June 26th, 2018: final matches for Groups C and D. It's easy to see that all four teams in each group could still be in with a chance of qualifying. France and Argentina are the obvious favourites in each group, but it's not easy to pick a second placed team behind the French from amongst Denmark, Peru and Australia or who of Iceland, Croatia or Nigeria will join Argentina in the second round.
On June 26th it's France vs Denmark, Peru vs Australia, Nigeria vs Argentina and Iceland vs Croatia. Nigeria and Argentina played almost to the day (June 25th) four years ago and it was a pleasing on the eye 3-2 win for Argentina. Both teams moved on in Brazil. Iceland are going to have the hopes of many a nuetral fan behind them, hoping they make it as far as possible. There is usually a favourite underdog team at a World Cup, but not normally a European one. Costa Rica, Angola, Ivory Coast, New Zealand are a few that come to mind. The Europeans are too big and powerful to warrant support from the fans looking for a team to follow. What a continuation of an amazing story it will be if Iceland can make it to the last 16. And then in one-off knockout matches who knows what could happen.
Peru will be hoping for a better end to the group stages than at their last World Cup in 1982. That year the played Poland in the "group of draws" and by losing 5-1 they messed up the whole boring equilibrium of the group. If it had been a 1-1 or 0-0 draw all teams would have ended up with 3 points and the tie-breaker would have been even more interesting than what it was. Poland won the group. Italy and Cameroon both had three points and an equal goal difference (0). Italy finished second because they had scored one more goal than Cameroon.
There's an interesting aside to the story of that group in 1982. The standings posted on Fifa's website, in its record of that World Cup, have Cameroon in second place. Are Fifa trying to change history and deny that Italy went on to win that World Cup after scraping through by having drawn 1-1 with Peru, whereas Cameroon could only manage a 0-0 draw with the South Americans?
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