==More original research== 
 The talk page was actually more enlightening than the article, although that may be for lack of citations. To be honest, I cannot think of a Wikipedia-acceptable way to bring across into the article the points made in the talk page. Perhaps appropriate studies could be found in sports sociology or sports psychology journals? or maybe even anthropology journals? 

 On an objective level, the World Cup recently demonstrated to all of us some reasons why high scores over other teams might be necessary to advancement. For example, had Portugal-Brazil not ended in a tie in the Group of Death, the number of points scored over Korea DPR would have become highly relevant. This reason is loosely covered in the article (list), but I would suggest it is actually one of the least relevant points overall in the psychology of the thing. 

 What became strongly apparent in these discussion threads, in trying to explain cultural differences, was that in the United States and to a lesser extent Canada (especially in American football), it is considered dishonourable for a hugely dominant team to keep pushing hard, while in Britain/Europe/Australia (not enough opinions from elsewhere), it is considered dishonourable for *every* team not to push as hard as possible. 

 I notice that the question becomes most relevant in "national" sports - American football and basketball for the United States, Association football and cricket for Great Britain, hockey and curling for Canada. I bring in curling, because this has a built-in international mercy rule allowing concession if any team falls more than eight points behind, the absolute maximum that can be scored in a single end (and almost always never is). In both hockey and curling you are required to go all out, always, but only curling gives an 'out'. (Canadians, too, tend to become upset with teams that declare future certainties  although much more so with non-Canadian teams. In the United States, not so much  in many cases it is seen as simply a statement of fact, but it must be achieved "honourably".) American baseball, I would suggest, has different unspoken rules because, unlike American football, American baseball is financially designed to create long-lasting powerhouse dynasties. 

 The psychology of the thing does seem to be rooted in cheering for the underdog vs the assumption that if you lose, you deserve to lose and you need to get better (or get moved to a different conference). Much of the commentary re the British FIFA team was that if they did not advance, they had better not come home. In contrast, much of the commentary re the American FIFA team noted that United States teams tended to do best where they were rated the underdogs, but fell short against much less powerful teams. 

 Just as interesting to me is whose responsibility it is to keep the game "fair" and/or "fun", whatever the definition. In American football fixed divisions, United States commentators seem to place all the responsibility on the coach. European commentators, on the other hand, seem to place more responsibility for even matches on the association, per the Zimbabwe example above. (If they keep losing badly, the association will place them into a more appropriate level.) This frees the coach from all other responsibilities except to win. 

 All this comes from the discussion on this page only, in the context of various sports wins. Yet it cannot move onto the main article page, not in its current form. How does one cite tacit cultural assumptions and unspoken custom? - Tenebris