Why do we even need a third-place match at the FIFA World Cup?
Look, be straight with me - does a bronze medal match even make sense? Everyone watches the final anyway, and nobody remembers third place. Maybe they should just scrap it already?
2 answers
★ Best answer
Actually, the third-place match has quite a concrete purpose, even if people really do forget about it faster than they forget about the final. From a tournament organization standpoint, it allows each national team to finish the championship on a positive note - even those who lost in the semis at least have a chance to go home with a medal. For many footballers this is psychologically important, especially when they came so close to making the final. Plus, the teams playing for bronze get an extra match to gain experience and keep their form sharp before the long break until the next tournaments.
From a practical standpoint, the third-place match gives broadcasters and sponsors one more day of content, and that's money. Yeah, the ratings are lower than the final, but it still draws an audience. And you often see freer, more interesting football there - teams without that nervous tension you get in the final. I mean, if you cancel the match, two teams just get medals without playing, which looks pretty weird. It makes more sense to keep it as is.
Honestly, I rarely watch the third-place match, but as an accountant I see the point in it - it's money for the federations, prize money for the athletes, and material for the stats. Plus for the team that didn't make the final, it's at least a chance to leave with a medal instead of feeling like a complete failure. I get that casual viewers don't care about it, but for the players themselves and the tournament organizers it actually matters.
Your answer
Log into answer.