World Cup Soccer Pool

FIFA World Cup Pool Rules

Introduction
I actually adapted the format of my NHL playoff pool from somebody else's FIFA World Cup pool format, and when they stopped running theirs after 2006, I began doing it myself. The format is relatively simple, and involves ranking all 32 countries in the World Cup, from the team you think will win the most games to the team you think will win the fewest.

Please use the Entry Form to submit your entry. If you prefer though, you can still email/text/DM your entry to Trevor Ball. Likewise, any questions or comments should be directed to Trevor Ball.
Entries are due by an hour before the opening kickoff, which works out to be 10am Eastern time, Sunday November 20, 2022.

Scoring
The basic scoring system is that for each game each team wins in the group stage, you get (33-n)*3 points, where n is the ranking you gave that team. For each draw, you get 33-n points. After the group stage, the multiplier for each win increases, to 5 (i.e. (33-n)*5) for wins in the round of 16, and doubles thereafter (i.e. 10 for quarter-final wins, 20 for semi-final wins, and 40 for the World Cup final). No points are awarded for the consolation final (match #63 on the schedule) although it does factor into the tie-breaker (see below).

Strategy
The strategy is ultimately up to you, but here are some basic tips. Presumably you would want your predicted Cup winner ranked first, since the stage 2 wins count for so much more than group stage wins. You probably then want to have the other team you think will be in the final, followed by the semi-finalists and quarter-finalists. You’re welcome to use any strategy you want, however, and I will not be checking entries except to ensure that every team is ranked once and only once. For example, perhaps you want to hedge your bets, figuring that you’re not sure who will advance from group G, but figure that whoever does will end up meeting in the final, so you may want to rank three group G teams up at the top; it's up to you.

2022 Groups

Group A Group B Group C Group D

QAT-Qatar ENG-England ARG-Argentina FRA-France

ECU-Ecuador IRN-Iran KSA-Saudi Arabia DEN-Denmark

SEN-Senegal USA-United States MEX-Mexico TUN-Tunisia

NED-Netherlands WAL-Wales POL-Poland AUS-Australia

Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
ESP-Spain	BEL-Belgium	BRA-Brazil	POR-Portugal
GER-Germany	CAN-Canada	SRB-Serbia	GHA-Ghana
JPN-Japan	MAR-Morocco	SUI-Switzerland	URU-Uruguay
CRC-Costa Rica	CRO-Croatia	CMR-Cameroon	KOR-South Korea

Sample Entry
1.Spain
2.Netherlands
3.Morocco
4.Argentina
5.England
6.Wales
7.Brazil
8.France
9.Portugal
10.Mexico
11.Serbia
12.Poland
13.Canada
14.Germany
15.United States
16.Belgium
17.Tunisia
18.Cameroon
19.Uruguay
20.Senegal
21.Japan
22.Croatia
23.South Korea
24.Australia
25.Qatar
26.Costa Rica
27.Ghana
28.Ecuador
29.Saudi Arabia
30.Denmark
31.Iran
32.Switzerland

Tie Breaker
The sequence of tie breakers is:

1.Highest ranking of the Cup winner
2.Highest ranking of the other finalist
3.Highest ranking of the winner of the consolation final (match #63 on the schedule)
4.Highest ranking of the loser of the consolation final (match #63 on the schedule)
5.Highest combined (summed) ranking of the other four quarter-finalists
6.Highest single ranking of one of the other four quarter-finalists
7.Highest combined (summed) ranking of the other eight stage 2 teams
8.Highest single ranking of one of the other eight stage 2 teams
9.Highest total goal differential of each ranked team, starting with top ranked teams
10.Coin toss

Entry Fee
The entry fee is $10. You are welcome to enter more than once, but each entry costs $10. Each entry can have only one person’s name (although any number of people may finance the entry). I'll wait to see how many entries I get before determining how the collected fees will be distributed (if I get enough entries, there will be second- and third-place prizes) but the entire pot of the collected fees will be distributed.

If you have any questions or suggestions for rule changes, please contact Trevor Ball.