Lions may draw short straw and finish in second
ENGLAND and Belgium will meet on Thursday with top spot in World Cup Group G on the line.
The Three Lions’ 6-1 success over Panama on Sunday means they, like Roberto Martinez’s Belgians, have qualified for the last 16 having collected a maximum six points so far.
The final group game in Kaliningrad will therefore determine who finishes first in the group and meets the runners-up of Group H – which contains Senegal, Poland, Colombia and Japan.
However, should there be a draw between England and Belgium, the picture gets murkier.
Here, M.E.N. Sport looks at FIFA’s tie-break scenarios for ranking in the groups if teams finish level on points.
GOAL DIFFERENCE IN ALL GROUP MATCHES
England and Belgium each have a goal difference of +6 after their two fixtures with Tunisia and Panama. That will obviously not change if the two European nations draw so cannot be used as a tie-breaker.
GOALS SCORED IN ALL GROUP MATCHES
Again, there is nothing to separate the two countries here. England scored two against Tunisia and then six against Panama to give them a total of eight, while Belgium put five past the north Africans after netting three times against the Central Americans.
POINTS, GOAL DIFFERENCE OR GREATEST NUMBER OF GOALS SCORED IN GROUP MATCHES BETWEEN THE TEAMS CONCERNED
If countries finish on the same points, goal difference and goals scored, FIFA has three criteria to separate them based on how they fared in the contest against each other. However, if England and Belgium draw, none of those will be relevant.
GREATEST NUMBER OF POINTS OBTAINED REGARDING FAIR PLAY CONDUCT
This is the first category which may actually determine the group winner if Thursday’s game finishes all square. Points are deducted if nations have a player booked or sent off. So far, England have had just two players booked across their two games – Kyle Walker and Ruben Loftus-Cheek – while the Belgians have picked up three cautions. DRAWING OF LOTS BY FIFA Remarkably, if neither England nor Belgium win in Kaliningrad and the two teams finish with the same amount of points in terms of fair play conduct, the winner will be determined by drawing of lots.