First of all: it would be entirely possible to host a European Championship with 32 teams. There are 50 countries on the continent of Europe – if you include Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia – and the continental association UEFA has 55 members. The difference is due to the special nature of the United Kingdom, which is competing with not one but five football teams: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and… well? … without Googling? The southern one. The one with the rock. That’s right: Gibraltar. The Faroe Islands are also allowed to take part, even though they are not a sovereign state, presumably also to annoy Austria. Cyprus and Israel are also playing in Europe, although they are geographically located in Asia. Monaco and the Vatican, on the other hand, do not have their own national teams, although one of the two states could have privileged access to the football god.
A tournament with 32 teams would have the great advantage that the format would be clear and simple. As is known from world championships, there would be eight groups of four teams each, and the top two in each table would advance to the round of 16. All the others would be eliminated. The number 32 – non-mathematicians please skip the sentence – is a power of two and is therefore wonderfully symmetrical.
However, since 2016, UEFA has opted for a tournament with 24 teams, and this number brings with it challenges. For example, how to select 16 out of 24 teams for the knockout phase. The association has decided on a rule according to which the four best third-placed teams from six groups of four should also reach the round of 16. To determine these, all third-placed teams are listed in a separate ranking list, the “Table of Third-Placed Teams”, and this has now brought up some curiosities during the final group match day.
The mode leads to really problematic constellations
For example, members of Group A are at a real disadvantage because they simply play first and therefore do not know how many points and goals they will be able to score (if the third-placed teams in a group are tied, the goal difference decides; if this is also the same, yellow and red cards are counted). Members of other groups, on the other hand, can work out before the game what they need to advance and adjust their tactics if necessary.
This leads to really problematic situations, such as in Group E, where Slovakia and Romania already know before their match that a draw will guarantee both nations a place in the tournament. Both would get four points and would therefore be at least in the third-place group table, ahead of Hungary (three points) and Croatia (two points). Both teams claim to be aiming for an honourable competition, but if, for example, the score is still 0:0 in the 60th minute, no one can really blame them for not wanting to take any more risks in attack. This would not even require a deliberate agreement, it would simply be the most sensible tactic for both.
Opinion
:World event on the red line
48 participants, 104 games: The format decided for the upcoming World Cup has elements of gigantomania. But there are also plausible arguments for the expansion – as long as FIFA continues to limit itself elsewhere.
The most famous non-match in football history is of course the “Shame of Gijon”, when Germany and Austria passed the ball to each other at the 1982 World Cup after Germany had taken a 1-0 lead, knowing that this would only result in the Algerians being eliminated. In response, the final group matches have since been scheduled in parallel to prevent such situations, and for this reason the world association has also refrained from Fifa has decided to divide the teams into groups of three for the upcoming World Cup in the USA, which will be played with 48 teams. However, in the UEFA format, these situations, which are called “positive sum games” in game theory because there doesn’t have to be a loser in a competition, are possible again. It is logistically impossible to play all the final group matches at the same time. Not to mention that television would not be able to play along.
The rule regarding third-placed teams in groups also brings with it other irregularities, such as the fact that some group winners, such as Germany, will face a second-placed team in the round of 16, while other group winners, such as Spain, will face a presumably weaker third-placed team. UEFA is trying to counteract this with other competition-related factors, such as Germany having had two days more recovery time than their opponents next Saturday.
The rule also makes it possible to reach the round of 16 with minimal effort. This is why Portugal is the most famous third-placed team in the history of the European Championship. The Portuguese did not win a single group match in 2016, drew three times against Hungary, Austria and Iceland and thus advanced to the round of 16 as the third-best third-placed team with three points. In the end, they became European champions.