Why games of the last round kick off simultaneously in FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup 2022:  If you’ve been paying close attention to the FIFA world cup 2022 Qatar, you’ll already be aware that there won’t be any 3:30 pm kickoffs after Tuesday, November 29.

Instead, the first two games of the day, which will both involve teams from the same group, will begin at 8:30 PM.

The following two, which will also involve teams from the same group, will begin at 12:30 AM.

Tuesday’s matches include Ecuador vs. Senegal and Netherlands vs. Qatar at 8:30 p.m., Iran vs. USA at 12:30 a.m., and Wales vs. England on early Wednesday morning.

fifa world cup

FIFA has a policy that states that the final two games of each group—or, to put it another way, the final round of games across all eight groups—begin in this manner.

However, have you ever questioned why this occurs?

We must go all the way back to the 1978 World Cup in Spain to find the answer to that question, namely to a game between West Germany and Austria that came to be known as “The disgrace of Gijon.”

fifa world cup
Photo Credit: History Of Soccer

On June 25, 1982, the two sides squared off in the El Molinon stadium in Gijon, Spain.

It was Group 2’s final game.

The previous day, Algeria and Chile, the other two teams in the group, played their final game.

Algeria was making its World Cup debut and was playing some excellent football.

After shocking the West Germans in their opening match, they managed to defeat Chile after losing to Austria.

With 4 points, the Algerians trailed Austria for second place.

Accordingly, if Austria won or even drew in their match against West Germany, Algeria would advance to the next round.

Algeria would also qualify if West Germany defeated Algeria by three goals or more.

The third scenario, which was as crucial, stated that if West Germany won by one or two goals.

The Germans and Austrians would advance over Algeria on the basis of goal differential.

And that’s exactly how it went down on the field between the two squads.

The Germans and the Austrians conspired to play the game such that Germany would win 1-0.

Making it one of the most astonishing sights ever to be seen on a football field at a World Cup.

Horst Hrubesch, a former center striker who is now the coach of Hamburger SV and known as “The Header Beast” for his ability to head the ball, gave the Germans the lead in the 12th minute.

fifa world cup However, both teams started passing the ball around aimlessly in their own halves after this goal.

No overt acts of aggression were seen.

Frequently, the goalkeeper received the kickback of the ball.

With the exception of a few individuals who had some intent, the game quickly turned into a farce.

West Germany, Austria, and Algeria all finished with 4 points after the game.

And on the basis of goal differential, the Germans and Austrians advanced to the next round.

The game ended with a 1-0 victory for the Germans. West Germany’s GD was +3, Austria’s was +2, and Algeria’s was 0.

fifa world cup The fans in the stadium and the pundits were both disgusted by what they saw.

The match report was published in the crime section of the local daily El Comercio.

Some sources claim that Austria’s national broadcasters instructed viewers to turn off their televisions.

 The encounter became one of the most infamous football matches ever played and is today known as “The shame of Gijon”.

Despite what seemed to be an on-the-spot decision by the sides to play in this manner and not truly pre-match rigging.

Naturally, the Algerian Federation objected to this, but since no laws were breached, neither FIFA nor any other organization could penalize anyone.

However, FIFA changed their World Cup match schedule as a result, ensuring that all group matches in the 1986 tournament would start at the same time.

This was done to prevent any team from pre-planning their results based on prior results, maintaining the integrity of the games and the tournament as a whole.

It helps to keep the playing field level for all teams, making sure that no team suffers an unfair disadvantage.

fifa world cup

In the 1982 competition, West Germany advanced to the grand finals but fell to winners Italy.

After losing 0-1 to France and drawing 2-2 with Northern Ireland in the second round (which was contested before the knockouts, which started with the semi-finals)

Austria was eliminated.

Another benefit of simultaneous kickoffs for the final two games in a group is that it prevents match-fixing of any kind, driven by bets on a team or teams, from being constructed in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar.

Read More: Vrat List 2023, when will Putrada Ekadashi, Jitiya, and Chhath Vrat, know the date

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