Going Through with Two Defeats

[Satchmo Distel]

This can still happen here in the case of several teams, but I cannot find any examples in a previous World Cup. It needs to be a 9-3-3-3 spread, as I understand it. This can still happen in groups G and H and in Germany's group if South Korea beat Germany and Mexico beat Sweden.

Has it ever happened before?

[lackedpunch]

I think that permutations were such that in 2014 Nigeria would have gone through if they had won their last game even though they'd lost the first two. They didn't manage to win their last though.

[lackedpunch]

The Nigeria case was in 2010, as someone mentioned here on another thread.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

It is mathematically possible to go through with two draws and one defeat as well, if three teams draw with other but all lose to the group winners. As you can then draw four knockout games and win them all on pens it is possible to win the World Cup without winning a game or even scoring a goal!

[Satchmo Distel]

Portugal in Euro 16 are probably the closest anyone has come to doing something like that. Argentina in 1990 were even more dire but did have that one moment of class to beat Brazil.

Scotland's group in 1974 had three teams who would today finish on 5 points with no defeats. I cannot think of any other group that went that way.

Brazil going out with 7 points in the 1978 2nd phase still feels like a massive injustice even though Brazil had been poor in the first phase.