#17: The “Golden Goal”
The golden goal rule was used at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups: score in extra time, and the match ended immediately. FIFA records four men’s World Cup golden goals, beginning with Laurent Blanc for France against Paraguay in 1998. The idea was supposed to encourage attacking soccer. Instead, it often made teams terrified of making one fatal mistake. The rule vanished, but the phrase still sounds wonderfully dramatic, like soccer invented sudden death with better branding.
