In general soccer games tend to run 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes for 90 minutes of game time. Compared to 3 or 3 and a half hours for 60 minutes of football. Yeah sure there are breaks in the action, but the focus stays on the field rather than breaking for commercials constantly, it's not even comparable.
***Official 2026 World Cup Thread***
- Thread starter ISU3PtLand
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But outside of the hydration breaks (which purists hate as well), they’re not going to commercial at each of those stoppages. That’s what is making football take so long. Every chance they get it’s a 3-4 minute commercial break. It isn’t that there is a stoppage between possessions, it’s that those stoppages are being artificially lengthened by TV.
Rough for England after this battle/heartbreak having to turn around on 2 days off and play in the heat & humidity of Miami once again for the 3rd Place game. France with the extra day of rest as well.
Foolish to think anyone is going to “handle” Argentina. Spain might win, but it will be a fight.
I’d expect both teams to field almost exclusively bench guys. Neither country will give a **** about winning that match and none of the big names are going to want to risk and injury or more fatigue.
The game does count towards the golden boot. So I’d assume Mbappé will push to play and be featured prominently. It would be the ultimate backdoor BS play to have Mbappe win it playing against a bunch of English bench players while Messi has to play against Spain’s defense. But these are the rules.
Your analogy just doesn’t work though. The ball isn’t in play continuously. There are so many more natural spots for breaks. Just admit you’re wrong and we will all move on.
It also gives an unfair advantage to the players on teams who advance while some great scorers get left behind when their team drops out. Just the way it is. IMO, it's a silly award in the first place.
I've rewatched that second goal by Argentina several times now. I love the crowd, the announcers and Messi not giving up on the play. I've gained a ton more respect for Messi this world cup ( I already respected the heck out of him) The things he can do for his team, even at this age, is amazing.
I don't think there's a real debate between Ronaldo and Messi. Mbappe is going to break Messi's scoring record in the World Cup but I still think Messi is an overall better player.
Someday....USA will have a player like this........someday.
I don't think there's a real debate between Ronaldo and Messi. Mbappe is going to break Messi's scoring record in the World Cup but I still think Messi is an overall better player.
Someday....USA will have a player like this........someday.
Who cares if he’s wrong? It’s an idiotic take not even worth responding to. Just ignore it and move on, imo.
This is exactly why I've come around during this WC on watching soccer. It's a significantly better sport to watch as a regular viewer. It just goes. Hockey is in a similar vein so long as it's not in intermission.
Football is absolutely ungodly terrible for commercials. Baseball is terrible for commercials. Basketball is borderline terrible for commercials. Hockey and soccer are not.
Probably (maybe even this year) but nothing is guaranteed. One way or another I doubt it is going to last long though. If they expand to 64 teams the record is going to go up fast. I bet it won't be uncommon for several people to get double digit goals every year.
Hockey is really the best - the speed of the game is unmatched.
20 minute intermissions are a great time to grab food/drink, hit the bathroom, check your phone. By the time that's over you are on to the next period.
And 4v4 or 3v3 overtime? Totally unsane. Its like removing 3 fielders from an extra inning baseball game.
Was a lot better before they added TV timeouts in the middle of periods. Not only is it annoying to the viewer, but it changed strategy and reduced the importance of 4th lines as your top 3 lines get more rest.
The Football Show podcast on Sirius was epic today. Tom Rennie was going full British fan meltdown.
Guess I'm a casual because I kind of lost interest after the U.S. was eliminated. Still caught parts of games, but up until then I was watching as much as I could. It really is a fast moving game. I'm obviously not a purist, so I didn't mind the hydration breaks. Could do without so much flopping. I mean, go ahead and go down to draw a free kick or whatever, but you don't need to act like you're dying...and then get right back up and keep playing.
One thing that was surprising to me is how quickly the games go. Like "holy crap, it's almost halftime". Not the endless stream of commercials that FB has. I'll be watching the next WC and if they expand further, I'm all for it.
One thing I loved about the group stage was knowing that the game would take 2 hours. Always.
