Away goals rule in effect for USA U-23's Olympic playoff vs. Colombia

If the United States under-23's take their Olympic playoff against Colombia to extra time next Tuesday they'll be at a disadvantage. Not only will the away goals rule be in effect for the all-important two-legged home-and-home series, but if it's deadlocked after 180 minutes of regulation, away goals will count in extra time as well, according to MLSSoccer.com.

This is bad news for the Americans considering they'll be hosting the second leg and possible extra time and will be at risk of losing to this asinine rule.

There's nothing wrong with the away goals rule. Personally, I think it's a good idea and adds a strategical element to two-legged playoffs. However, once both teams have had their equal share of 90 minutes to score, it only makes sense to drop the rule once the match heads to extra time so that the goals become of equal value. It makes zero sense to penalize a team for being at home when the playing field is clearly level. MLS has implemented the away goals rule into their playoff format, but have dropped the rule once extra time approaches. This is how it should be worldwide.

Hopefully the USA take care of business in regulation time and avoid getting victimized by this awful rule.