The Reason why All Final World Cup Group Games are Played at the Same time

They say that there is a reason for everything. But do you know know the reason why all final group games in FIFA competitions are played at the same time? I bet you’re saying it is match fixing and you are right. But how did it come about?

It started in the 1982 world cup in a match between Austria and West Germany. Knowing that a 1-0 win for the Germans would send both sides through to the second phase, the two teams played out a tedious 80 minutes after Horst Hrubesch’s early goal, passing the ball gently around midfield in a manner that would have embarrassed the most slack training session.

The Austrian TV commentator was so disgusted that he refused to speak for the last 30 minutes, and his German counterpart called the collusion “disgraceful and has nothing to do with football.”

The result meant that Algeria was cheated out of a chance to progress in the competition but the upside for Algeria is that this was the game that forced FIFA to change the rules, and that is no mean feat.

Algeria’s Lakhdar Belloumi told the Guardian a few years ago: “Our performances forced FIFA to make that change, and that was even better than a victory,” referencing the change that meant all final group games would henceforth be played at the same time. “It meant that Algeria left an indelible mark on football history.”

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