The World Cup is held every four years, so the national team playoffs and qualification rounds may be completed. Furthermore, four years gives the host nation enough time to arrange the tournament's logistics and how to best handle an influx of millions of spectators.
The world cup is one of the most celebrated competitions in sports. Rivalled only by the Olympics. Both competitions provide a platform for nations to compete against each other and showcase some of the best talents from all corners of the globe.
Only 16 of the 32 teams competing in the 2022 World Cup will move on to the next stage of the competition. In each of the eight groups, the top two teams advance to Round 16.
The competition will then switch to a single-elimination format, with eight teams advancing to the quarterfinal round and four to the semi-final round. The semi-final match winners go to the championship game, while the losers compete for third place.
The World Cup group stages are already underway, which means that for the next two months, the sports-obsessed individuals in your life whether it be your father, spouse, or brothers or sisters will be largely unavailable on weekends for the foreseeable. If you're new to sports and don't know the difference between football and soccer don’t worry.
The beauty of the world cup is that it is perhaps one of the most inclusive sporting events that we have. Even if your home country were not fortunate to make it into the tournament, all you have to do is decide on a team and cheer them on in their games. And what if they get eliminated you might ask? Well.. choose another!
You will be shocked at the atmosphere that is on display at the games even in the group stages. Bear in mind that some countries have ambitions of only making it out of the groups. So you can bet that their games will be hard fought for.
In this article, I will look at the tournament group stages and give you an idea of how they operate.
Why do fans love the group stage?
While the knockout stages of any tournament are without question the pinnacle of any tournament and the preference of any football fan. There is certainly a lot to cheer for in the group stages, particularly in the world cup.
Given that many of the countries participating in the tournament will have fought long and hard just for a chance to participate in the tournament these group-stage matches can be electric.
You would be forgiven if you were to mistake one of these games for a semi-final or even a grand final match. At the same time, every team would of course love the chance to play in the final of the world cup and perhaps even win the competition in its entirety. This fantasy is often nothing more than that for a lot of clubs who will celebrate each game that they play.
Additionally, since this is the earliest stage of the tournament it is also exciting since all of the participating nations are still active. With each country remaining in the competition you can expect to see matchups that you would perhaps never get an opportunity to see anywhere else.
With an array of exhilarating pairings across the different groups, you are bound to see some spectacular football and with it a few upsets along the way!
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What we love about the groups
The World Cup group stages offer a fantastic opportunity to watch teams from almost every continent. This is without question the most exciting and competitive stage of the tournament with all participating teams still remaining.
In Qatar, a wide variety of teams are vying for the championship this year, including squads from England, France, Senegal, Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands, Argentina, and many more.
Almost every world cup we see a complete underdog escape from this preliminary stage of the competition.
They often have the backing of every nation that has been prematurely eliminated, making them a fan favourite in every game that comes up. Of course, provided that they aren’t paired up against your home country.
The stadium in Qatar is amazing and a fantastic location to witness the top teams go head-to-head. Now that the group stages are over, we can focus exclusively on the tournament's marquee matches. Every player hopes to score a goal in the quarterfinal of the World Cup, and maybe even more!
We will now begin to see the games between the stronger teams who remain in the tournament. There are a number of strong contenders that remain such as France, England, Brazil, Argentina and Portugal.
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Deciding the tie-breakers for the group stages
The group stages are quite straightforward, each team will receive three pints for a win, one for a draw and one thing for a loss. But what happens if things are tied up when this stage comes to an end?
Given that there aren’t a lot of games played within the group stages, determining who makes it out of the group stages is often decided by making it out. FIFA will use the following tiebreakers to determine which nations progress if two or more teams finish the group stage with an equal amount of points.
They use other metrics in the group table other than the points that the respective teams have managed to accumulate through their games.
Provided these pints are identical at the end of the group stage, the goal differential will be considered.
This is where the teams are ranked according to their goal differential, which is calculated as the sum of their goals scored minus their goals allowed. This is a fair measure that gives value to the strength of the team’s performance, which is often overlooked in football.
If your home country narrowly lost to a questionable goal in the final minute of extra time, this certainly isn’t the same thing as being annihilated by seven goals from one of the weakest sides in the tournament. So using this metric to decide what teams advance in the event of a tiebreak can’t be questioned.
We don’t solely rely on the goal differential, but also on the number of goals that the team scored. The team with the higher total of goals will be ranked higher than the team with the lower total if two or more teams have an equal number of points and a goal disparity.
FIFA moves on to the second round of tiebreakers if two or more teams are still "tied" after applying these tie-breakers:
The highest total of points scored by the teams involved in group games, the best squad conduct score which is based on how many yellow and red cards a team has received results from the group matches between the teams in question.
The most number of goals scored in all matches between the teams in question. The team whose score for team conduct is highest will be ranked higher.
Hopefully, if you do have the misfortune of experiencing this process at the end of the World cup group stages, your home nation comes out on the best side of it and advances to the next round of the tournament!
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Superprof football coaches can help your game
If you feel inspired by the world cup to take up the sport as a hobby or even dust off the old boots and give your career another shot, then Superprof has the coaches to help you to develop your skills.
A football coach can have a big impact on your progression, not only can they coach you through your training session but they will also be able to tailor your training sessions to target areas of weakness that are specific to you.
The advantages you'll experience, include improved sleep and feelings of vigour, health, and happiness. Not to mention improved football and some fancy skill moves.
Finding the ideal football coach for your needs might be challenging. Some of us may need a lot more help than others getting all the other aspects, like sleep and diet, in place because we haven't all previously committed months or years to our training.
With Superprof, this difficult decision is made a whole lot simpler. The platform gives athletes of all skill levels the chance to tailor their search to suit their unique demands, making it especially simple for them.
It's quite convenient to have a place where you can see all of the football coaches that are currently listing their services in your neighbourhood. Not to mention that you may narrow down your choices based on factors like cost, experience level, and location.
Who knows, by the time the next world cup rolls around you could be a whole new player! Learn more about the world cup 2022 while it’s still being played.
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