Sunday, June 22, 2014

Oh my God! Group F 2nd place winner could be decide via a coin toss!

**Nigeria and Iran could finish with identical group stage records **Argentina must beat Nigeria 1-0 and Iran must beat Bosnia 1-0 for it to occur **FIFA will flip a coin or draw one team out of a hat to decide who reaches the last 16 if the two teams finish level on points, goal difference, goals scored and head-to-head **Argentina have already qualified for the knockout stage World Cup Group F could be decided by picking names out of a hat or a coin toss – if Iran and Nigeria finish level behind Argentina. Ahead of the final round of group stage games, 1-0 wins for Argentina against Nigeria and for Iran against Bosnia would leave the two teams level in every variant that FIFA consider before ‘drawing lots’. No team has ever been eliminated from a World Cup by the drawing of lots but if results go the right way either Nigeria or Iran could consider themselves the tournament’s unluckiest side. FIFA judge the placing in each group firstly by points, then goal difference, number of goals scored and finally the teams’ head-to-head records. In this scenario, with four points each, zero goal difference and just one goal each – Nigeria and Iran’s bore 0-0 draw earlier in the tournament would leave their fate to be decided by who the organising committee pick out. Lots have only been drawn once in tournament history – at Italia ’90. There, they were used to separate second and third place in a group when three teams went through. Republic of Ireland beat Holland to second place but both advanced to the next stage. Argentina have already qualified from Group F, while Bosnia were eliminated after losing 1-0 to Nigeria on Saturday.

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