Run of play (7/11)

LA GALAXY FREE NACHOS AT EL TORITO IN MANHATTAN BEACH, CA -- 2G-England can go home again, but without the Cup in hand.  1D-Croatia became the sixth team to win after allowing the first goal, this time beating ENG 2-1 in Extra Time to reach their first final.  An opportunistic strike by Mario Mandzukic in the 109' in front of a slow to react ENG defense was the difference.  CRO becomes the first team to win three straight matches that went into Extra Time and even scored in their last two.  With ENG now confident in the PSO, CRO wouldn't allow them to get there.  A strong start by ENG with Kleran Trippier's bend-it-like-Beckham free kick, the ENG's 9th off of a set piece, in the 5' had their fans in a frenzy.  A rare double-miss by Harry Kane at point blank range (he was eventually ruled offside, but if it went to VAR, it likely would've been overturned) with the second off the post, off the GK, and still not finding the net, almost gave ENG a two-goal cushion.  With all the set piece goals lately, CRO used two run-of-play goals to seal the match.

The 20th ranked CRO team is the
worst-ranked team ever in the Finals ('98 FRA was #18) and the second smallest nation to reach the final (URU in '50).  So what is with ENG losing in the knockout stages to small population teams?  They lost EURO '16 to Iceland (334,000) and now CRO (4,000,000).

No one picked CRO to advance to the Final.  Five are vying for the final 2 money spots.  Walleye sits atop of the standings as no one will be able to catch him (110 pts).  BigRedSquare (2nd-Tied, 107) has clinched at least 3rd place.  If FRA wins, then Sacre Les Blues (13th-T, 101) and Sokkerbix (26th-T, 95) take 3rd and 4th.  If CRO wins, then the standings remain the same with BigRedSquare and Blitzkreig813 (2nd-T) battling for 2nd/3rd and Bigblue2 (4th-T, 106) and FernandoHierrosArmada (4th-T) battling for 4th.  Either Flying Elvi (6th, 105), Bigblue2, or Krispy Kremer (71st, 78) will win the Bonus.
                                                           

2018 HWCI Men's World Cup Pool - Final Four Possibilities
---------------------------------------------------------
If FRANCE beats CROATIA in the final, then the possible winners are...
                   Walleye Score: 124 (place 1 winner)
              BigRedSquare Score: 121 (place 2 winner)
           Sacre Les Blues Score: 115 (place 3 winner)
                 Sokkerbix Score: 109 (place 4 winner)
If CROATIA beats FRANCE in the final, then the possible winners are...
                   Walleye Score: 110 (place 1 winner)
              BigRedSquare Score: 107 (tiebreak: 4.5 | 2nd if <=5 | 3rd if >=6)
             Blitzkreig813 Score: 107 (tiebreak: 6.0 | 3rd if <=5 | 2nd if >=6)
                  Bigblue2 Score: 106 (tiebreak: 5.5 | 4th if <=5)
     FernandoHierrosArmada Score: 106 (tiebreak: 6.0 | 4th if >=6)

---

2018 HWCI Men's World Cup Pool - Bonus Possibilities
----------------------------------------------------
If FRANCE beats CROATIA in the final, then the possible winners are...
             Flying Elvi (tiebreak: 5.5 | Tied if <=6 | 3-way Tie if =7)
                Bigblue2 (tiebreak: 5.5 | Tied if <=6 | 3-way Tie if =7)
           Krispy Kremer (tiebreak: 8.5 | 3-way Tie if =7 | Wins if >=8)
If CROATIA beats FRANCE in the final, then the possible winners are...
             Flying Elvi (tiebreak: 5.5 | Wins if <=5 | Tied if =6 | 3-way Tie if =7)
                Bigblue2 (tiebreak: 5.5 | Tied if =6 | 3-way Tie if =7)
           Krispy Kremer (tiebreak: 8.5 | 3-way Tie if =7 | Wins if >=8)

Finalists (W-L-T Pts (GD - GF))

FRA 5-0-1 16 (6 - 10)

CRO 4-0-2 14 (7 - 12)

Eliminated (W-L-T Pts (GD - GF) [FP])

BEL 5-1-0 15 (8 - 14)

ENG 3-2-1 10 (6 - 12)

5.  URU 4-1-0 12 (4 - 7)

6.  BRA 3-1-1 10 (5 - 8)

7.  SWE 3-2-0 9 (2 - 6)

8.  RUS 2-1-2 8 (4 - 11)

 9. COL 2-1-1 7 (4 - 7)

10. ESP 1-0-3 6 (1 - 7)

11. DEN 1-0-3 6 (1 - 3)

12. MEX 2-2-0 6 (-3 - 3)

13. POR 1-1-2 5 (0 - 6)

14. SUI 1-1-2 5 (0 - 5)

15. JPN 1-2-1 4 (-1 - 6)

16. ARG 1-2-1 4 (-3 - 6)
17. SEN 1-1-1 4 (0 - 4)
18. IRN 1-1-1 4  (0  - 2)
19. KOR 1-2-0 3 (0 - 3)
20. PER 1-2-0 3 (0 - 2)
21. NGA 1-2-0 3 (-1 - 3)
22. GER 1-2-0 3 (-2 - 2) [-4]
23. SRB 1-2-0 3 (-2 - 2) [-9]
24. TUN 1-2-0 3 (-3 - 5)
25. POL 1-0-2 3 (-3 - 2)
26. KSA 1-0-2 3 (-5 - 2)
27. MAR 0-2-1 1 (-2 - 2)
28. ISL 0-2-1 1 (-3 - 2) [-3]
29. CRC 0-2-1 1 (-3 - 2) [-6]
30. AUS 0-2-1 1 (-3 - 2) [-7]
31. EGY 0-3-0 0 (-4 - 2)
32. PAN 0-3-0 0 (-9 - 2)