This Is Why I Love Group Play

I mentioned it in a few of the live blogs, but I love group play like this. It always gets so wild and zany and unpredictable that it's so fun to watch unfold. And tomorrow will be the perfect case and point as no one has clinched a semifinal berth in Group B and no one has been eliminated in Group B. However, some teams do have one hell of a hill to climb and an extradorinary amount of luck to get through (*cough*cough*United States*cough*cough). Seeing as it's a Saturday night and you probably have not done much today, I decided that I would fry all of your brains. That's right, listed below are the scenarios that each team needs to advance tomorrow. From CBC.com

TIEBREAKERS:In the event that two teams in one group end up with the same amount of points at the end of the round robin, the first tiebreaker is goal difference, followed by total goals scored.

If more than two teams end up with the same amount of points, the first tie breaker is the greatest number of points obtained in the games between the teams involved, followed by goal difference and goal difference (again, taking into account only the games between the teams involved).

[....]

Brazil leads the group with six points, followed by Italy and Egypt (three points each) and the United States (no points).

BRAZIL: The South American champions can clinch first place in the group and a spot in the semifinals with a win or a draw against Italy on Sunday.

ITALY: The world champions can clinch a semifinal spot if it earns more points on Sunday from its game against Brazil than Egypt gains from its contest against the United States. If both Italy and Egypt earn a draw on Sunday, Italy goes through. Italy sports a +1 goal difference ahead of Sunday's game.

EGYPT: The African champions can clinch a semifinal spot if it earns more points on Sunday from its game against the United States than Italy gains from its contest against Brazil. If both Egypt and Italy earn a draw on Sunday, Italy goes through. Egypt has a 0 goal difference going into Sunday.

UNITED STATES: The CONCACAF Gold Cup champions must beat Egypt on Sunday to have any chance of claiming a semifinal berth. A loss or a draw against the Egyptians would eliminate the U.S. from contention, as would a draw or win by Italy. The U.S. sports a goal difference of -5 going into Sunday's game.

THREE THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

A loss to Italy by two goals on Sunday and an Egypt win by three goals against the United States will eliminate Brazil

If Italy loses to Brazil by a goal, they could still advance, as long as the United States beats Egypt, creating a three-way way tie at three points.

However, there is also a scenario where the Italians could win and be eliminated. If they beat Brazil by one goal and Egypt beats the United States by three goals, there would be a three-way tie at six points. Goal difference in that scenario: Brazil +3, Egypt +3, Italy +2.

Is anyone still sane? Good grief, that's chaotic! And yet, when this starts to play out and some of these scenarios start developing, it becomes so crazy and so intense to watch that if something exciting happens, you'll never forget it. The U.S. can still qualify. Brazil can still be eliminated. What a day tomorrow should be.

And I am hopeful that I will have a live blog up tomorrow for the games (they're both on at 2:30 PM ET on the ESPN and ESPN2, respectively). That being said, my internet has been giving me the virtual middle finger throughout the day. Somehow, I got it to work now, but if the problem persists, I am in no way confident that I can get it again. I'll send y'all the CiL email tomorrow if I am good (that would mean that I am online). But it's all in the hands of my computer and internet. I'll be around. I am hoping that my computer and internet will be as well.