What happens to the two teams that lose in the World Cup semi-finals?
Thinking of crying all day and night at the lack of football during the four (yes, four, that’s nearly a week!) days between the semi-finals and final? Well, think again! The third-place playoff is to be played the day before the final, and should provide the perfect entrée for the juicy final match that is to come on 18 December.
The two losing semi-finalists will go head-to-head to see who comes third and who comes fourth, as the name suggests.
Why is the third place playoff match important?
Basically, money. The team that finishes in third place receives $27 million while fourth place receives $25 million in prize money. One may feel that it should be enough money for them to get over losing in the semi-finals.
The winning side receives $42 million and losing the final gets you $30 million. In total, the World Cup prize money reaches a staggering $440 million, which is no small fee!
The total has increased $40 million since the last tournament and at the 2014 World Cup, a mere $358 million dollars was handed out.
World Cup prize money
World Cup Finish Prize money ($)
Group Stage 9 million
Round of 16 13 million
Quarter Final 17 million
Fourth place 25 million
Third place 27 million
Second place 30 million
Winner 42 million