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England v/s Belgium, FIFA World Cup 2018: Fair Play or lottery may decide Group G topper - How FIFA tiebreakers work

FIFA Tiebreakers may well have to be used if Belgium and England play a draw.

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England and Belgium, already qualified from World Cup Group G, meet on Thursday. While the result of the match won't have any bearing on their qualification status, there is the little question of who tops the group.

As it stands England and Belgium cannot be separated by any of the conventional means. They are deadlocked with an identical record. If their match on Thursday ends in a draw, it means FIFA Tiebreakers may well have to be used to separate the two teams and crown the group winner. 

FIFA has eight level of tiebreakers to settle group positions in FIFA World Cup 2018. 

So let's take a look at these tiebreakers and how they work. 

FIFA Tiebreakers 1,2 and 3

The first three levels are fairly simple. The first is, of course, the points scored by the teams. The second is the goal difference, followed by goals scored. 

FIFA Tiebreakers 4,5 and 6

FIFA then examines the results between the teams. If one side in a two-way tie won the match against the other than it moves on.

FIFA looks at the points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned, goal difference in those matches and Number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned.

FIFA Tiebreaker 7: Fair Play

If team are still tied after all that FIFA Fair Play rules come into account. FIFA looks at their disciplinary records in the tournament to separate the teams. 

"Greater number of points obtained regarding fair play conduct (yellow cards = -1, indirect red card (as a result of a second yellow card) = -3, direct red card = -4, yellow card and direct red = -5, with only one of the deductions applied to a player in a single game)," FIFA explains the Fair Play rule.

It means a yellow card takes one point off your total, an indirect red (the result of being shown a second yellow card) is three points off, a straight red is four points off, and if you get a yellow and a direct red it’s worth five points off your total. The team with the highest total points remaining is the one that advances.

Currently, England has a score of -2 while Belgium are on -3 points in terms of Fair Play. 

FIFA Tiebreaker 8: Random Draw 

If, somehow, things are still tied by some bizarre happenstance after even that, there’s only one thing left to do- the drawing of lots.

Yes, the final step is lottery. Team names are printed out and put into balls, which are in turn put into a bowl, just like the group stage draw. The lucky one goes through.

If England pick a yellow card more than Belgium during the match and it ends in a draw, we may have a lottery on our hands.

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