Wednesday, December 14, 2022 Dailies: 13-14 ]
SOCCER POWERS REMOVE DOUBT
Soccerbix wins the pool! 8 entries still alive for final 4 money spots; 32 can win Bonus
HOME (smt) -- The soccer powers have been threatened all tournament long, with E1-Germany and F1-Belgium exiting in the group stage and knockout round upsets of 1G-Brazil and 2E-Spain. But power doesn't panic. 1C-Argentina built up their 5th straight 2-0 lead but this time they not only held on to it, but added the back-breaking 3rd goal to squash upstart 2F-Croatia, 3-0. Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi were involved in all 3 goals (Alvarez drew PK & Messi converted PK; Messi touch (no official assist) & Alvarez long run for goal; Messi magic dribbling and pass to Alvarez for goal).
1D-France quickly broke 1F-Morocco's impressive play of never trailing nor allowing an opponent to score in the 5th minute and did something they haven't done yet in the WC, pitch a shutout, winning 2-0. The two soccer powers will face each other in the Final and will feature two superstars of Paris Saint-Germain - ARG's Messi and FRA's Kylian Mbappé. Maybe a repeat of the wild 2018 Round of 16 match won by FRA 4-3 on 19-year old Mbappé's brace.
The crowd was very pro-MAR and they have gotten support from a lot of neutrals around the world including Israel, which had a great newspaper cover showing their support. Interestingly, MAR played more attacking and fun soccer after giving up the goal but could not get the tying goal before FRA added a 2nd in the 79'. For a team that never had more than 37% possession in any match (and less than 23% in the past two), MAR had 56% possession and took 15 shots (though just 1 on goal - the bicycle kick was tipped by GK but would've hit the left post anyway so not a shot on goal).
With FRA's win, this secured the pool for Soccerbix who leads with 123 points. It's Soccerbix's 2nd title after winning the inaugural one in 1998 as Le Bix. 12 got both FRA and ARG and 8 of those are the top 8 in the standings (and all 8 have picked ARG as their champion). Soccerbix has a 16-point cushion over those who have FRA as their champion (2 Goals 1 World Cup, Kona Coast Uno, and Redhat Dave (17th-Tied, 107)) so if FRA wins, the 14 points will not dethrone him. Those 3, if FRA wins, will knock AC in Doha, Merman, and Unlucky (4th-T, 119) from the money spots. KevLo and SoccerWife are tied for 2nd (120) but will fall for a tie for 5th if FRA wins (and 1 of those 2 will leave empty-handed). For the final, 31 have ARG and 9 FRA as their champ (I wonder how many more would pick FRA if they did not have all those injuries prior to the start of the WC).
For the $40 Bonus, UEFA will be the Winningest Region with either 8 or 9 wins (if FRA wins title). 16 can win the Bonus if ARG wins and 16 can win if FRA wins. 5 can't win since they will win money (top 5) and 12 can't win since their X.5 total goals tiebreaker is sandwiched between at least one entry right above and right below (e.g., if you picked 6.5 goals and someone has 6.0 and someone has 7.0, you can't be closest). The X.5 pick really helps for the top 5 (as evidenced by this year's tiebreaker possibilities when you are battling 1 or 2 entries) but less so for the Bonus, which no one is thinking about anyway. Just a unique year that so many entries are eligible. Also, there is a possibility the Bonus will be split among 2 ($20 each), 3 ($13.33 ea), or 4 ($10 ea) entries!
The best way to keep up with the pool is to follow @HWCI_Pools on Twitter or visit the #hwciWC hashtag (you don't need Twitter account to view) often for daily updates. Less often will be our Facebook group page (post comments or organize viewing parties) and then these newsletters every 4 days or so.
Ins & Outs - [62 Matches/14 Ties] - Goals: 163 (2.63/match) [Own: 3 (42-CRO>CAN 40', 44-GER>CRC 70' | 50-ARG>AUS 77'), Subs: 27 (2-NED 90'+9, 3-ENG 71', 3-ENG 90', 11-JPN 75', 11-JPN 83', 15-POR 80', 15-GHA 89', 17-IRN 90'+8, 18-QAT 78', 18-SEN 84', 24-ARG 87', 26-MAR 90'+2, 27-CRO 90'+4, 28-ESP 62', 28-GER 83', 29-CMR 63'43-JPN 48', 44-GER 73', 44-GER 85', 44-GER 89', 46-KOR 90'+1 | 54-KOR 76', 56-POR 90'+2, 57-CRO 117', 58-NED 90'+11, 58-NED 129', 62-FRA 79'), 90+/120+: 12 (2-NED +9, 3-SEN +13, 17-IRN +8 {gw}, 17-IRN +11, 26-MAR +2, 27-CRO +4, 32-POR +3, 40-KSA +5, 46-KOR +1 {gw} | 52-POL +9, 56-POR +2, 58-NED +11 {gt}), Extra Time: 2 [57-BRA 105'+1, 57-CRO 117' {gt}]... Scoring First: 42-6-7 [7 Nil-Nil ties (8-ARGvKSA, 5-AUSvFRA, 11-GERvJPN, 27-CANvCRO, 43-ESPvJPN, 46-PORvKOR)]... Leading at Half: 26-3-5 [28 ties (26 scoreless); 8-ARGvKSA, 11-GERvJPN, 43-ESPvJPN]... Shutout: 40 [1-QAT, 2-SEN, 6-DEN, 6-TUN, 7-MEX, 7-POL, 12-MAR, 12-CRO, 10-CRC, 9-CAN, 13-CMR, 14-URU, 14-KOR, 16-SRB, 17-WAL, 20-ENG, 20-USA, 21-TUN {2}, 22-KSA, 24-MEX {2}, 25-JPN, 26-BEL, 30-SUI, 32-URU {2}, 36-QAT {2}, 33-WAL {2}, 34-IRN, 38-FRA, 37-DEN {2}, 39-POL {2}, 41-CRO {2}, 41-BEL {2}, 45-GHA, 48-BRA | 51-SEN {2}, 55-MAR {2}, 55-ESP, 60-POR, 61-CRO {3}, 62-MAR {3}]... PK: 14/20 [1-ECU 16', 3-SEN 90'+9, 4-WAL 82', 8-ARG 10', 7-pol (s) 58', 11-GER 33', 10-ESP 31', 9-can (s) 11', 15-POR 65', 22-ksa (s) 45'+1, 32-POR 90'+3, 35-SEN {2} 44', 39-arg {2} (s) 39', 45-gha (s) 21' | 52-POL 90'+9, 54-BRA 13', 58-ARG {3} 73', 59-ENG 54', 59-eng {2} (h) 84', 61-ARG {4} 34']... PSO: 4 (20/33) [53-JPN:CRO 4.0 (1:3 {ssGs:GGpG}), 55-MAR:ESP 3.5 (3:0 {GGsG:pss}), 57-CRO:BRA 4.0 (4:2 {GGGG:sGGp}), 58-NED:ARG 5.0 (3:4 {ssGGG:GGGlG})]... Red Card (GF/GA): 4 (17-WAL R 86' (0/2), 48-CMR 2Y 90'+3 (0/0) | 58-NED 2Y post-PSO (-/-), 60-MAR 2Y 90'+3 (0/0); 30-KOR Coach R 90'+11, 61-CRO Staff R 35')... Multiple Goals: 18 [Valencia 2 (1-ECU), Saka 2 (3-ENG), Taremi 2 (3-SEN), Giroud 2 (5-FRA), Torres 2 (10-ESP), Richarlison 2 (16-BRA), Mbappe 2 (23-FRA), Kramaric 2 (27-CRO), Cho 2 (30-KOR), Mohammed 2 (30-GHA), Fernandes 2 (32-POR), Rashford 2 (33-ENG), Havertz 2 (44-GER), Arrascaeta 2 (45-URU) | Mbappe 2 {2} (52-FRA), Ramos 3 (56-POR), Weghorst 2 (58-NED), Alvarez 2 (61-ARG)]... Goal Line Tech: 1 (42-CAN xG 72')... VAR (-Reversal(Taken Away), +Reversal(Added), =Confirmed, xNo Call): 43 [1-ECU xOff+{g-} 3', 4-ENG xFoul+{pk+IRN} 90'+10, 8-KSA xFoul+{pk+ARG} 6', 8-ARG xOff+{g-} 27', 6-TUN xHB= 90'+4, 7-MEX xFoul+{pk+POL} 54', 11-GER xHB{xPK}= 22', 11-JPN Foul{pk}= 31', 11-GER xOff+{g-} 45'+4, 9-BEL xHB+{pk+CAN} 8', 9-BEL xFoul{xPK}= 13', 9-BEL xFoul{xPK}= 38', 15-GHA Foul{pk}= 62', 17-IRN xOff+{g-} 15', 17-WAL Y-{+R} 84', 18-SEN xFoul{xPK}= 34', 19-ECU Off{xg}= 45'+4, 22-POL xFoul+{pk+KSA} 43', 26-MAR xOff+{g-} 45'+2, 28-GER xOff+{g-} 39', 29-CMR Off-{g+} 63', 30-GHA xHB{g}= 24', 31-BRA xOff+{g-} 64', 32-URU xHB+{pk+POR} 89', 36-NED xHB+{g-} 68', 34-USA xOff+{g-} 45'+7, 38-FRA xOff+{g-} 90'+8, 37-DEN Off{xFoulxPK}= 71', 39-POL xFoul+{pk+ARG} 36', 41-CRO xOff+{pk-} 15', 43-JPN xOOB{g}= 48', 44-GER Off-{g+} 89', 45-GHA Off-{URU Foul+pk+GHA} 16', 45-GHA xFoulxPK= 58' | 52-FRA xHB+{pk+POL} 90'+6, 52-FRA GKOffLine{RetakePK}= 90'+7, 57-BRA Off{xHBxPK}= 48', 60-MAR xFoulxPK= 45', 60-MAR xHBxPK= 86', 59-FRA xFoul{g}= 17', 59-FRA xFoulxPK= 25', 59-FRA xFoul+{pk+ENG} 80', 62-FRA xFoulxPK= 27']... 58%+ (w/in contest): 11 [3-ENGvIRN (72) W, 8-ARGvKSA (64) L, 11-GERvJPN (65) L, 10-ESPvCRC (74) W, 33-ENGvWAL (58) {2} W, 37-DENvAUS (60) L, 39-ARGvPOL {2} (67) W, 43-ESPvJPN (78) {2} L, 44-GERvCRC (61) W | 55-ESPvMAR (68) {3}, 60-PORvMAR (65) L]... Zero SOG (Shots): 8 [1-QAT (5), 10-CRC (0), 14-URU (10), 14-KOR (6), 16-SRB (4), 30-SUI (4), 39-POL (4), 42-CAN (5)]... 20+ Shots (S/SOG/G): 11 [5-FRA (22/7/4) W, 11-GER (25/9/1) L, 9-CAN (21/4/0) L, 16-BRA (24/10/2), 17-IRN (21/6/2), 23-FRA (21/6/2) {2} W, 30-KOR (21/6/2) L, 39-ARG (25/13/2) W, 40-MEX (25/10/2) W, 44-GER (32/11/4) {2} W, 57-BRA (20/11/1) {2} L]... Breaks (>30 min): 0 [-]... Regions (Teams/R16/QF/SF/F/C): UEFA (13/8/5/2/1) 21-19-14 AFC (6/3/-) 7-12-2, CAF (5/2/1/1/-) 8-7-4, CONMEBOL (4/2/2/1/1) 9-4-4, CONCACAF (4/1/-) 3-7-3, OCEANIA (-)... Match Order of Play: RR: 1 | 3-2-4 | 8-6-7-5 | 12-11-10-9 | 13-14-15-16 | 17-18-19-20 | 21-22-23-24 | 25-26-27-28 | 29-30-31-32 | 35-36A-33-34B | 37-38D-39-40C | 41-42F-43-44E | 45-46H-47-48G | R16: 49-50 | 52-51 | 53-54 | 55-56 | QF: 58-57 | 60-59 | SF: 61 | 62 | 3rd: 63 | F: 64 ]...
Sides 'N Kicks - Yes, this issue's title is not a title from Star Wars: Andor, but one of its great quotes (from Episode 10), of which there are plenty to choose from (hopefully, it will get nominated for a writing Emmy)... my jersey choices: Ted Lasso AFC Richmond and 2019 FRA Women's Away... there are 7 scoreless draws - there was just one all of 2018... ARG led 2-0 for the 5th consecutive match... FRA had its first clean sheet... ARG has won all 6 semifinal matches... both teams will be going for a 3rd star (or Stella)... FRA is first defending champ to make Final since BRA in '98 (lost in Final to FRA)... FRA will try to become first repeat champ since BRA in '62... entries averaged 23.0 wins in the group stage, 10.2 teams making R16, 4.9 QFs, 1.28 SFs, 0.65 Finalists... 3rd place features a pair of Group F teams (drew 0-0)... Danish Dynamite (58th-T, 92) was the only one to pick CRO as their champ and would've finished in a tie for 1st if it happened... 31 entries have 100+ points... Meli is last with 60 pts...
On Tuesday, 38 picked ARG to be in the final which moved Soccerbix and The Gambler 1 to the top of standings with 114 points and either of those 2 will win the pool; previous leader Indy Ari was one of four entries eliminated, leaving 12 left; Tiny Destroyer is 3rd but can't win pool; FTRxBigJim is 10th but is eliminated while 2 Goals 1 World Cup, Kona Coast Duo, and Redhat Dave are tied for 23rd but can all finish 2nd; for Bonus, UEFA will finish with 7, 8, or 9 wins; 52 eliminated entries still have a chance to win the Bonus... on Wednesday, FRA's win was picked by 34 and overall, 12 got both FRA and ARG in their final and 50 missed both; 8 of those who got both are in the top 8 (all 8 coincidentally, picked ARG as their champ) but it is Soccerbix who leads with 123 points and will win the pool regardless of the Final outcome; KevLo and SoccerWife are tied for 2nd with 120 points but if FRA wins, will be tied for 5th (and one will go home empty-handed); AC in Doha, Merman, and Unlucky are currently tied for 4th (119) but if FRA wins, 2 Goals 1 World Cup, Kona Coast Uno, and Redhat Dave (17th-Tied, 107) will be tied for 2nd and those 3 will be out; for the Bonus, 16 have a chance if ARG wins and 16 have a chance if FRA wins....
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The Messi v Mbappé hype will be real, let's hope the Final lives up to its billing...
Scott
HWCI circa 1990
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