Permutations of all Eight Groups in the World Cup

The Group Stages of the World Cup are almost over, and as of now, three teams have booked their place in the knockout stages, while two teams have been eliminated already. So, there is so much to play for in the final group games from Tuesday to Friday, with some teams having their own destiny in their hands while others will have to rely on the other fixture to get through the group. Here are the permutations of all the eight groups in the World Cup.

GROUP A

In Group A, the Netherlands and Ecuador are tied on four points each with the same goal difference, goals scored and goals conceded. The Netherlands top the group based on the fair play points. Senegal is third in the group with three points while Qatar is bottom of the group with zero points. Qatar is already eliminated, becoming the first host nation to be eliminated before the third game. Their final game is against the Netherlands at the Al Bayt Stadium. It would be a huge shock if Qatar gets anything against the Netherlands, so the Dutch are heavy favourites to take all three points. The Netherlands will go through if they avoid defeat to Qatar and Ecuador beat Senegal. They will go through as group winners if they beat Qatar and have a better goal difference than Ecuador. Ecuador has a decisive game against Senegal at the Khalifa International Stadium, where both teams have a chance of making it out of the group. For Senegal, their task is simple. Beat Ecuador and they are through to the knockouts. Ecuador has impressed so far in the tournament and gained a decent 1-1 draw against the Netherlands. For Ecuador to advance, they need to avoid defeat against Senegal and could go through as group winners if they better the Netherlands' result against Qatar. It seems like the Netherlands will top the group while Ecuador will just edge Senegal for the second spot, eliminating the African champions in the process.

GROUP B

England top the group with four points with the best goal difference. Iran is second with three points, the United States have two points and Wales has just one point. England has a higher chance of going through as group winners while Wales has the lowest chance of going through. Wales' final group game is against England at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium. For Wales to advance, they have to beat England with over four goals and Iran fails to better their result against the United States. It means they have to dramatically improve their goal difference to eliminate England as well. For England, a win against Wales will put them on seven points, going through as group winners. If they avoid defeat to Wales, they will be on five points and if the United States beat Iran by a lesser margin, they will still go through as group winners. They will finish second if they avoid defeat to Wales and Iran beat the United States. The other group game is Iran against the United States at the Al Thumama Stadium. A recap of when they faced each other in the 1998 World Cup. For Iran, a win will take them through with six points, as group winners or finishing second, if England beat Wales. A draw will also take them through based on them scoring more and having a better head-to-head against Wales. For the United States, a win will take through. Anything less than a win means elimination. It seems England will top the group while Iran will beat the United States to eliminate the Americans and take second place. 

GROUP C

Poland top the group with four points. Argentina and Saudi Arabia are both on three points but Argentina has a better goal difference. Mexico is at the bottom of the group with just one point. Argentina faces Poland on Wednesday at Stadium 974 while Saudi Arabia plays Mexico at the Lusail Stadium. For Poland, a win against Argentina will guarantee them the top spot in the group. Avoiding defeat will also keep them at the top spot if Saudi Arabia fails to better their goal difference and Mexico fails to win by a margin that will better their goal difference. For Argentina, a win against Poland will put them at the top of the table. Avoiding defeat will see them through if Saudi Arabia fails to win or Mexico wins by more than a four-goal margin. Saudi Arabia will go through as group winners if they beat Mexico and the game against Argentina and Mexico ends in a draw or they have a better goal difference than Argentina. Mexico has to beat Saudi Arabia by a wide margin if they have any chance of making it to the knockout stages. They are best to finish in second place. It seems that Argentina and Poland will make it to the knockout stages with Argentina as the group winners while Poland finishes second. 

GROUP D

France is top of the group with six points while Australia is second with three points. Both Tunisia and Denmark have a point each but Denmark has a better goals-scored record. France faces Tunisia at Education City while Australia faces Denmark at Al Janoub Stadium. France has already sealed qualification for the next round and with finish top of the group if they either beat Tunisia, avoid defeat or lose but Australia wins and has an inferior goal difference. Tunisia can go through as runners-up if they beat France and the game between Australia and Denmark ends in a draw. They can also go through if they better Denmark's result against Australia. Australia can only go through as group winners if they beat Denmark and finish with a better goal difference against France. They will finish second if Tunisia fails to beat France and they avoid defeat against Denmark. For Denmark, a win against Australia to take them to the knockouts if Tunisia either fails to win or finishes with an inferior goal difference or goals-scored record. With the rest bar France going for second place, Denmark seems likely to go through with Tunisia having all to do against France in their final group game.

GROUP E

Spain is at the top of the group with four while Japan and Costa Rica are both on three points but Costa Rica has an inferior goal difference. Germany is at the bottom of the group with just one point. Japan faces Spain at the Khalifa International Stadium while Germany faces Costa Rica at the Al Bayt Stadium. Spain beating Japan will guarantee them the top spot in the group. Avoiding defeat will also keep them at the top spot if Costa Rica fails to beat Germany. They will only finish second if they draw or lose to Japan and Costa Rica beat Germany. Japan will go through at the summit of the table if they beat Spain and Costa Rica win but finish with an inferior goal difference. They will finish second if they get a draw and Germany finishes with the same points but with an inferior goal difference. Costa Rica can finish with six points if they beat Germany and will see them advance if Japan fails to beat Spain. Germany can go through if they beat Costa Rica and Japan fails to beat Spain. They will also go through if they have a better goal difference against Japan. It seems Spain will finish top of the group while Germany will snatch second place away from Japan.

GROUP F

Croatia and Morocco are both four points but Croatia has a better goal difference. Belgium is third with three points while Canada is on zero points. Canada is out of the picture as they are eliminated, so the battle to go through is with Croatia, Belgium and Morocco. Morocco faces Canada at the Al Thumama Stadium while Belgium faces Croatia at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium. Croatia can go through as group winners if they beat Belgium. They can go through if they avoid defeat to Belgium as well.  As for Belgium, they have beat Croatia and Morocco to not beat Canada if they are to advance. Morocco will go through as group winners if they beat Canada and Croatia fails to beat Belgium. They will go through as runners-up if they drop points with Canada but Belgium beat Croatia instead. It seems likely that Croatia will go through as group winners while Morocco will go through as runners-up.

GROUP G

Brazil is at the summit of the group with six points while Switzerland is second with three points. Serbia and Cameroon are tied with a point each but Serbia is at the bottom of the group with an inferior goal difference. Cameroon plays Brazil at the Lusail Stadium while Serbia plays Switzerland at Stadium 974. Brazil has sealed qualification for the next round, so Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon all have chances of advancing but it's more on Switzerland and Serbia to make it with Cameroon having the daunting task of facing Brazil in their final group game. Brazil is guaranteed the top spot if they avoid defeat to Cameroon. Serbia and Switzerland are facing a shootout for qualification. Similar to their previous showing in the 2018 World Cup. Whoever wins in that game will go through as runners-up. Cameroon will go through if they beat Brazil and betters Switzerland's goal difference. It seems likely that Brazil will be the group winners while Switzerland will advance as runners-up. 

GROUP H

Portugal is at the summit of the group with six points while Ghana is second with three points. South Korea and Uruguay are on a point each but Uruguay is at the bottom of the group with an inferior goal difference. South Korea plays Portugal at Education City while Ghana plays Uruguay at Al Janoub Stadium. Portugal has made it to the knockouts with a game to spare while Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea are battling for second place. Avoiding defeat for Portugal means they are guaranteed the top spot. As for South Korea, they have to beat Portugal with a better goal margin and hope Ghana either does not win or finishes with a better goal difference than them. Ghana will go through if they beat Uruguay. Uruguay has a bigger task of making it to the knockouts and it will be an emotional game between both teams, with the quarterfinal game in 2010 coming back to memory. They have to beat Ghana and hope if South Korea win, they finish with an inferior goal difference. It seems Portugal will finish top of the group while Ghana will finish as runners-up.