Helvecia on the verge of Champions League main round

And I had to get my head around the permutations with a bit of early morning maths!

First of all, well done to Helvecia – 2 wins has put them in a great position, but it’s still a big game on Saturday against Armenian champions Yerevan. They won’t be accepting any congratulations yet though with a lot still to do. But the fact we can have this conversation is a positive step for England and indeed the points accrued even now will help as I wrote in a previous post about the coefficients here.

Let’s assume Petrow win v Europa.

Helvecia just need a point to go through for the first time in their history, with only Baku United passing the preliminary round as an English representative – indeed reaching the Elite Round.

However, a defeat for the English champions and it gets a bit complicated. The goal difference v Europa will be irrelevant and we have to look at a table between just the three tied teams. Petrow have a +2 GD and that won’t change. Helvecia +3 and Yerevan -5.

A Helvecia win or draw and they are through into the main round. If Petrow don’t win versus Europa, then a win for Yerevan and they are through on straight head to head with Helvecia.

Let’s look at the possibilities if they lose and Petrow win according to the regulations below taking from UEFA.com.

Article 14 Equality of points – mini-tournaments

14.01

If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of a mini-tournament, the following criteria are applied to the mini-tournament in question, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;

superior goal difference from the matches played among the teams in question;

higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;

if, after having applied criteria a) to c), teams still have an equal ranking, criteria a) to c) are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the remaining teams to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria e) to h) apply in the order given to the two or more teams still equal;

superior goal difference in all matches;

higher number of goals scored in all matches;

lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in the mini-tournament (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);

higher club coefficient (see Annex A).

UEFA Futsal Champions League Regulations 2022-23

Helvecia lose by 1 up to 4-3.

Petrow progress with more goals scored.

Helvecia lose by 1, 5-4 or higher.

Helvecia go through with same GS and GA, as it then it goes back to the match between Helvecia and Petrow, which Helvecia won. Any higher and Helvecia go through with more goals scored.

Yerevan win by 2 up to 7.

Petrow go through with any result that is more than 2 goals in favour of Yerevan up to 8, in which case, Yerevan will have a better goal difference in the matches between the three teams in question. An 8-0 win takes their GD to +3 or a 12-5 win gives them +2 but a better goals scored (between the 3 teams).

Yerevan win 8-0

So there you have the permutations of Helvecia’s group of the UEFA Futsal Champions League preliminary round. I am sure they will do the job and get the result they need and make a bit of history for the most decorated English club. In the main round they’ll play in Kaunas, where we played the World Cup and will face Zalgiris (LTU), Eboli (ITA) and group A winners, either Kady Futsal (FIN) or Titograd (MNE).

Perth Saltires

Also a special mention to a team I coached with in 2013 and 2014 in the preliminary rounds. They got a good draw against Danish champions Gentofte and while they can’t qualify, it’s a positive step for the scots! Well done!