England and Belgium hope to break the tie as they battle on Thursday in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Kaliningrad.
Both nations are currently tied in Group G with identical records for a total of six points. England kept themselves in the contention for a spot in the Round of 16 following a 6-1 demolition of Panama. Belgium and England all found the back of the net eight times and have conceded two goals each to put themselves absolutely tied.
The victors of the England-Belgium match will ultimately top the group but an interesting scenario may arise if the game ends up in a draw. Initially, a fair play will be conducted to decide the places in which FIFA deducts points based on cards.
Yellow cards have a rate of minus-1 while red cards for two straight cautions has a deduction of three points. On the other hand, a straight red will result in a minus-4 while a yellow card followed by a straight red will lead in a minus-5.
England currently has the upper hand with two yellow cards for a minus-2 while Belgium has three for a minus-3. If both teams also wound up tied in the fair play, a random draw will be initiated to determine their positions. The last time a random draw took place was in the 1990 World Cup wherein Ireland finished second while the Netherlands ended up third.
Getting Yellow Cards Are Advantageous
While the team with the fewest yellow cards ultimately tops the group, it might put them in grave danger heading into the Round of 16. Should Brazil win Group E and Germany finishes in second place of Group F, both nations will be in the same draw as the top finishers of Group G.
The Brazilians and the Germans will battle each other in the Round of 16 before likely taking on the Group G winners in the quarterfinals. If this scenario pushes through, it might be favorable for the second placers in Group G who could face Switzerland or Mexico in the quarterfinals.
As of today, the Round of 16 matches will have Russia taking on Portugal while France goes up against Nigeria. On the other hand, Spain will take on Uruguay and Mexico battles Switzerland.
In other matches, Brazil battles Sweden while Croatia takes on Denmark. Both Senegal and Japan will wait for the result of the Belgium-England match to determine who their opponents will be in the next round.
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