Group of death

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Group of death is an informal sobriquet used in football (soccer) to describe a situation that often occurs during the group stage of a tournament (such as the first round of the World Cup), where:

  • all the teams present in one group are considered to be roughly equal in skill

or

  • one or more of the underdog teams plays the kind of football that may shock a better team

The key element is that any team could plausibly qualify and any could plausibly be eliminated. It is, in other words, the most unpredictable group of the tournament.

Typically, a Group of Death will see an unusual match-up of heavyweight sides, due to a quirk in the seeding system.

Contents

[edit] History

The term was coined (in Spanish as el grupo de la muerte) by the Uruguay manager Omar Borrás at the 1986 FIFA World Cup to describe Group E, which included West Germany, Denmark, Scotland and Uruguay. This was the only group where all of its teams came from the traditionally strong regions of Europe and South America.

The term was widely picked up by the media, and subsequent tournaments have provoked the question, "Which group is the Group of Death this time?" The answer is complicated by the lack of a precise definition of the term. Most definitions rely on subjective ideas of which teams are (or will prove to be) stronger, providing further scope for debate.

Commentators will speak of "salivating at the prospect" and the games are often titanic struggles, rather than the tamer more conservative efforts usually posted by major teams in the early stages.

The term is also used retroactively in historical contexts (i.e. for tournaments that precede 1986).

In contrast to the Group of Sleep, the name Group of Death can be applied in anticipation of the matches, as well as during and after the tournament.

[edit] Variety of definitions

Since only two teams usually qualify out of a four-team group, the term is sometimes used when three out of the four teams are particularly strong, in which case the word death is also a reference to the situation faced by the group's weaker team, which will be perceived to have very little chance of finishing in the top two. This did not apply in 1986, when 3 of the 4 teams progressed from Group E. The word death can also apply to one of three strong teams, which tournament rules may eliminate from competition much earlier than if it had been drawn into a separate group.

Most fans only use the term group of death in cases where the group's evenly-matched teams are among the stronger teams in the tournament.

Sometimes the term simply means the group with the strongest teams, implying there is always precisely one such group; other definitions allow for multiple groups of death, and for none at all.

The term is occasionally applied in hindsight, when a group turns out far more evenly matched than it had looked when it was drawn.

[edit] World Cup

In the draw for the FIFA World Cup, only one team per group is seeded based on ability; the unseeded teams are distributed based on continent, regardless of strength. Thus the "luck of the draw" does not ensure even distribution of strong teams between groups.

[edit] FIFA World Cup 2006

FIFA World Rankings showed that the combination of Ghana, USA, Czech Republic and Italy in Group E was most competitive, with an average ranking of 17th. This was demonstrated in the group stage results, as no team was eliminated prior to all of their matches being played. In the end, the Czechs and Americans returned home, in a very tight finish. The Italians went on to win the Cup.

[edit] Final Group E Table

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
Italy 7 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4
Ghana 6 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1
Czech Republic 3 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1
USA 1 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4

Result: Italy (Champions) and Ghana (2nd round) progressed.

[edit] Final Group C Table

The other Group of Death in 2006 Fifa World Cup Group Stages was Group C which contained Argentina, Netherlands, Ivory Coast and Serbia & Montenegro.

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
Argentina 7 3 2 1 0 8 1 +7
Netherlands 7 3 2 1 0 3 1 +2
Côte d'Ivoire 3 3 1 0 2 5 6 −1
Serbia & Montenegro 0 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8

Result: Netherlands (2nd round) and Argentina (Quarter Finals) progressed.

[edit] Other, recent World Cup Groups of Death

  • 1994 FIFA World Cup
    • Group E: Italy, Ireland, Mexico, and Norway (Only Norway failed to progress, having scored fewest goals. All teams finished level on points and goal difference. Italy advanced to the final, where they were defeated by Brazil on penalty kicks.)
      • Italy 0-1 Ireland, Mexico 0-1 Norway
      • Italy 1-0 Norway, Ireland 1-2 Mexico
      • Italy 1-1 Mexico, Ireland 0-0 Norway

[edit] European Championship

Under the current system, before the draw, four levels of seedings are decided basically based on ability (recent performance), each containing four teams. However, there are still some teams known as strong being put at a lower seeding, either due to not enough top seeding spaces or disappointing recent performance. Therefore, like World Cup, "strong teams" may not be evenly distributed to different groups.

Examples of groups of death at recent European Championships:

  • Euro 96
  • Euro 2000
    • Group A: Portugal, Romania, England and Germany (Portugal and Romania progressed; Romania was eliminated in the quarterfinals, Portugal made the semifinals).
    • Group D: Netherlands, France, Czech Republic and Denmark (Netherlands and France progressed; both made the semifinals, and France won the championship).
  • Euro 2004
    • Group A: Portugal, Greece, Spain and Russia was the group with the two finalist (eventual champions Greece and finalist Portugal) and the two teams that were not beaten by the champions Greece (Russia and Spain), meant that talented East Europeans Russia and accomplished Uefa team Spain were eliminated in the first round whilst underdogs Greece went on to win the Euro 2004 in the final against Portugal
    • Group C: Sweden, Bulgaria, Italy and Denmark meant that Bulgaria and former world champions Italy were eliminated in the first round.
    • Group D: Czech Republic, Netherlands, Germany and Latvia (Czech Republic and Netherlands progressed, both losing in the semifinals).
  • Euro 2008 qualifying
    • Group B: France, Italy and Ukraine are all in the same group, despite all of these teams having progressed to at least the quarter finals of the 2006 World Cup. The first qualifying match between France and Italy (which France won 3-1) meant a quick rematch for the 2006 World Cup final, which Italy won on penalty kicks. Scotland, Lithuania, Georgia and the Faroe Islands are also in this group.

Scotland's subsequent impressive start to the group added a further element of the intrigue, leading to the possibility that two of the top three teams could fall at the first hurdle.

[edit] In other sports

Although the term "group of death" originated in football and is most closely identified with that sport, it can be used in any sport with a tournament structure similar to that of the FIFA World Cup. For example, Pool D in the 2007 Rugby World Cup (union) has been called a "group of death" or "pool of death"[1] due to the presence of three teams who were rated in the top six of the IRB World Rankings at the end of the 2006 Test season—RWC hosts France (second), Ireland (third) and Argentina (sixth),[2] with only two able to advance to the knockout rounds.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Ireland to face pool of death. Planet-Rugby.com (2006-11-27).
  2. ^ IRB World Rankings 27/11/2006. International Rugby Board.
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