Tournament hosts Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from round of 16 contention at the 2022 Fifa World Cup, after the second round of matches came to a close.

Defeats against Ecuador and Senegal ended their hopes of making it to the round of 16.

Former finalists Netherlands are best placed to progress in Group A.

Here’s a look at how things stand and the different possible scenarios to progress out of Group A ahead of the last set of fixtures:

Note: All the set of last matches in each group will kickoff simultaneously.

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Group A

Table ahead of final fixtures

Group A P W D L GD Pts
1 NED 2 1 1 0 2 4
2 ECU 2 1 1 0 2 4
3 SEN 2 1 0 1 0 3
4 QAT 2 0 0 2 -4 0

Remaining fixtures (IST)

Tuesday, November 29

2030: Ecuador v Senegal, Khalifa International Stadium (Doha)

2030: Netherlands v Qatar, Al-Bayt Stadium (Al-Khor)

Netherlands

The Dutch just need to avoid defeat to progress to the round of 16. A draw or win will guarantee them a place in the knockouts. Even if they lose against the eliminated Qataris, Netherlands can still make it through if Ecuador beat Senegal.

Top spot however is not straight-forward yet for Louis van Gaal’s men. With the match against Ecuador ending in draw, and the South Americans dominating them for the most part, the Dutch are level across the board at the moment. Both teams have the same points, goals scored and conceded.

Netherlands will need to better Ecuador’s result against Senegal to be assured top spot. If their winning margins are identical, it will come down to goals scored. And if the scores are identical, it will go to disciplinary measures (yellows and reds) to break the tie. As things stand, neither team has any red cards but Ecuador have received three yellow cards to the Netherlands’ one yellow card.

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Ecuador

Pretty much the same boat as Netherlands, but have tougher opponents in front of them. Ecuador just need to avoid defeat to progress to the round of 16. A draw or win will guarantee them a place in the knockouts. If they lose to Senegal, then they will need a massive favour from Qatar to defeat Netherlands and by a bigger margin than their own defeat.

For gaining top spot, it’s the same as Netherlands above. They will need a better result against Senegal than Netherlands’ over Qatar.

Senegal

The African champions also have things in their own hands. A win against Ecuador will be enough to progress. And they will take top spot if Netherlands drop points against Qatar.

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If Ecuador and Senegal ends in a draw, the latter will need Qatar to defeat Netherlands. Lose and Senegal are out.

Qatar

The hosts are eliminated, but can play a part in deciding who tops the group.

Round of 16 fixtures (IST):

Saturday, December 3

Game 49: 2030: Winners Group A v Runners-up Group B, Khalifa International Stadium (Doha)

Sunday, December 4

Game 51: 0030 (Next AM): Winners Group B v Runners-up Group A, Al-Bayt Stadium (Al-Khor)

Tiebreaker information

If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points after the completion of the group stage, the following criteria, in the order below, shall be applied to determine the ranking: 

Step 1:

  • (a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches; 
  • (b) superior goal difference in all group matches; 
  • (c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches. 

Step 2:  

  • (d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned; 
  • (e) superior goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned; 
  • (f) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned; 
  • (g) highest team conduct score relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained: yellow card: minus 1 point indirect red card (as a result of two yellow cards): minus 3 points, direct red card: minus 4 points, yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points Only one of the above deductions shall be applied to a player in a single match. The team with the highest number of points shall be ranked highest. 
  • (h) drawing of lots by FIFA. 

Note:

  • With respect to the second step, all affected teams will be ranked by applying the criteria (d) to (g) in order. If one team qualifies for a higher or lower ranking pursuant to one criterion but it is not possible to rank all teams on the basis of the same criterion, the remaining two or three teams will be ranked pursuant to the next criterion, and so on. In any case, the second step of the ranking does not restart for the two or three teams remaining after application of a criterion.
— via FIFA World Cup regulations document

With Fifa.com inputs