Entry

Entrants fill in the orange boxes on the entry spreadsheet. The rest of the cells are protected, apart from
the ones marked actuals where you can record scores as they actually happen and cross-check my reports.
You should put your name at the top (cell F1). Traditionally a high proportion of entrants have often
found this a step too far....
Put a score in for each of the 64 matches (in cells G4 to I86)
In the knock-out phase (cells G65 to I86) you should not record a draw. If the match ends in a draw, it
will go to a penalty shoot-out. The winning team will get one extra goal only. Eg. if you think that
Germany beat England (again) 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out, after drawing 1-1, you should mark the score
would be 2-1 to Germany, not 7-6!
Scoring
Points are awarded as follows:
Group stage
1 point for each match result directionally correct (win/draw/lose)
1 bonus point for match result predicted exactly (eg, 2-1, 0-0)
1 point for each team progressing to the knockout stage
1 bonus point for each team correctly identified as Group winner or Group runner-up
Knockout stage
1 point for each match result directionally correct (win/draw/lose)
1 bonus point for match result predicted exactly (eg, 2-1, 0-2)
1 point for each team correctly predicted as advancing to the next round
1 point for correctly predicting the Champions
Details on how the tournament works
Usual stuff group phases, where teams play in a small league, that lead to knockout phases. The group
phases should work out fine, but there are times when the groups are so close that it requires a crowbar to
separate the teams. If two or more teams finish on equal points, the rules are:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

superior goal difference in all the group matches;

higher number of goals scored in all the group matches;
higher number of points obtained in the matches among the teams in question
superior goal difference in the matches among the teams in question
higher number of goals scored in the matches among the teams in question
drawing of lots.

The spreadsheet can model down to (e) but not drawing lots by FIFA. So, if your predictions land you
in a very tight situation you can either (i) change your predictions to make life easier or (ii) overwrite the
ranking in the orange cells in column Q. If youre still reading this by now, well done. Most people
switch off at the word Details.