Is the new tiebreaker criterion for the Club World Cup fair? Experts weigh in.

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A fase de grupos do FIFA Club World Cup finished, but a subject continues to generate debate: the new tie-breaker criterion for the Club World Cup. Adopted by FIFA for the tournament, the model that prioritizes head-to-head matches over overall goal difference caught many fans off guard. But, in fact, is the new rule fair?

How does the new tiebreaking rule work?

The FIFA surprised by placing direct confrontation as the first criterion, different from other competitions such as the World Cup of teams. The idea is to value the duel between the teams that are directly fighting.

The first criterion is the performance in direct confrontations between the tied teams. If there is still a tie, general data from the campaign in the group is considered. And if none of this resolves the issue, the "fair play" comes into play — and as a last resort, a draw.

📋 The order of tiebreaker criteria:

1. Direct confrontation;

2. Better goal difference in these head-to-head matches;

3. More goals scored in these same games;

4. Best goal difference considering all group stage games;

5. Most goals scored in all group stage matches;

6. The team with fewer points lost due to cards has an advantage. The calculation is done as follows:

• Yellow card: -1 point

• Red card for two yellows: – 3 points

• Direct red: - 4 points

• Yellow + red directly in the same game: -5 points

All received cards count towards the fair play criterion, including those applied to coaches and technical staff members. If a coach is penalized for protesting, for example, this infraction will be added to the team's negative score in the discipline competition.

➡️ Who will be the champion? Check out the matchups and simulate the results of the Club World Cup.

Analysis: Is the new tie-breaking criterion fair? Columnists at UD News comment.

The change divided opinions. To understand the pros and cons, the UD News heard from two of his columnists.

Eduardo Tironi's view: "It devalues the overall campaign"

For Tironi, the rule is bad because it disregards the team's performance against all opponents in the group.

— I didn't like this new criterion, I thought it was bad because the performance in the group stage should be counted by everything he did in the group stage. Example: a team wins 5-0, another team wins from that same team 1-0, at the time of the tiebreaker, shouldn't this count? It should, because one team performed much better. I think the performance of the whole group, of all games, should be counted as a tiebreaker criterion — he analyzes.

Gustavo Fogaça (Guffo)'s view: "Balances and prevents becoming a punching bag"

For Guffo, the rule is not new in other sports and has an important merit: balancing very unequal groups.

— Football is generally a conservative sport. The tiebreaker rule for the World Cup is already used in basketball, volleyball, and handball competitions. It has a premise that serves to balance uneven groups. This way, the weaker team in the group (such as Auckland) cannot be a "punching bag" to build a goal difference. It forces stronger teams to put in more effort against each other — he explains.

Guffo, however, considers that it is necessary to observe in the long term. — It may also open up space for more 'crony games,' reducing sportsmanship. It's worth waiting and observing — he concludes.

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