Published on 6/24/2026
Austria’s 1-0 defeat by West Germany in the 1982 World Cup in Spain is still stuck in the tournament’s record as one of the worst scenes under the name “Gijon Scandal”, after the two teams emerged with a result that ensured their qualification together at the expense of Algeria on goal difference.
Following a wave of global condemnation and an official complaint that did not result in a result on the part of Algeria, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) decided that the last two matches in each group would be played simultaneously in subsequent tournaments.
But the expansion to a tournament that includes 48 teams, and with it the return of some third-place finishers to the qualifying rounds for the first time since 1994, opened the door again to questions about the integrity of the competition.
It seems that four points will be almost enough to qualify at least among the top 8 teams that occupy third place out of 12 groups.
Australia will meet Paraguay on Thursday, and each of them has three points after their victory over Türkiye and their loss to the co-host country, the United States. A draw in Santa Clara, near San Francisco, will give the two teams qualification.
Australia defender Jason Guerria said: “I think you are betraying the spirit of the game in some way if you are just looking to declare a truce ten minutes before the end. This does not seem right in my opinion.”
He added, “It is clear that we may qualify together with a point, but I do not think that we will just accept a retreat or taking our foot off the gas pedal.”
In addition to the possibility of collusion between the teams to achieve a suitable result, another change in the FIFA regulations for this edition actually means that the third match in the group will be a formality for a larger number of teams.
For the first time, head-to-head record is used instead of goal difference as a separation criterion between teams with equal points.
Mexico, the United States, Germany and Argentina secured the top spot in their groups, while Haiti, Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan and Panama were confirmed to be eliminated.
A World Cup with 64 teams?
Another difference is that the teams playing in the final groups will have a clearer picture of what they need to qualify among the best third-place finishers.
With three points from the first two matches, Scotland faces Brazil in Miami on Wednesday in one of the first groups to be decided, without knowing whether a narrow loss will be enough for them to qualify from the group stage for the first time.
On the other hand, Ghana and Croatia will know exactly what is required when the final round matches of their group of 12 begin on Saturday.
The difficulties resulting from reducing the 48 teams to 32 led to proposals that expanding the tournament to 64 teams would become inevitable.
This will allow a return to the traditional system based on the first two teams from each four-group qualifying for the round of 32.
The Athletic newspaper reported last year that the idea had already been raised by a delegation of influential South American leaders ahead of the 2030 World Cup.
Although the proposal was met with opposition, a larger tournament might be financially attractive in a way that would be difficult for the International Federation to resist.
The largest edition of the World Cup in history is still missing two huge trade markets: China and India, while the Italian team, the four-time world champion, failed to qualify for the third time in a row.
Fears and heroics
Despite fears of a decline in level, the expansion of the World Cup provided some remarkable tournament stories.
Cape Verde is still able to qualify after drawing with Spain and Uruguay.
Curacao won its first point in the World Cup by tying with Ecuador, while the Scottish fans, with their traditional uniforms and the sound of their flutes, dazzled the city of Boston and drained its pubs.
The price of this imperfect system may be what we will witness this week with a lackluster end to the group stage.
