Of course, you’re watching the final on Sunday. Maybe you haven’t decided if you are fanatic enough to watch the third-place match on Saturday. Or maybe you think Spain is boring and you don’t want to watch the final, after all.
In 2006, Germany won the third-place match, 3-1. The final was a 1-1 draw decided on penalties.
In 2002, the score of the third-place match was 3-2. The score of the final was 2-0.
In 1998, the third-place match was 2-1, the final was 3-0.
In 1994, the third-place match was 4-0, the final was 0-0.
1990? 2-1 for third, 1-0 in the final.
1986: 4-2 for third, 3-2 final.
1982: 3-2, 3-1.
You have to go back to 1978 to find a World Cup where the final match had more goals than the third-place match. In the seven tournaments since then, there have been 30 goals in the third-place match, 17 in the finals.
So if all you care about is goals, you should watch on Saturday, where you can find out what soccer looks like when the teams don’t really care who wins. Think “NBA All-Star Game.”
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