gusl: (Default)
The first stage of the World Cup Finals consists of a number of groups of 4 who all play each other. The top two teams of each group qualify for the next round. A win is worth 3 pts, a draw 1pt.

9 pts, i.e. 3-0-0: 1st place guaranteed
7 pts, i.e. 2-1-0: 1st place not guaranteed but likely; qualification guaranteed
6 pts, i.e. 2-0-1: anything can happen, but qualification is very likely (not guaranteed: in case the 3 top teams all lose 1 game and win 2, one of them has to stay out. example)
5 pts, i.e. 1-2-0: anything can happen (in case the top 3 teams all draw with each other, 1 has to stay out)
4 pts, i.e. 1-1-1: anything can happen, e.g. all teams could end up with 4 points. example
3 pts, i.e. 1-0-2, 0-3-0: 1st place impossible, qualification is unlikely but possible (in the 0-3-0 situation, 1 non-draw between other teams makes first place impossible; 2 non-draws between other teams makes qualification impossible) The 1-0-2 situation is symmetrical to the 2-0-1 above.
2 pts, i.e. 0-2-1: 1st place impossible, qualification is very unlikely but possible (in case the 3 bottom teams all draw with each other, 1 must still rise)
1 pt or less: qualification is impossible

(Back when they had 24 teams, 4 out of 6 3rd-places would make it to the playoffs)

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soccer

Jul. 9th, 2006 06:31 pm
gusl: (Default)
Whoa... Zidane. What the heck did Materazzi say to him to make him lose his head like that? He probably lost his Best Player award right there, not to mention his image. It's been entertaining to watch Zidane's Wikipedia article as it got vandalized. (btw, is there no automatic way to see who introduced a certain word or sentence on Wikipedia?) (btw2: check out his "roulette" move)

Except for a few moments, the final was ugly to watch, not unlike most of the Cup. While I was rooting for Italy for playing bravely (especially against Germany), I don't think anyone was worthy of winning the Cup... maybe Argentina, but they were out early. Portugal were a joy to watch, but they're just not worthy of the title. Brazil completely deserved their fate.

via MR, two very good links about why soccer is boring:
Is Soccer Boring to Watch?
Why I Believe I Find Watching Ice Hockey and Soccer (and Some Other Sports) Boring

I don't think the game is inherently boring (I love playing it), but I unfortunately have to agree about the current state of the professional game, as defined by FIFA. It has become a very defensive game, which discourages playing forward, and rewards fast running more than fast thinking. If the cartolas were less dogmatic, they would do something about it, but no, "that would be a different game", they say.

The game is also plagued by bad refereeing (penalties, offsides, fouls) and yet FIFA is reluctant to accept new technologies for solving this problem.
gusl: (Default)
Dear Americans,

Just out of curiosity, how many of you are following your team during the World Cup?

Any Pittsburghers planning to watch the final on 9 July?

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