Tournament News
FIFA defend play-off game
2010-07-08 10:48
Email | Print
Johannesburg - FIFA insists it has no plans to scrap the Soccer World Cup third-place play-off, claiming the match still offers "prestige and pride".
Oscar Tabarez's Uruguay and Joachim Loew's Germany will contest
this game after losing their respective semi-finals to Holland and Spain.
They will meet on Saturday at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium but
critics have labelled the match as pointless, with the belief that
players would rather be on holiday.
FIFA, though, is still adamant that there is a reason for the losing semi-finalists to play an extra fixture.
"There is still prestige and pride at stake," said the governing body in The Times.
"Many fans will still be there to watch it and a third-place finish is better than a lot of countries have achieved.
"There are world-ranking points at stake, too. Uruguay are 16th
in the table but another win on Saturday, added to their progress to
the semi-finals, could take them closer to a top-10 place. There is
definitely something to play for."