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Four points aren't a guarantee
Originally Published: March 16, 2010
By Paul Carr | ESPN Stats & Information
As the World Cup draws near, a familiar refrain will emerge from teams considered underdogs in their groups: four points to advance.
Conventional wisdom says that four points -- a win and a draw -- will get a country into the round of 16 as one of the top two finishers in its group. But do the numbers support such a theory?
Looking at the past three World Cups (the only ones to use the current 32-team format), we can see exactly how many points have been earned by teams that reach ...
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