By Javed Baloch
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If you have been watching the group stage games at FIFA World Cup 2022, you would have noticed that the round-3 games of each group kick-off at the same time.
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For example, in Group H, Portugal vs South Korea, and Ghana vs Uruguay kicked off at the exact same time.
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This was not always the case. In the World Cup of 1982, West Germany faced Austria in their last group game.
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The other two teams in the group, Chile and Algeria, had played their last group game on the previous day.
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As the result of the Chile vs Algeria was known, Germany had to beat Austria by one goal and both Germany and Austria would qualify for the next round.
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Germany scored in the first 10 minutes of the game and then, for the entirety of the match, both teams played the game with zero intensity and with no intention to go for goals.
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As Germany and Austria played the entire game doing nothing after Germany's lead, FIFA had to change things to prevent any future such things from happening.
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Thus, FIFA changed the time and scheduling of the last-round game in each group in World Cups. Now both games in round 3 in group stages are played at the same time.
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The West Germany and Austria game of 1982 is known as the "Disgrace of Gijon". Gijon is the city where the match was played.
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