The final group league fixtures of the World Cup are being played simultaneously to prevent teams from gaining any unfair advantage.

Since the 1986 edition of the tournament, this has been the set practice — final pairs of group matches always start simultaneously.

But why? So that teams could not wield an unfair advantage on the final matchday by playing later than their group rivals.

It all started off the 1982 World Cup, during which West Germany defeated Austria 1-0 after Algeria had defeated Chile in their final group game.

It was established before the final game that a West Germany win by one or two goals would qualify both teams and eliminate Algeria, but any other result would eliminate Austria or West Germany.

West Germany scored in the 10th minute and for the remaining 80 minutes, there were few attacks from either team. Each team knew the result was mutually beneficial for their progression.

The match on June 25, 1982, has been immortalised as the ‘Disgrace of Gijon’, after the Spanish city in which the match was contested.

So, Fifa subsequently revised the group system for future tournaments, meaning the final two games in each group would be played simultaneously to help prevent similar scenarios.

However, the concluding group games could be vulnerable to manipulation if a match is hit by weather delays, with Fifa acknowledging simultaneous matches may not necessarily finish together.

This system of staging final league fixtures simultaneously is now followed in all major tournaments to prevent any wrongdoing by any team.

Mexico, United States, Argentina, Colombia and Germany have all been confirmed as winners from their respective groups, and Norway and France have also advanced from Group I — the two will face off on Friday to determine who finishes first and second.

Four nations — Haiti, Turkey, Tunisia and Jordan — will all finish fourth in their respective groups and will not advance to the last-32 stage.

Two of the teams involved in 1982 could be the beneficiaries of this rule.

One of the final games in Group J is between Algeria and Austria. Both teams are on three points, and by the time they play on Sunday (IST), they will know if a
convenient draw will send both safely through to the round of 32.