Misses and Messi (7/21)

HOME - On neutral ground, the crowds have trended towards the underdogs, willing #42 B3-Nigeria to a chippy 0-0 draw with #6 B4-Canada including an incredible GK save on CAN's Christine Sinclair's PK attempt and cheering on #49 A3-Philippines to almost the first score in the first 16 minutes before succumbing to #20 A4-Switzerland, 2-0.  

Fans did love the attacking style of C1-Spain as they peppered C2-Costa Rica with 3 goals in 7 minutes in the first half but missed a PK and had 46 shots but only scored twice (one own goal).  CRC's GK made about 10 saves.  Five ESP had at least 5 shots each.

In five matches, one PK has been awarded (3 awarded via VAR) in each match and three have been missed, two saves and one off the crossbar.  If you include the last 5 PK attempts of 2019's WWC, 6 of 10 have not been converted.  So my 2020 Canada home jersey didn't help them and while my plums are done, our pomegranates are getting bigger and bigger. 

While America's attention is on the WWC thanks to MLS taking a month off (okay, there is the Leagues Cup) and CONCACAF having its Gold Cup Final last Sunday, the attention will once again get distracted as one of the world's best players (all-time) is expected to make his debut at 4 pm PDT when Lionel Messi's new team, MLS's bottom dweller Inter Miami, plays Cruz Azul (Liga MX) in their Leagues Cup opener.  But luckily it doesn't conflict with the WWC schedule since at 6 pm, USA takes on Vietnam to start their journey for a 3rd consecutive WWC title.

In the pool, three got all 3 matches correct and all 3 are tied for first with 4 points.  Big Blue, Jolly Old England, and ShrimpOnTheBarbie take pole position while 8 are tied for last with 2 points, including yesterday's leader, Tiny Destroyer, who was the only one to miss all 3 games.  Three got NGA-CAN tie, 40 got SUI, and 46 got ESP.