Viewing what sort of group stage format can be done

A group stage is a common function of several football tournaments.


In the majority of situations competitions are only going to have one group stage round, but on occasions multiple team stages are used. These are typically generally followed closely by a knock-out round and in knock-out rounds even numbers of teams are chosen. Which means an even number of teams have to leave the group stage and the simplest method of doing that is to have an even quantity of groups, then an equal number of teams advance from each group. For example, having eight teams and the group winners, or the top two teams, make it to the knock-out rounds. As the Bristol City owner will know, having an even amount of teams in the group ensures that everyone completes their matches at the same time. Nonetheless, having an odd number of teams implies that one team will finish their matches early, causing them having to hope results go their way on the final match day.

Most soccer teams want to finish top of their group, as it usually means that they will play a lower rated team in the following round. But, due to surprise results even the greatest teams can fail to top their group, and therefore two heavyweights could face-off in the first knock-out round. Which means that there can be no real benefit to finishing in first place, which sort of goes against the spirit of competition and wanting to win every match. Some competitions, as the RB Salzburg owner will likely be well aware, provide a greater reward for finishing in higher positions. For instance, the group winners directly skip the first knock-out round, while other teams, such as those in second and third spot, compete in a play-off round. The winners of the play-off round then earn the right to join the group winners within the next round.

People consider the knock-out stages of a football competition to be probably the most exciting component because every match is winner takes all. Nevertheless, group stages are believed necessary because they allow even the weakest teams to play more than one match in the competition. In order to expand the role that the knock-outs play while nevertheless maintaining the group stages in place, some tournaments raise the amount of teams that qualify for the next round. As the AC Milan owner should be able to inform you, they do this by guaranteeing that teams in certain group positions, such as first and second, automatically proceed through. They then compare the points of all teams that finish in a certain position, such as third place, and put a particular quantity of the best teams through to the knock-outs.