EXPLAINED: Why last-round matches are happening at the same time in World Cup

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Published : Nov 29, 2022, 6:34 PM IST

Updated : Nov 29, 2022, 8:07 PM IST

EXPLAINED: Why last-round matches are happening at the same time in World Cup

From November 29, the timings have changed with the teams of the same group having simultaneous kick-offs at 8.30 pm and 12.30 am.

Hyderabad: Up until now, the matches were sporadic, happening at different timings with the starting group match played at 3.30 while the rest of the group games followed. From November 29, however, the timings have changed with the teams of the same group having simultaneous kick-offs at 8.30 pm and 12.30 am respectively.

What has happened so far?

16 teams will make it to the knockout round. Canada and hosts Qatar are all but out of the tournament after losing in their first two games. Favourites Brazil, defending champions France and Portugal have reached the last 16 after registering wins in their first two games of their groups.

Reasons behind matches between teams of the same group happening simultaneously

To comprehend the idea behind the teams of the same group playing at the same time (8:30 PM and 12:30 PM), we will have to turn the pages of the history of FIFA World Cup matches, one that was played between Germany and Austria and later branded as 'The disgrace of Gijon'. In 1982 World Cup, held in Spain, the match in focus was between Germany and Austria that took place at the El Molinon stadium in Gijon on June 25.

Read: FIFA World Cup: All you need to know so far

The African country -- Algeria -- had defeated West Germany 2-1 marking a win over European country for the first time in the tournament's history. Algeria lost its second match to Austria 0-2 but ended the group stage with a 3-2 win over Chile. They had two wins in 3 matches, and it was a memorable performance by any African country in the world back then. Alegria and Austria were sitting at the top 2. The Algerian win, however, came before the Germany and Austria match.

Following were the permutations and combinations ahead of Germany, Austria clash:

The qualification boiled down to the outcome of the Germany and Austria match. Algeria's fate not only was dependent on the outcome but the goal difference between the two sides -- West Germany and Austria.

If West Germany had won the match by one or two goals against Austria, the two teams would have qualified for the next round. A bigger difference of four goals, meant Germany and Algeria qualifying to the next stage. West Germany's 3 goal win would have sent Austria and Algeria to a tiebreaker. From Austria's perspective, a win over Germany would have meant Algeria and Austria's qualification as they were in the top 2 of the table.

During the match, the West Germany team scored their first goal in the first 10 minutes against Austria and it seemed both the teams played out the remaining game knowing they had qualified. The Germany won the match 1-0 and both the teams qualified and Algeria was ousted. Both the Europeans teams made it to the next round while the sole African team was out. The teams were later accused of collusion by the Algerian Federation but FIFA saw no wrongdoing logically.

The outcome:

The purpose of simultaneous kick-offs in the last two games was to ensure that no fixing occurs as FIFA ratified the format after the match.

Last Updated :Nov 29, 2022, 8:07 PM IST
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