Quote Originally Posted by Phantom Warrior View Post
I'm not talking only about the "injuries" - real or faked. I'm talking about the number of times a player ends up on the ground and the flow of play is stopped - period. Count the number of fouls - regardless of where they occur on the field. Yes, I'll wager the number is close to 50 on average in a 90-minute game. Each one leads to a stoppage of play - some fairly short, some a good deal longer (especially if they involve a yellow card).

As far as other sports, I feel the same way about an NFL game that has 30+ penalties or an NCAA or NBA basketball game that has 50+ fouls. I don't enjoy watching any of those because of all the stoppages of play. Now, an NFL football game with 10-15 penalties, or an NCAA or NBA basketball game with 25-30 fouls - those I can usually enjoy.
I'll wager the number is way lower. Just using the US games, 22 total fouls in the Ghana match, 25 in the Portugal match, and 24 in the Germany match. That's 71 fouls in over 270 minutes. Not all of those fouls result in a delay. Compared to the other major sports, there are far fewer stoppages in soccer than basketball, football, hockey, or baseball.