 2018 edition in Russia, where Poland made a group-stage exit after two defeats.
Gilbert made a rather unusual suggestion following the two goalless draws in Qatar. The reputed tennis coach said that goalless draws in the FIFA World Cup group stage should mean no points should be awarded to the two teams, instead of a point apiece, as is the rule in case of a draw.
He added that the player fouled in the box should take the penalty, otherwise the spot-kick should be rescinded, terming the rule "ridiculous." Gilbert tweeted:
"0-0 draws in group stages World Cup should be no points instead of one point, also no chance should penalty kick be allowed to be taken by person not fouled ridiculous rule in my humble opinion."
point, also no chance should penalty kick be allowed to be taken by person not fouled ridiculous rule in my humble opinion0-0 draws ✍️ in group stages @WorldCupEN should be no points instead of one ☝️ point, also no chance should penalty kick be allowed to be taken by person not fouled ridiculous rule in my humble opinion
As is the norm, the designated penalty taker — usually an attacker — takes spot-kicks and not necessarily the player being fouled in the opposition box. The same goes for fouls outside the box too, where free-kicks are awarded, in which case the team's designated free-kick specialists come to the fore.
Meanwhile, it was Lewandowski's second miss from the spot in 14 spot-kick attempts for Poland. Incidentally, the Pole also missed his spot-kick in Barcelona's 2-0 La Liga win over Almeria two weeks ago. Nevertheless, Lewandowski has a penalty success rate of nearly 90% (71/80) for club and country, not including penalty shootouts.
Brad Gilbert hails Chris Evert's drop shot as best ever
Recently, Brad Gilbert was asked about the best drop shot in the game. The former player took the name of WTA legend Chris Evert while also adding that current ATP World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz also has a great drop shot.
He tweeted:
"That’s a tough one escape from Alcaraz has very good one now @ChrissieEvert had a great one."
one now @ChrissieEvert had a great one YES!!!!!😂😂😂😂😂 twitter.com/bgtennisnation…
Evert responded with a 'Yes' followed by a few emojis.