Fun mathematical analysis. One small detail: the two teams with DDD would certainly each have the same goal differential, but before we get to drawing lots we look at number of goals scored…which might not be the same. (Also, there’s the “fair play” consideration before the lots, so number of yellow and red cards might vary as well.)
But you’re right that it’s hard to get into the next round with three ties. Which leads to my favorite soccer trivia question (okay, I don’t know very many soccer trivia questions, but I like it anyway):
What was the only undefeated team that participated in the 2010 World Cup?
Read here about a bizarre game between Barbados and Grenada trying to qualify for the 1994 Caribbean Cup. In a nutshell, Barbados would advance if they won by two goals, or in overtime. If not, Grenada would advance. With three minutes left, Barbados was ahead by one goal, but that wasn’t good enough. They deliberately scored an own goal to tie the score, hoping to win in overtime. That left three minutes for Grenada to score in either goal to advance.
This is not the fallback. The next World Cup, in 2022, will be in Qatar.
If you had a group where one team won all their games, and the other games were all draws, then the teams’ points would be 9, 2, 2, 2, so a team with 2 points would go through.
With DKW’s epic rant, I am curious; what is the view of most South Koreans towards the 2002 officiating accusations? Do they acknowledge it, deny it, or “both sides did it?”
New Zealand in Group F Their three draws weren’t enough to advance, but they did finish one point ahead of defending champions Italy. Spain lost their first game against Switzerland.
I’m not sure what the Russian strategy was on the free kick. The left side of their wall pulled and blocked an Uruguayan as if they were playing American football leaving the right side of the goalface wide open. Easy goal for Jaws Suarez.
There are a few other tales of utter chicanery and weirdness in soccer history. About them, I feel conflicted: on the one hand, they are abhorrent, the opposite of sportsmanlike; they go 100% against the spirit of the game and they leave a very bad “aftertaste”. On the other, sometimes you cannot help but grudgingly admire the cheekiness of the parties involved. Some of the other stories:
That last incident led to changes in the scheduling of World Cup games from then on: the last games of each group are now played at the same time to diminish the chances of chicanery knowing what you would need to go through.
However, in this World Cup I am seeing potential echoes of that last one… Right know, in Group C, France and Denmark have a guaranteed pass to the round of 16 if they tie the game. Denmark would NOT pass if they lose to France and Australia wins against Peru with enough of a goal difference to put them ahead of Denmark. I think that the temptation to “reach an agreement” and tie the game (thus guaranteeing both teams to pass to the next round, France first in its group and Denmark second) is going to be overwhelming…
Russia really are a reflection of Putin: thuggish and bullying the little guys. They have shown almost nothing in this match. And what in gods name was their defender thinking about with the tackle that led to his second yellow? What could have been an interesting match is a one-sided briefest.
Their only glimmer of hope is that they have been a lot better in the second half. It will be hard for them down to 10 but if they score first the crowd gets back into it and then anything is possible.
Nope. That was one of the two or three worst performances in this World Cup and they can’t blame their talent level. Sadly we have to watch Russia again.
Russia plays the winners of Group B, not the runner-up. Iran can theoretically win Group B, but they not only need to beat Portugal, but for Morocco to win or draw against Spain. Seems a rather unlikely combination.
I just watched the highlights of the completely irrelevant Egypt vs Saudia Arabia game and it looks like it was quite exciting. Egypt goes up first on a beautiful chip-over-the-keeper by Sallah, who then flubs a wide open 1v1 later on. Then Saudi Arabia gets a penalty and the keeper makes an amazing save. Then SA gets another penalty and ties it up, 1-1. And finally, SA gets a winner 4 minutes into stoppage time, and heads home with their heads held somewhat high.
We DO have biennial World Cups. The 2020 Cup will be called the European Championship.
Seriously, that would screw with a very enjoyable cycle, where in the off even years, we get the joy of watching Europe battle it out. The main problem is that CAF, AFC and CONCACAF have never managed to get THEIR championships to matter that much to people outside their continents, so our off-year excitement ends up limited to the Euros and the Copa América.
For the Gold Cup to matter you’d probably need at least 3 teams as good as the mid-level, but not favorite Euro teams. That, or a significant proportion of the teams in the region to have at least one or two players be standouts for Champions League qualifying clubs. I think we’re at least a couple decades away from that in the US.
My wish would be to have a combined Americas tournament be a regular thing. Then a 4-year cycle would be: 1-Gold Cup, 2-Copa Americas, 3-Confederations Cup, 4-World Cup.
