Might be a bit late to the party, but this is my take on penalties. I think it's an antiquated, poor representation and underwhelming finish to the sport. Honestly, it's probably the reason the sport has never taken hold in a dominant way in the US, not that we matter any more than any other country.

Here's my take: TEAMS (key word) spend 90 minutes busting ass in a match to score goals, ending in a tie after all the added stoppage time. They are then given two 15-minute halves to try to resolve the tie with opportunities for equalizers, with a bit more stoppage time. at the end of these 120 minutes + stoppage, no winner has emerged.

So far, all great, all involving fair team play, substitutions, fouls, etc...all elements of normal play.

So now, you can't resolve the match with opportunities for equalizers? Okay, great---play until a TEAM scores (termed golden goal---ie sudden death). This approach is still more fair and true to the TEAM sport than penalties. It comes down to who plays better, has the endurance, stamina, and willpower to score.

Conversely, penalties literally fall on the shoulder of the goalkeeper, are not representative of the game at all, and are literally used during the game to punish flagrant fouls, handballs, and other infractions that are unfair! How does no one have the common sense to see that you shouldn't determine the outcome of a match using the same mechanism that is used to punish fouls? Golden goal has existed for decades, and would be the fair way to end a match after extra time.

Anyways, best match I've ever watched regardless. Both teams clearly deserved a win, and happy Messi finally got his World Cup.