And so it comes down to the final group games. Who goes through to the last 16 and who goes home?
Makes for very interesting viewing now in some groups. Today's first... Well last games are France V South Africa and Mexico V Uruguay in Group A both kicking off at 3pm with the evening matches from Group B consisting of Greece V Argentina and Nigeria V South Korea.
France have an absolute mountain to climb in order to qualify but it's completely out of their hands and are relying on Uruguay or Mexico to win the game. A draw is no good for the French who are in absolute turmoil.
This is where it gets a bit confusing regarding Group A but bear with me.
If Uruguay beat Mexico then France will have to beat South Africa by 5 goals provided that Mexico don't score, should they lose. If this happens then France will go through ahead of Mexico.
If Mexico beat Uruguay then France will have to beat South Africa by 6 goals provided that Uruguay don't score, should they lose. If this happens then Mexico and France will go through.
South Africa can still qualify and they need either Uruguay and Mexico to win that game for them to have any chance to qualify.
If Uruguay beat Mexico then South Africa will have to beat France by 6 goals provided that Mexico don't score, should they lose. If this happens then Uruguay and South Africa will go through.
If Mexico beat Uruguay then South Africa will have to beat France by 7 goals provided that Uruguay don't score, should they lose. If this happens then Mexico and South Africa will go through.
Confused yet? Well don't worry this next one is simple enough... I promise.
If Uruguay and Mexico should draw then it doesn't matter what France or South Africa do as both Mexico and Uruguay will go through.
Group B doesn't get much easier really but let's soldier on.
All four teams can still qualify and the fixtures this evening are South Korea V Nigeria and Argentina V Greece.
As the table stands:
Argentina - 6 points
South Korea - 3 points
Greece - 3 points
Nigeria - 0 points.
Again this group may go down to goal difference and some teams have to rely on other results.
Argentina are as good as through on 6 points but just need one point to confirm that.
South Korea could pip Argentina to the post if Greece beat Argentina and South Korea can beat Nigeria by 5 goals provided that Argentina don't score, should they lose.
South Korea only need a point to ensure qualification from Group B and a draw will see them through so long as Argentina beat Greece.
Greece can qualify ahead of South Korea if they can beat Argentina. Both teams have the same number of points and have the same goal difference so if both teams should draw in their respective games goal difference could play a big part in deciding who goes through. It gets very confusing from there so I'll just leave it at that.
Nigeria can go through but they need to beat South Korea and hope that Argentina can beat Greece. But it doesn't end there for Nigeria. They have to beat South Korea by 2 goals and hope that Greece don't score against Argentina.
It's an interesting day of football ahead but I'd fully expect Uruguay and Mexico to go through today from Group A. It's hard to know who will top the group but I'm sure both teams will be hoping that they don't draw Argentina in the first round of the knockout stage.
As for Group B I expect Argentina to top the group and I have a sneaky suspicion that Nigeria could do it. Nigeria will play with their heart on their sleeve today for all their fans so should be a thrilling affair when those two teams meet.
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