As we get to the business end of the World Cup group stage in Qatar, stipulations emerge for each respective nation and what they need to do to reach the Round of 16.
The final round of Group Stage fixtures will begin on Tuesday as the battle continues to be crowned champions of the world on December 18. Brazil, France and Spain have established themselves as the early contenders for success, whilst 2014 champions Germany kept their hopes alive as they salvaged a draw against Luis Enrique's side.
It is well-known that the top two nations from each of the eight groups advance to the next stage of the competition. However, as there have been some shock results, the possibility remains that some groups may require a tiebreaker should teams, including England and Wales, finish equal on points.
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Straight from FIFA’s rule book, these are the criteria, in order of importance, that will decide qualification for the Round of 16…
Group points
The most simple method of deciding things. If the first and second-placed nations have more points than those in third and fourth come full-time of matchday three, they will look forward to the next round.
Goal difference
Now, as teams begin to finish with the same points records in the standings, other stipulations must be called upon.
As is the case in the Premier League or the Championship for example, goal difference then has the next say. Subtract the number of goals conceded from the number of goals scored, and the country with the better record will place higher in the group.
Goals scored
If teams finish on equal points and goal difference then goals scored will be the deciding factor. The team who has scored the most goals across all three group games stays in the competition.
Head-to-head record
With the surprise results that have happened in the group stage, the head-to-head record could cause heartache or jubilation for a country as their World Cup hopes hang in the balance.
Here is a rundown of how it is decided.
If two teams finish identical - Whoever came out on top in the group game between the two is given the spot in the Round of 16.
If three teams finish identical - Matches between the three contenders can’t be used to decide at this point. Instead, results of all three against the fourth team from the group will have to be discounted from the final standings, and the three-team group that is created is decided in descending order again going through points, goal difference and goals scored.
UEFA have started to implement similar measures in recent seasons in place of goal difference in their elite club competitions.
If four teams finish identical - Head-to-head records will not work in this unlikely scenario, so must find another way to be settled.
Fair play record
If teams still cannot be separated by any of the previous four methods, fair play records are then considered. This has only ever happened once before, at the 2018 World Cup when Japan made it out of Group H at the expense of Senegal.
It is worked out as follows:
Yellow card - minus one point
Indirect red card - minus 3 points
Direct red card - minus 4 points
Yellow card and direct red card - minus 5 points
Starting from the finishing points tally of the tied nations, the team left with the highest total is awarded the place in the next stage of the competition.
Draw a name from a hat
A draw is made by a member of the World Cup organising committee from a neutral country, and the lucky winner goes through.
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