As the last date of the World Cup group stage begins on Monday, only two of the eight keys have been defined. And even in that pair of groups it might be necessary to apply tiebreaker criteria to define which selection ends first and second.
Here are the criteria that FIFA applies in this World Cup to tie two teams that end with the same points in a group.
1.- The biggest difference of goals.
2.- The highest number of goals scored.
3.- The points obtained in the match between the two teams that are tied.
4.- If there are more than two teams tied, the best difference of goals in the matches in which they were involved is taken into account.
5.- The highest number of goals scored among all the teams that are equal in points.
6.- The lowest number of points discounted in a separate table, which is based on the yellow and red cards received by the players of each team in all the matches of the group stage. One point is deducted for each yellow card, three for a red one as a result of a second yellow, four for a direct red and five for a direct red for a player who had already won a yellow.
7.- Draw.
The only time FIFA had to draw a draw to break a draw in a World Cup group was in Italy in 1990. Ireland and the Netherlands had tied for second place in their group. The Dutch finished third after the draw, but both teams had a ticket in the round of 16. At that time, with a format of 24 teams participating in the World Cup, some of the best third places were classified.
