Canada's Evelyne Viens is shown a yellow card during Group B soccer action against Nigeria at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, July 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Scott Barbour
MELBOURNE, Australia – A look at the permutations in Group B at the FIFA Women’s World Cup ahead of Monday’s final group games (top two teams advance to knockout round of 16):
Nigeria (1-0-1, four points, plus-one goal differential, three goals scored): Will advance with a win or a draw against Ireland. The 40th-ranked Super Falcons can lose and still move on if Canada defeats Australia, otherwise tiebreakers come into play.
Canada (1-0-1, four points, plus-one goal differential, two goals scored): Advances with a win or a draw against Australia. If the seventh-ranked Canadians lose and Nigeria also go down to defeat, tiebreakers will be required to separate the two.
Australia (1-1-0, three points, zero goal differential, three goals scored): The 10th-ranked Matildas must beat Canada to be certain of reaching the round of 16. Their only other potential route would be a draw coupled with a defeat for Nigeria, which would bring tiebreakers into play.
Ireland (0-2-0, zero points, minus-two goal differential, one goal scored) The 22nd-ranked Irish, in their tournament debut, cannot advance despite two good showings in a losing cause.
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Tiebreakers
1) Superior goal difference.
2) Greater number of goals scored.
3) Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned.
4) Superior goal difference from the group matches between teams concerned.
5) Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between teams concerned.
6) Fair play criteria (yellow cards and red cards via a points system).
7) Drawing of lots.
(Source: FIFA)
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2023
