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Ephemeral-Throwaway t1_iy7r493 wrote

If they do it, then 12 groups of 4 is better.

But it basically makes the group stage a formality for the big nations, there's barely any jeaopardy as 8 of the 12 3rd place finishes will go through.

The one thing it could be interpreted as though is that it is a festival of football for the group stage, a chance for teams to get a rhythm going and then the real business starts with the last 32 stage.

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