…and the point of this is …????
Germany beat Portugal 3-1 in the World Cup third place playoff. Yawn! Why do they bother having such games? Does anyone really care if their team came third or fourth? Do the fans? Players? They came to the World Cup to win, once they are knocked out, whats the point of playing another game?
More often than not these pointless games are lopsided, as one team shows it really couldn’t give a rats arse. Or else, they are still on a big letdown after missing out on the main prize. We’ve seen this at World Cups, Rugby World Cups, and I’m sure in other events. So why do they bother? Oh, yes, FIFA makes money out of it.
Technorati Tags: World Cup, football, soccer
July 9th, 2006 at 6:45 am
Well Mr Cynic, the third place playoff is held in high regard in the World Cup. It’s the difference between a podium finish and nothing at all.
Ask Germans how much it means and although they didn’t make the big one, I am sure they are proud of the fact they got 3rd.
And besides, if we’d gotten past Italy and then smashed Ukraine, we could very well have been in that 3rd place game, and then we’d be feeling differently..
July 9th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
I guess it’s like asking why award a bronze medal at the Olympics. Similarly, why play internationals at all outside of competition?
July 9th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
The 3rd place game is usually pretty entertaining since both teams don’t view it as the end of the world if they lose. As a result, the game is pretty open and there is a lot of scoring (such as 3-1 yesterday).
but yes, it is another way for FIFA to make a little more money.