How Group E sides can advance to the next round
With only a single Group Stage match remaining, we're at that dreaded stage of the tournament where we get out our calculators, and nervously attempt to figure out exactly how it's still possible for our hopeless side to advance to the Round of 16.
If you find yourself in such a sorry state, you've got bigger problems to deal with than math. So, sit back, and let your good ol' friends at theScore do all the heavy lifting.
| TEAMS | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| ECUADOR | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| SWITZERLAND | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| HONDURAS | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Here's what has to happen for your team to get out of Group E:
[Courtesy of imgur user Matador 09]
France
With a goal differential of +6, compared to Ecuador's even 0 and Switzerland's -2, it would take a bizarre scoreline in the final match of the Group Stage for France to not go through as Group E winners.
Ecuador
Meanwhile, Ecuador will likely advance to the next round simply by matching Switzerland's result against Honduras. Easier said than done.
Switzerland
Put simply, the Swiss need a better result than Ecuador, or the same result but by scoring more goals/winning by a greater difference.
Honduras
Honduras has to not only beat Switzerland, but also hope that France beat Ecuador. Their win over the Swiss would have to be significant enough to erase their awful goal differential in the process.
For info on all groups, check out this thread on reddit.