Why are World Cup’s last group stage games played at the same time?

The last games of each World Cup group are scheduled to take place at the same time this week, to seal the fate of every participating nation under one final whistle for each group.

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All 32 nations have played two games and have their final group game this week.

Starting today, Group A and Group B round off their group campaign ahead of the first day of the knockout round on Saturday.

However, unlike the previous week where we had games at 11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm, and 8 pm Moroccan time(10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, and 7 pm local time), the remaining group fixtures are scheduled for either 4 pm or 8 pm Moroccan time.

Morocco’s Group F, same for all other groups, will undergo their last fixtures against Canada at 4 pm, the same as Croatia vs Belgium.

The same-time schedule for both group matches is because of what happened in Gijon, Spain back in the 1982 World Cup finals.

The incident is infamously remembered as the “Disgrace of Gijon.”

With Algeria playing its final group match a day before West Germany versus Austria, the qualification scenarios were clear for both European teams.

West Germany and Austria, who could both qualify for the next rounds as long as West Germany wins by less than four goals, saw a 1-0 victory for West Germany who scored in the first 10 minutes.

If another scenario had occurred, West Germany scoring four or more goals against Austria, the promising Algerian squad would have secured a place in the next rounds.

The timing of the games adds an extra bit of excitement with places in the top two to play for. For example, Japan and Spain are joint leaders at the top of Group E with a one-point margin.

Germany and Costa Rica remain in the picture as three points could secure a spot in the knockout stages with a victory for one of them.

The timing also speeds up the group stage process after nearly two weeks of action. Saturday is the first day of knockout football which will see Group A winners face the runners-up of Group B and the Group C winners take on Group D’s runners-up.