Now that out beloved Lomthayos are officially out of WC, let us take a look at the points and chances each of the top teams has...
IND - 14; has 2 games with NED and SA
SA - 12; has 2 games with IND and AFG
AUS - 8; has 3 games with ENG, AFG and BAN
NZ - 8; has 2 games with PAK and SL
PAK - 6; has 2 games with ENG and NZ
AFG - 6; has 3 games with NED, SA and AUS
NED - 4; has 3 games with AFG, ENG and IND
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If a team has >=12 points, you get a ticket to the semis. With 10 points and good NRR, you still are very much in the game but the situation is less clear cut. With at least two teams at 10 points, the table opens up for a few opportunities.
IND and SA are easily through to the semis with 12+ points.
NZ and AUS still at 8 points. I think Aussies will dominate the remainder without issue. If NZ lose one game out of remaining two they might create an opportunity for one of the bottom teams.
AFG already has 6, the highest of the bottom 4 teams. They have 3 more games of which the NED one wonât be a difficult win. But they are also in a position to at least challenge AUS and NZ. Interestingly, AFG is currently the most likely to break into the top 4.
PAK has 2 more so the maximum they will get is 10 points. Given that AFG do bad and NZ fail in the upcoming matches they have chance of playing SFs. Very slight though.
NED also could get maximum 10 points. But looking at their opponents it is only a theoretical possibility. Safe to say they are already out of the WC.
