Third Place: BEL v ENG (Live! ) (7/14)

REFRESH periodically, as this post will be updated throughout the match (hopefully).

2:40 am: In the pool, this third place match is not picked.  However it does play into any tiebreaker situation and we have a few.  If CRO wins the final, then there is a tie for 2nd place and 4th place.  BigRedSquare gets 2nd if total goals in 3rd place & Final matches is 5 or less and Blitzkreig813 gets 2nd if the total goals is 6 or more.  Bigblue2 gets 4th if the total goals is 5 or less and FernandoHeirrosArmada gets 4th if the total goals is 6 or more (note the loser ends in 5th which is zero prize money).

For the $40 Bonus, if FRA wins tomorrow, then Flying Elvi and Bigblue2 will split the $40 prize ($20 each) if the total goals is 6 or less, they will split with Krispy Kremer (3-way tie or $13.33 each) if the total goals is 7, and Krispy Kremer will win the Bonus if

Issue #8.2.4 "It's Not Coming Home" (After Semifinals)

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Thursday, July 12, 2018 

2018 World Cup Final - Luzhniki Stadium - Moscow
	vs.
FRA - France (Les Bleus) Fédération Française de Football		CRO - Croatia (Vatreni) Croatian Football Federation
#7 | C1 | Group C Winners | 5-0-1 3rd Finals ('98, '06) C1: Beat Australia 2-1 C3: Beat Peru 1-0 C5: Tied Denmark 0-0 R16: Beat 2D-Argentina 4-3 QF: Beat 1A-Uruguay 2-0 SF: Beat 1G-Belgium 1-0		#20 | D3 | Group D Winners | 4-0-2 1st Finals (-) D2: Beat Nigeria 2-0 D3: Beat Argentina 3-0 D6: Beat Iceland 2-1 R16: Beat 2C-Denmark 1-1 (3-2 PSO) QF: Beat 2A-Russia 2-2 (4-3 PSO) SF: Beat 2G-England 2-1 (AET)

ENGLAND RUN ENDS IN EXTRA TIME; FRANCE HOLDS ON

Walleyewins the pool, BigRedSquare in money, but 5 vie for final two spots

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt) -- For all the hype f bringing the Cup back home to 2G-England, tiny D1-Croatia's effort and heart won out in a 2-1 win after Extra Time.  ENG started strong and got a free kick goal, their 9th set piece goal, in the 5' but Croatia tied it in the second half to send it to extra time.  With ENG no longer afraid of the PSO and with CRO playing their third-straight extra time match, things looked good for the team that really isn't a country.  But then CRO's Mario Mandukic was in the right place for an opportunistic laser strike in the 109' to put CRO up for good.  It was CRO's second time scoring in Extra Time but this time their defense held down the stretch.  ENG only had one shot on goal (their free kick) though Harry Kane had a couple of point-blank opportunities (save then left post off the GK) on the same play and although ruled offsides, probably would've been overturned by VAR if he had actually scored.  CRO, the second smallest country to make the final and began play just in '96, advances to their first final while ENG is still overjoyed by the lads effort in this World Cup.

In the battle of giants, 1C-France (ranked #7) just needed

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

Set Piece + Header (7/10)

NIKKA RAMEN, GOLETA, CA -- Samuel Umtiti headed in the tourney's 32nd headed goal off the tourney's 69th set-piece hat lead to a goal in the 51' giving 1C-France its fourth one-goal victory, 1-0, over 1G-Belgium.  Belgium had scored at least 2 goals in four of their five previous matches but their famous counter-attacks never materialized.  FRA advanced to their 3rd final and will seek their 2nd World Cup ('98).  In this battle of giants, defense and goalkeeping ruled as FRA picked up their 4th shutout and 14-goal BEL were shut out for the first time.

FRA was picked by 18 to advance to the Final.  This propelled Walleye to

Issue #7.2.3 "The Greatest Showman" (Semifinal Preview)

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Monday, July 9, 2018

FRANCE-BELGIUM THE REAL FINAL
Final four feature teams who have not won the Cup in at least 20 years

HILTON SANTA BARBARA BEACHFRONT RESORT, CA (smt) --  The first semifinal will feature the two best teams of the tournament, a pre-final of sorts, with Group C winners France facing off against Group G Belgium, both undefeated in regulation and both ranked in the top 7.  France rallied from a 2-1 2nd half deficit to beat 2D-Argentina 4-3 and Belgium rallied from a 2-0 2nd half deficit to beat 2H-Japan in their Round of 16 matches so they have been tested.  The second semifinal features 1D-Croatia which needed to PSO wins against non-group winners to advance and 2G-England which barely beat G3-Tunisia but did get the PSO monkey off their back in beating 1H-Colombia.  Only 2 of the 8 teams on this side of the bracket were ranked in the top 11.  So will the Final be anti-climatic?  The current odds:  France 2:1, Belgium 2.5:1, England 2.75:1, Croatia 4:1. 

English fans are going bonkers over England's success thus far, especially finally winning a penalty shootout, they believe they are destined.  They are going almost as crazy as buying albums of The Greatest Showman, which spent 11 straight weeks at #1 in the U.K. tying Adele of all people.  My son got me to buy the digital version of the movie as he saw it with his neighborhood friend and after resisting for a long time, got to watch and LOVE it (ignore the biopic liberties taken).  I should never doubt Hugh Jackman (I highly enjoyed The Boy From Oz and saw him live on Broadway) in a musical again.  So to link the topics together, below is the actual track list from the movie (all great songs and damn addictive, even my son and daughter are humming the tunes) and how it relates to the 2018 World Cup.  BTW, each title is linked to the song courtesy of Atlantic Records.  Enjoy!

The Greatest Show: Where it's covered in all the colored lights; Where the runaways are running the night; Impossible comes true, it's taking over you; Oh, this is the greatest show.  Indeed, the World Cup is the greatest show on earth and this particular one has seen the "runaways" running the show with

Issue #6.2.2 "It's Coming Home" (After Quarterfinals)

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Sunday, July 8, 2018 

ENGLAND ON A HIGH, HOSTS NO MORE
Flying Elvi holding on to lead; 14 still alive

STUBHUB CENTER, CARSON, CA (smt) --  2G-England scored a goal before and after halftime in shutting out 1F-Sweden, 2-0 to advance to the semifinals for the first time since '90.  English fans are going crazy as they hope this is the run that will erase 52 years of bad memories including '16's Euro loss to tiny Iceland.  While I wore my '09 era Beckham England home jersey, I got so many compliments at the Camarillo Premium Outlet including shouts of "we're bringing it back home" referring to the World Cup trophy.  Forgot how many tourists go to these outlets so a lot of soccer fans.  

The last of the giants were put down, as 1G-Belgium used

Bonus Possibilities

With only UEFA (European) teams left, that means every match from now on will be won by UEFA.  That means UEFA will be the Winningest Region with 13 wins (of the 15 knockout matches).  Only 3 entries had this by the way they picked their bracket.  Krispy Kremer wins the Bonus if the total goals scored in the 3rd place and Final matches is 8 or more (not including PSO goals).  Note that if Croatia beats France and the total goals (3rd+Final) is 5 or less, then Bigblue2 will win 4th and won't be eligible for the Bonus.  There is also a chance of a 3-way tie for some scenarios if the total goals is 7 (that would be $13.33 each).  Here are the simplified Bonus Possibilities:

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...

Final Four Possibilities

Despite all the heavy favorites bowing out, no one has been guaranteed money yet.  14 entries still have a chance to win money while Flying Elvi, Walleye, and Stillcryin4USA will battle it out to win the pool.  Here are the Final Four Scenarios (8 possibilities).  If France beats Belgium in the Semis, then Walleye will win the pool; if Belgium wins their 1st Cup, then Stillcryin4USA will win the pool; and if Belgium loses in the Final, Flying Elvi, despite picking Germany as his champ, will win the pool.

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...

Back to Back PSOs (7/7)

CAMARILLO PREMIUM OUTLETS, CA -- 1D-Croatia was determined not to go PSOs again and became the first team to score in Extra Time to take a 2-1 lead.  But 2A-Russia, which had survived on PSO as well, answered back and the match ended on a 2-2 tie. There was a scare in that the CRO GK seemed to pull a hamstring minutes before Extra Time and stayed in and was tested right way and made the saves.  Host RUS started the PSO first and things went well until their ET game-tying savior, Mario Fernandes, became the first person this tourney (62 PKs) to completely miss the target, his shot going wide left.  CRO closed out for a 4-3 PSO win to make their second semifinal and first since '98.  Teams who kicked first in the PSO are now 0-4.

2G-England rolled over