₦airaland Forum

Nigeria would still have qualified. The Malawians would have been eliminated if it was by GD

This is similar to cries from Nigeria Politicians. When rulings from the Judiciary favours them , it is the hope of the common man(even though literally not any of them are common) but when it goes against them, the same judiciary is corrupt, bought and a threat to the country nascent democracy. This rule existed before the commencement of the competition so what's the fuss?

That Zambian coach fine o

This rule was used at 2026 world cup. It is now head to head to break points tie and not goal difference. But what was peculiar is that the head to head as the first tie breaker could not used because Nigeria lost to Malawi that Zambia won and Nigeria defeated Zambia. That convoluted arrangement is a big reason Zambia is out.

The next option was to discount the games of the last placed team.

The unusual and unexpected Loss of Nigeria to Malawi is the biggest reason Zambia is out.

My suggestion is that if head to head be used in a tourney, then it must be one that allows qualification for best losers like we saw at the world cup.

kels4fun:
Most goals how? They scored 5 against Egypt, non against the falcons and 2 against Malawi. So how on God's name did they score the most goals.

Zambia scored most goals. 6 against Egypt in their opening match.

Hemanwel:
To be sincere, I am with the Zambian coach on this.

All over the world, goal differences are first used to break ties before considering other criteria. Why African things dey dey different?

I wonder and this part of the reason why fifa wanted more goals scored in the first of which Zambia did.

sandra2025:
On this table log, Nigeria should be the first instead of Malawi because we have +3 goals difference and Malawi has +2.
I guess they arranged the position between Malawi and Nigeria alphabetically.
Back to Zambian coach, she's just stating what she doesn't understand.
Zambia only won one match irrespective of the high goals they scored.
Malawi and Nigeria won two matches.

You sure say you no high so?. .

dominique:
I feel bad for the Copper Queens, they had the highest goal difference in that group and still crashed out despite being level on points with the other teams. Why did they even decide to scrap goal difference as the tie breaker in a group stage?

The rule is for valid reasons. You are a Mod, so let me elaborate.

If TeamA & TeamB finished with same points. But A beat B, then A is invariably the stronger side for beating B, even though B may have more Goals Diff from thrashing a weak team.
Hence Head2Head is rightly the 1st consideration in determining a stronger team, ahead of Goals Diff.

Same principle is applied when 3 teams are tied in same points. You only take into consideration their Head2Head stats, disregarding any other team, that may often be the weak team.

Another valid reason is that if Goals Diff is considered ahead of Head2Head, a team tied on same points will have undue advantage playing against the weak team in the last match.

For instance, if Nigeria needed to score 8 goals against Egypt to top the group or to qualify on GD ahead of Malawi & Zambia, they would have gone all out to score the 8goals.
That would have given undue advantage to Nigeria.

That shows she didn't do her homework well.
It's not about emotions, it's about a law that has been long in existence, she didn't strategize the paper technicalities along.
That shows she didn't know her job well enough to lead a quality team like Zambia.
I believe SF handlers are aware of this and strategize with it as a backup plan when things weren't going there way against Malawi.

Ignorant is not an excuse in the court of law.
Know all the rules and plot how it can work for you to avoid it working against you

dominique:
I feel bad for the Copper Queens, they had the highest goal difference in that group and still crashed out despite being level on points with the other teams. Why did they even decide to scrap goal difference as the tie breaker in a group stage?

i wonder oh. My sweetheart

So. Sad Zambia have to bow out this way

This rules should be updated to what is obtainable in Europe

Goal difference is better

Zambia have worked so hard and yet now out like this
More painful thue can't still stand up to Nigeria

When it work in their favour they celebrate, and when it work against them they protest

sandra2025:
On this table log, Nigeria should be the first instead of Malawi because we have +3 goals difference and Malawi has +2.
I guess they arranged the position between Malawi and Nigeria alphabetically.
Back to Zambian coach, she's just stating what she doesn't understand.
Zambia only won one match irrespective of the high goals they scored.
Malawi and Nigeria won two matches.

if i kunfu giwa. Zambia won 2

koning:
It's a fair decision.

You can score 10 - 0 against Sao Tome and Principe or another tiny football nation.

Then lose to quality, strong teams.

You don't deserve to progress if there's a tie on points.

how explain

ARISHEM:
If the thing happen to Nigeria super falcons CAF will not rest o. We will call them out.
How can you score the most goals, conceded the least number of goals in the group, have the highest goal difference in the group, tied at 6 points. And still not qualify.
Even Malawi Didn't Know They Qualified!
They thought they were eliminated!

After the final whistle blew at 2-1, the Malawians began walked around the pitch doing a tearful lap of honor to thank their traveling fans for supporting their debut campaign.

It wasn't until the technical bench frantically ran onto the field to explain the head-to-head calculations that the team realized they had just booked a historic spot in the WAFCON quarterfinals!

robosky02, come and see oh. You are part of the conspiracy of these head to head. You have to say sth or your conscience won't be at rest

just2endowed:
when i look back at the group stage and remember the last minute goals nigeria score against malawi, we wouldnt have had the chance to qualify self

you like big arsenal?

MoneyMan5:
Actually it was Goal difference between the tied team first but they all have zero goal difference

Malawi scored 4 conceded 4, Nigeria scored 3 and conceded 3, Zambia scored 2 and also conceded 2 that's why they moved to total Goal scored.

so Egypt came to sell groundnuts abi?

motionarena:
It's really crazy what sort of useless metrics did CAF use

Whatever the metrics, they were there n clear before the competition started

Vinicius Senior to Arsenal, Here We Go...😁😅😂🤣😭

Banta Fc has done it again

richmond500:
normally it was supposed to be like this.

You can't be having many goals against the underdog and still qualify. Some of these bottom teams knows they won't qualify so they end up helping other teams by inflating their goals.

Let the top3 dig it out and see who is better

if indeed they are underdogs, why were they allowed to qualify in the first place?

shadrach77:
Rules are rules. In 2010 Nigeria lost world cup qualification to Angola even though we had more goals and a superior goal difference

2006. Stop giving wrong dates

oloriooko:
Yeah the Zambia (lesbooo looking dude-babe ) actually directed her frustration towards the right quaters - CAF
CAF competition, CAF rules period!
Point of correction madam-dude, 9ja scored the highest number of goals in the group while Zambia conceded the least goals

se oma robo

UrVillageChief:
Then maybe you should have been following the rules. CAF didn’t start it. UEFA has been using it for years now in the Euros and FIFA also used it in this just concluded WC tournament and of course, it’s fair to a very large extent to encourage the winning mentality and to discourage stat-padding against weaker teams.

are the weaker teams not competing

sandra2025:
On this table log, Nigeria should be the first instead of Malawi because we have +3 goals difference and Malawi has +2.
I guess they arranged the position between Malawi and Nigeria alphabetically.
Back to Zambian coach, she's just stating what she doesn't understand.
Zambia only won one match irrespective of the high goals they scored.
Malawi and Nigeria won two matches.

Your own understanding about the rules is even worse than the Zambian coach own you are criticizing.
For you to assumed that Nigeria should have topped the table ahead of Malawi bcuz of +3 goals difference against Malawi +2 means you don't even know anything about the rule they are talking about here.
Your mind should have told you,if Nigeria should top the group bcuz of +3 goals,then where should Zambia that got +6 goals be in the table?
Besides,who told you Zambia won only one match?
So in your dream, winning one match now can earn a team 6 points that they got, right?
You are more confused than the Lady Coach you are condemning.
So,let me help you,they are using the total number of goals each of the 3 teams tied on 6 points scored against themselves to determine who progresses and who drops.
In that case, Malawi scored 4, Nigeria scored 3,while Zambia scored 2.
Hence, Malawi top the group followed by Nigeria while Zambia drops out.
So,next time,remove the big plank from your eyes first before attempting to remove a small dirt from your neighbour's eyes.

Zackattack:
You can’t be doing this in this modern era with almost every info on the internet 😩🤦‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Hemanwel:
Besides, in breaking the so-called ties in group C, if CAF rule says the game against Egypt will not be considered for the three teams, it therefore means that both Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia, finished with 3 points each, and not 6 points . If we are not looking at the goals scored against Egypt, then we are also not looking at the points gotten from Egypt game.

This is in similitude to what happened in the Super Eagles' last WC qualifying games that took us to the playoffs.

Even at that, Zambia would have still been the one eliminated.
It is the same thing.

sandra2025:
On this table log, Nigeria should be the first instead of Malawi because we have +3 goals difference and Malawi has +2.
I guess they arranged the position between Malawi and Nigeria alphabetically.
Back to Zambian coach, she's just stating what she doesn't understand.
Zambia only won one match irrespective of the high goals they scored.
Malawi and Nigeria won two matches.

Zambia wòn against Egypt and Malawi. You don't stumble into what you don't know.if they won only 1 match, what gave them 6 points?

camri:
you like big arsenal?

am a chelsea fan

camri:
robosky02, come and see oh. You are part of the conspiracy of these head to head. You have to say sth or your conscience won't be at rest

I also don't like this rule it needs to be changed but


Just a gentle reminder 📣

The Super Eagles of Nigeria 🇳🇬 missed out on qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany 🇩🇪 because of this same head-to-head tiebreaker rule. Heaven didn't fall, and there was no politics behind it.

Both Nigeria 🇳🇬 and Angola 🇦🇴 finished level on 21 points in CAF Group 4, but Angola secured qualification due to their superior head-to-head record against the Super Eagles.

Nigeria lost 1-0 away to Angola in Luanda before playing out a 1-1 draw with Angola in Kano.

Overall, Nigeria scored 21 goals and conceded 7, while Angola scored 12 goals and conceded 6. Under a standard goal-difference system, Nigeria's superior goal difference of +14 would have seen them finish top of the group.

Final standings:
🇦🇴 Angola - 21 points (+6 GD) ☑️
🇳🇬 Nigeria - 21 points (+14 GD) ❌

However, because FIFA applied the head-to-head tiebreaker during that qualification campaign, Angola qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, while Nigeria missed out.

The rule is not new, and there is no politics behind it.

Ignorance of information is not an excuse 📣

Dear Zambians 🇿🇲 , please take health.. We all sympathise with you all 😂

camri:
so Egypt came to sell groundnuts abi?

Actually if the total Goal was the same between the tied team then they will use the GD from the total Goal scored in the group stage including Egypt next if that's also the same then they will use all the Goal scored in the group stage, if that still don't work then they will draw lots

Fiscus105:
No wonder someone said before the 3rd match that, our destiny is in hand of Malawi!

Yet we are arguing and counter-arguing, on top inaccurate and invalid points.


Ignorance turn people to mumu before an informed person.

Yes our destiny was mainly dependent on the outcome of the match between Zambia and Malawi, cause we all knew Nigeria will beat Egypt to get 3 points, the match between Nigeria and Egypt was not about the goals Nigeria only needed a win to get 3 points to add to the 3 points they got when the beat Zambia

The game between Zambia and Malawi was highly in favor of Nigeria both ways, if Malawi had beating Zambia it would still be in favour of Nigeria, a draw between them would still favour Nigeria, Zambia beating Malawi was still in favour of Nigeria, the only way Nigeria would have been kicked out was a win for Zambia by 4 goals

MoneyMan5:
Actually it was Goal difference between the tied team first but they all have zero goal difference

Malawi scored 4 conceded 4, Nigeria scored 3 and conceded 3, Zambia scored 2 and also conceded 2 that's why they moved to total Goal scored.

Similar criteria was used in USA 94 where we topped the group that put Argentina on 3rd position. Only for us to unfortunately meet a monstrous Italy.