Former AC Milan and Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said on Wednesday the implementation of the five-substitute rule has “changed the game”, leading to higher-quality matches at the World Cup.
Speaking in Doha as part of FIFA’s technical study group which analyses tactics and trends at the World Cup, Zaccheroni said the change was “a brilliant way to avoid tiredness”.
“(Now) we manage to have higher quality up until the end. Many goals were seen at the end of games, now it is more difficult,” he said.
“Now we see games which are good up until the last minute.”
The International Football Association Board passed a temporary exemption in May 2020 to allow domestic leagues to expand the maximum amount of substitutions from three to five, to help player welfare during the Covid pandemic.
The rules were made permanent in July 2022 and implemented for the first time at a World Cup in Qatar.
Zaccheroni — who won the Scudetto in his first season in charge of Milan and…
Source: Guardian Newspaper