
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa, it was expected that 24 teams would participate. In the first round, they were divided into 6 groups for a round-robin tournament (each pair of teams in the same group would play against each other), determining the first and second place in each group. Then, from the remaining 12 teams, 4 teams were selected based on points (without playing any matches), making a total of 16 teams to enter the knockout stage to decide the champion and runner-up. In total, how many matches were needed?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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