Male and female FIFA World Cup the tournaments are among the most prestigious sporting tournaments in the world, attracting more than a billion fans every four years. Each edition begins with the group stage – several round-robin style tournaments. In each group, four teams face each other to see which teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Only two teams can advance to the knockout round after six group games. Not only the first two places matter, but also the order. The second ranked teams face the first ranked teams from other groups.
That’s where tiebreakers come into play. Check out the official list and order below.
How do tiebreakers work in the World Cup group stages?
Here’s a breakdown of the tiebreakers that determine who advances to the World Cup knockout rounds:
- Group points
- Group goal difference
- Group goals scored
- Face to face memory
- Clean play record
- Lottery draw
Group points
To begin with, teams are placed in order of total points from their three group stage matches. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for a loss.
Group goal difference
The next factor in group stage tiebreakers is group goal difference. This is the number of total goals minus the number of goals conceded.
Group goals scored
If the group’s goal difference is equal, the number of goals conceded is no longer factored into the equation and FIFA only looks at the total number of goals scored.
Face to face memory
If two or more teams in the same group are tied on points, goal difference and goals scored, they will be ranked against each other.
If two teams are tied, see the results of a group match. If a team wins, it is ranked higher. If not, we move on to the fair play record.
If there are three teams tied, rank the teams based on the following factors:
- points
- goal difference
- goals scored
Clean play record
The clean sheet record, introduced in 2014, scores teams based on penalty cards. Their values are the following:
- Yellow card: -1 point
- Indirect red card*: -3 points
- Direct red card: -4 points
- Direct yellow and red card: -5 points
* An indirect red card is a player who receives two yellow cards in one match
The team with the highest score according to this point system is ranked higher.
The clean sheet has only been used once in the 2018 World Cup. In this scenario, Japan and Senegal were tied on 4 points, a goal difference of nil and 4 goals scored each. Japan advanced to the knockout stage with -4 net play points, while Senegal had -6.
Lottery draw
At this point, we’ve pretty much given up on trying to separate the two teams and the draw is used to determine who moves on.
How it works? Basically, an unbiased member of the World Cup organizing committee makes a random draw. This member is not from one of the countries in question. The draw is public and two balls are placed in a pot. The first team drawn will be ranked higher.
This was actually used in the Men’s World Cup in 1990. The Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland had qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament, but a draw was needed to determine their place in the group and pool.
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