World Cup Soccer Prediction Instructions

If you have come to this page, you already have the files to run your Sweepstakes / Office Pool (if not see more here). The below applies to all the sweepstakes spreadsheets (rugby or soccer).

Sweepstakes spreadsheets for use in office pools- Who this is for

This page is for the players in a sweepstakes . To see how to capture your predictions for the World Cup Sweepstakes watch the Video Clip lower down the page.

Knock Out Phase Points

Note that the points for the Knock Out phase will only update once all the group matches are finished.

Disable Auto Updates for Macs

If you are using a Mac, the automatic updates may not be working (some users are saying that Mac OS Monterey is working but we cannot confirm this). If you have already filled the players in, you can switch off the automatic update of scores (you will need to do it manually from now on) by performing the following steps (save as a new version and keep the original just in case).

Go to the sheet ‘ActualsResultsWeb’, right click on any team name, and choose the ‘Data Range Properties’ as shown below

Untick the ‘Save Query definition’ option

You will need to do the same thing with the KnockOutWeb sheet.

Mac’s and the Knockout stage

If you are using an Apple Mac and have needed to disable the automatic updates (see below), then for the knockout phase you will need to continue to update the ‘KnockOutWeb’ sheet manually. The team names with rank are quite important to the spreadsheet so we recommend you look at how we do it on the webpage (Knock Out part of Qatar 2022 World Cup). Note that points for the knockout phase will only update once all group matches are finished.

Remove unused player scores

If you have not used all the player sheets, especially if there are lots of 0-0 draws in the matches, player sheets that are unused may appear in the rankings. To stop this (once you are sure that you won’t need any more players sheets as this has no undo), you can go to the Overall Pnts sheets and delete the contents ONLY of unused cells in column N ONLY as shown below

YouTube How to make your predictions on our Sweepstake Spreadsheets

This is based on prior years, but the logic has stayed the same.

Sweepstakes instructions for the player (text and screenshots)

When the players receive their spreadsheets they need to make their predictions. On the ‘Player’ sheet (shown below)

They must:

• (1) Enter their name in cell A1 (if the group has similarly named people use a unique name)
• (2) & (3) Enter their predictions of the scores in the blue cells (column G and I)
• (4) As they enter their scores the group standings in column O will be updated so that they can see who is going to progress to the next round (top 2 of each group).
• (5) New feature allowing players to let Excel, using the teams rankings, predict the match outcomes. More of this later.
• Note: per the competition rules, teams on the same number of points will be separated by (in order) comparing their net goals,  goals scored, then head to head results (unlike the recent Euro’s) . The spreadsheet will take this into account.
• Note: Because of the complex rules to decide who progresses, we suggest players look at the resultant knockout matches and make sure they are happy with the teams progressing. If it is not what they want, they should change some of the scores.
• Once they have completed predicting the group stages, the knockout bracket stage of the tournament will auto populate and they must predict the scores in these matches.
• Note: at the knockout bracket stage of the tournament they only get points for who progresses. Predict a winner in each match (even just a 1-0) instead of a draw and penalties.

• The player must complete the knockout bracket stage of the tournament until they get to a winner.
• They must then save the file and send it back to the organizer.

Auto Predict Results

A new feature this year, for players you don’t want to have to fill in all the match results, is an auto predict button.

Key to using this is to enable the macros when the player opens the spreadsheet. As shown below it will look something like the below (1). If you want to use the buttons (2), the macros will need to be enabled.

The buttons available are:

• Random Full prediction- auto fills results in the group AND knockout phases and predicts a winner
• Random Predict Group Stages only- auto fills the group stages only. The player will then need to fill in the scores for the knockout phase all the way up to the winner.

The player can push the buttons as often as they want and each push will generate a random set of results, but based on the teams rankings.

Changing the chances of a team win with Auto Predict

As per the below image, on the ‘Rankings’ sheet in the Players spreadsheet we have included the teams and their points per the official rankings. This is what is used to forecast match results.

The bigger the difference in points between 2 teams (1 below), the more likely that the better side will win (but there is always a chance of a reverse result).

We have allowed you to change these odds by adding/ subtracting points for whatever reason (2).

For example, in red text (3) we have highlighted the teams that have previously won a World Cup, as these teams always seem to be in the mix. You may want to add some points for them.

Teams that seem to always come up short, like Belgium or Netherlands, you may want to deduct some points.

If you have a favorite team and want them to win it, add 1000 points to them and they will almost always win.

You can then go back to the ‘Player’ sheet and now when you use one of the Auto Predict buttons, it will use your new rankings.

Related

2022 World Cup Sweepstakes Spreadsheet- run your own office pool for Qatar 2022