Tournaments don't want big teams going out, 3rd place is a safety net. And they want more randomness of knockout football, and big teams meeting each other early.
The World Cup used this system 3 times, 86, 90, and 94. In 86, 3rd placed Belgium made the semis and in 90 and 94, 3rd placed Argentina and Italy made the final respectively.
The Euros have used this system now twice. 2016, 3rd placed Portugal won it all. In 2020, 3 of the 4 beat Group winners but all lost their next match.
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Watching the Oilers defend is like watching fire engines frantically rushing to the wrong fire
Last edited by GirlySports; 06-24-2024 at 02:16 PM.
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