Soccer is Weird
There's a Euro Cup group finals today, and it's got a great chance for some weirdness due to scoring and advancement in the tournament. For those not in the know, a quick summary:
Italy, Spain, Croatia, and Ireland are in Group C. They play one another one game each. You receive three points for a victory, one point for a draw (there is no overtime), and zero points for a loss. The top two teams advance to the single-elimination bracket part of the tournament when it's all over.
Today, Italy plays Ireland at the same exact time that Spain plays Croatia. Italy has two draws, while Spain and Croatia have both beaten Ireland. Thus, the situation is as follows:Ireland is out.
If Italy loses OR draws today, Spain and Croatia advance.
If Italy wins and either Spain or Croatia win, the two winners advance.
If Italy wins and Spain and Croatia draw:
0-0, Italy advances based on total goals in the matches excluding Ireland and Spain advances over Croatia due to larger goal differential in all group matches.
2-2 or greater, Spain and Croatia advance based on total goals in matches excluding Ireland.
1-1, Spain advances based on goal differential in the group, and the Italy will have to beat Ireland by +2 goals AND score more than 4 total goals to guarantee advance over Croatia. If they beat Ireland 3-1, then I think that the Italians advance by virtue of having a higher "UEFA national team coefficient", which is basically their rank due to qualifying matches. Or something.
The best part of all this confusion is that it's not even CLOSE to the weirdest thing ever to happen in tournament soccer. That, in my opinion, happened in 1994 in a Carribean tournament. (Here is a link to the story about it at Snopes, just so you know I'm not shitting you.) The group stage was set up such that they did not have draws in the matches; rather, if you won in overtime, it was considered to be a 2-0 victory. This was designed to prevent ties and make advancement easier and less confusing. Of course, it backfired completely.
Barbados and Grenada played one another for the right to advance. In order to advance, Barbados had to win by two goals or more. A victory margin of just one goal meant that Grenada would advance instead. Barbados went up 2-0, but near the end of the match, Grenada scored and closed the gap to 2-1. Barbados figured that they would not be able to score again before the match ended, so they kicked an own-goal to tie the match -- since, of course, if they won in overtime it would constitute a two-goal victory and thus advance them in the tournament.
Grenada, of course, then proceeded to try to score before overtime. In either goal. After all, if they lost by one, they advanced. So Barbados was left to defend both goals simultaneously.
Barbados held on to preserve the tie and won in overtime, and thus advanced.
Soccer is weird, but I still love it.
Italy, Spain, Croatia, and Ireland are in Group C. They play one another one game each. You receive three points for a victory, one point for a draw (there is no overtime), and zero points for a loss. The top two teams advance to the single-elimination bracket part of the tournament when it's all over.
Today, Italy plays Ireland at the same exact time that Spain plays Croatia. Italy has two draws, while Spain and Croatia have both beaten Ireland. Thus, the situation is as follows:Ireland is out.
If Italy loses OR draws today, Spain and Croatia advance.
If Italy wins and either Spain or Croatia win, the two winners advance.
If Italy wins and Spain and Croatia draw:
0-0, Italy advances based on total goals in the matches excluding Ireland and Spain advances over Croatia due to larger goal differential in all group matches.
2-2 or greater, Spain and Croatia advance based on total goals in matches excluding Ireland.
1-1, Spain advances based on goal differential in the group, and the Italy will have to beat Ireland by +2 goals AND score more than 4 total goals to guarantee advance over Croatia. If they beat Ireland 3-1, then I think that the Italians advance by virtue of having a higher "UEFA national team coefficient", which is basically their rank due to qualifying matches. Or something.
The best part of all this confusion is that it's not even CLOSE to the weirdest thing ever to happen in tournament soccer. That, in my opinion, happened in 1994 in a Carribean tournament. (Here is a link to the story about it at Snopes, just so you know I'm not shitting you.) The group stage was set up such that they did not have draws in the matches; rather, if you won in overtime, it was considered to be a 2-0 victory. This was designed to prevent ties and make advancement easier and less confusing. Of course, it backfired completely.
Barbados and Grenada played one another for the right to advance. In order to advance, Barbados had to win by two goals or more. A victory margin of just one goal meant that Grenada would advance instead. Barbados went up 2-0, but near the end of the match, Grenada scored and closed the gap to 2-1. Barbados figured that they would not be able to score again before the match ended, so they kicked an own-goal to tie the match -- since, of course, if they won in overtime it would constitute a two-goal victory and thus advance them in the tournament.
Grenada, of course, then proceeded to try to score before overtime. In either goal. After all, if they lost by one, they advanced. So Barbados was left to defend both goals simultaneously.
Barbados held on to preserve the tie and won in overtime, and thus advanced.
Soccer is weird, but I still love it.