Don't be surprised if Austria and Algeria show minimal interest in attacking when they face off Saturday night in Kansas City.
This is the rare World Cup match that neither team wants to win.
Austria and Algeria enter their final Group J match deadlocked at three points apiece. Neither can overtake group winner Argentina for first place with a victory, nor are they in jeopardy of slipping to fourth place behind already-eliminated Jordan with a lSaturday night's match in Kansas City should be a showdown for second place in the group and automatic qualification to the knockout rounds, except the catch is that it may be more beneficial for Austria or Algeria to finish in third. Eight of 12 third-place teams in group play advance to the knockout stage. And the Round of 32 draw potentially appears more favorable for a third-place qualifier from Group J than for its runner-up.Since Austria's goal differential (even) is better than Algeria's minus-2, the calculus for both sides is different entering Saturday's match. A tie is a perfect result for the Algerians because one more point would wrap up their spot in knockout play but it would not be enough to leapfrog Austria for second place in the group. A tie would automatically secure the Austrians' place in the Round of 32, but they would be on pace to face Spain by virtue of finishing second.oss.
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