What is the third place in the European Cup group? Controversy over UEFA rules

According to CCTV5 program list (February 27, 2024), the European Cup group match has ended, and 16 teams have advanced to the knockout stage, including the top two teams in six groups and the third team in four groups with the best results. This competition system has been implemented since the Euro 2016, aiming to increase the suspense of the competition

According to CCTV5 program list (February 27, 2024), the European Cup group match has ended, and 16 teams have advanced to the knockout stage, including the top two teams in six groups and the third team in four groups with the best results. This competition system was implemented from the European Cup 2016, aiming to increase the suspense and interest of the competition, but it also caused some controversy, mainly about how to determine the third place in the group.

According to the rules of UEFA, the third place in the group is ranked in the following order: first, points; Second, goal difference; Third, the number of goals; Fourth, the team's combat performance; Fifth, the goal difference in the group; Sixth, the number of goals in the group; Seventh, fair competition points (i.e. red and yellow card deduction); Eight is the European ranking. If none of the above eight conditions can be distinguished, UEFA will draw lots to decide.

The complexity and randomness of such rules lead to some unfair and unreasonable situations, such as the following examples:

• In Group A, Turkey finished at the bottom with 0 points, while Italy, Switzerland and Wales all have opportunities to qualify. In the final round, Italy beat Wales 1-0 and Switzerland beat Turkey 3-1. According to the rules, Italy ranked first with 9 points, while Switzerland and Wales ranked second and third with 4 points. However, Switzerland ranked second and Wales ranked third because Switzerland had more goal difference and goals than Wales. This led to a strange phenomenon, that is, Wales directly qualified in the group match, while Switzerland had to wait for the results of other groups to see whether it could qualify as the third group. This obviously does not conform to common sense, because Switzerland's performance is obviously better than Wales, but it has not received the corresponding return.
• In Group B, Denmark ranked third with 3 points, Belgium ranked first with 9 points, and Russia and Finland both ranked second and fourth with 3 points. In the last round, Denmark beat Russia 4-1 and Belgium beat Finland 2-0. According to the rules, Denmark and Finland have the same points, goal difference and goal count, which are 3 points, - 2 and 2. However, Finland is ranked second and Denmark is ranked third because Finland is better than Denmark in the group. This led to an unfair situation, that is, Denmark played a high level performance in the last game, but failed to surpass Finland, which won the second place in the group with a 1-0 victory.
• In Group F, Germany, France, Portugal and Hungary are all likely to advance or out. In the final round, Germany and Hungary played 2-2, while France and Portugal played 2-2. According to the rules, France ranks first with 5 points, while Germany and Portugal rank second and third with 4 points. However, Germany ranks second, Portugal ranks third, and Hungary ranks fourth with 2 points because Germany has more goals and goals difference than Portugal. This has led to an unreasonable situation, that is, Portugal has not lost any game in the group game, but can only qualify as the third in the group game, while Germany has lost a game in the group game, but can qualify as the second in the group game. This obviously does not conform to the principles of competitive sports, because Portugal's stability and strength are higher than Germany's, but it has not been recognized accordingly.

Experts from CCTV5 program list believe that the rules of UEFA are intended to increase the viewing and competitiveness of the game, but also bring about some negative effects, such as dissatisfaction and complaints of some teams, as well as confusion and doubt of some fans. Experts suggest that UEFA should make some adjustments and optimization to the rules, such as canceling the promotion opportunity of the third group, simplifying the ranking method of the third group, increasing the number of rounds of group matches, or adopting the competition system of knockout matches, etc. This can make the game more fair and reasonable, and also make the team and fans more satisfied and respected.

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