Angola went into their final Africa Cup of Nations Group A game last night, knowing that a 0-0 draw would send them both through to the quarterfinals. Algeria knew that a 0-0 draw would suffice, provided Mali beat Malawi. So when news filtered through that Mali were beating Malawi… Angola vs Algeria deteriorated into one of the most eye-hurtingly boring games of football I’ve endured a long time. Highlights are above.

The last ten minutes were especially painful, with the Algerian defenders passing the ball along their back four while the Angola stood and watched.

I don’t blame either team. You do what you need to do to go through, right?

I do blame the tie-breaker system at the Africa Cup of Nations, which uses head to heads records to rank teams with the same number of points.

Algeria had beaten Mali 1-0, and so they knew that even if Mali finished level with them on 4 points (which they did) there was absolutely no way Mali were going to climb above them. Hence the boredom, and the fact that Algeria have qualified from Group A by scoring just one and conceding three.
Head to head records sound fairer on paper. It ensures teams will qualify ahead of teams they have beaten. But the big downside is that teams can go into their final group games feeling too safe, and so not really trying to win. It also means that teams like Mali go into the final group game at a serious disadvantage.

If the tie-breaker last night had been goal difference instead, Mali’s much more exciting 3-1 win over Malawi…
…would have been enough to send them through, which would have meant Algeria needing to score against Angola, which would have meant better football for everyone to enjoy.

So you’ll probably be pleased to hear that the first tie-breaker for teams level on points at World Cup 2010 will be goal difference, followed by goals scored, and then head to head.

January 19, 2010