Tuesday, August 8, 2023 Dailies: Aug 5-6-7-8
CHAMPS DOWN; ENGLAND SURVIVES; TOP TEAMS DAZZLE
Kds911-2 maintains 1-point lead but Lavelle Lover has best chance to win pool
HOME, CA (smt) -- Showing that their 4-0 loss to 1C-Japan was just a fluke, 2C-Spain exploded to a 4-1 halftime lead (scoring all 5 goals since 1A-Switzerland's goal was a Spanish own goal) to reach the quarterfinal in a 5-1 rout while JPN methodically broke a 1-1 halftime tie in a comfortable 3-1 win over 2A-Norway in a battle between #11 JPN and #12 NOR. A potential rematch between JPN and ESP in the semifinals looms but they will have to win their quarterfinal matches first. 1F-France easily beat #72 2H-Morocco 4-0 and host 1B-Australia took care of business winning 2-0 over 2D-Denmark, that saw the brief return of Sam Kerr. 1E-Netherlands took advantage of winning the group beating #54 2G-South Africa, 2-0.
What wasn't a fluke? 2E-USA not being able to score. Despite more controlling play, a stifling defense that only allowed one shot on goal, and lots of opportunities (21 shots, 12 on goal), USA went a full 120 minutes against 1G-Sweden scoreless (extending the goalless streak to 238 minutes) and then missed (not saved) three penalty kicks to lose 5-4. A goal line technology "goal" showing the whole ball crossing the line by a hair was emblematic of USA's story this WWC. That the highly reliable Meagan Rapinoe skied a penalty (years since she missed?) shows this WWC just didn't fit right with the USWNT, with odd substitutions, soft second yellow cards (not in this match though, the ref let them play), and talent on the field that looked more like an all-star team playing for the first time rather than a team. If you look at it, USA only allowed two shots on goal the whole tournament. Only allowed one goal (tied for best). They tied and lost in the PSO to the #3 team in the world (not Nigeria, not Colombia). #3. They will finish 9th in this WWC as the best of the R16 losers but it doesn't make it any better (though Germany, Canada, and Brazil will say what about us?).
What was a fluke? 1D-England finding their scoring touch. After 6 goals vs China, ENG went back to play 120 minutes of scoreless soccer against #40 2B-Nigeria but winning the PSO 4-2. Against #53 Haiti and NGA, ENG outscored them a combined 1-0 in 210 minutes of soccer. ENG will be without Lauren James for a while after an inconceivable stomp on a player and face a COL team that is winning fans the world over. And those awesome purple jerseys! FRA and AUS play each other and both teams have scored at least 2 goals in their last 3 matches.
The biggest loser? FOX. They got the prime time match between NEDvRSA instead of USA (who should've won the group) as the USA match was at 2 am PDT. At least ESP should be fun to watch in the prime time quarterfinal spot vs NED. USA not making the semifinals for the first will see a USA-less quarterfinal, semifinal, and final (which will be at 3 am PDT). Are there enough fans on the ESP, JPN, or COL bandwagon to keep the numbers up?
For the Round of 16, eight got 6 of 8 teams and two (Pink Penguino (45th, 66) and Rutin4Putin (46th, 64)) got just 2 of 8. Kds911-2 maintains the one point lead (92 pts) over More$ with Lavelle Lover and Vlatko Better Win tied for 3rd (90). Leader Tom J also sits tied for 5th (Kds911 (89)) and tied for 8th (Kds911-3, 88). Tiny Destroyer is still last (58) but Rutin4Putin is the only entry that can't pick up any more points.
25 entries are still in the running. While leader Kds911-2 has the best chance to finish in the top 4 (51.6%), it's Lavelle Lover with the best chance to win the pool now (14.8%). 9 entries have a better than 1 in 5 chance to win money and 13 can still win the pool as the #3, #4, #5, and #6 ranked teams are still alive.
The best way to keep up with the pool is to follow @HWCI_Pools on Twitter or visit the #hwciWWC 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 - [56 Matches/12 Ties] - Goals: 145 (2.59/match) [Own: 8 (5-CRC>ESP 21', 15-MAR>GER 54', 15-MAR{2}>GER 79', 19-IRL>CAN 45'+5, 34-PHI>NOR 48', 46-ITA>RSA 32' | 49-ESP>SUI 11', 50-NOR>ESP 15'), Subs: 13 (6-JPN 90'+11{pk}, 8-DEN 90' {gw}, 14-ITA 87' {gw}, 15-GER 90', 20-ESP 69', 20-ESP {2} 85', 22-NGA 72' {gw}, 27-ARG 79' {gt}, 30-SWE 90'+5, 37-JPN 82', 39-ENG 77', 40-DEN {2} 90'+10, 45-SWE 90' {pk} | -), 90+/120+: 9 (6-JPN +11 {pk}, 22-AUS +10, 30-SWE +5, 31-COL+7 {gw}, 34-NOR +5, 38-ZAM +3, 35-AUS +4 {pk}, 40-DEN +10, 46-RS +2 {gw} | -), Extra Time: 0 (-)]... Scoring First: 39-5-3 [9 Nil-Nil ties (4-NGAvCAN, 11-FRAvJAM, 18-SUIvNOR, 33-SUI{2}vNZL, 36-IRLvNGA{2}, 41-PORvUSA, 44-JAM{2}vBRA | 52-SWEvUSA{2}, 54-ENGvNGA{3}); 12-RSAvSWE 1:2, 19-IRLvCAN 1:2, 22-AUSvNGA 2:3, 46-ITAvRSA 2:3, 43-PANvFRA 3:6 | -]... Leading at Half: 30-0-2 [24 ties (19 scoreless); -]... Shutout: 51 [1-NOR, 2-IRL, 4-CAN, 4-NGA, 3-PHI, 5-CRC, 9-VIE, 6-ZAM, 7-HAI, 8-CHN, 10-POR, 11-FRA, 11-JAM, 14-ARG, 15-MAR, 13-PAN, 16-KOR, 17-NZL, 18-SUI, 18-NOR{2}, 21-CRC{2}, 20-ZAM{2}, 24-VIE{2}, 25-DEN, 26-HAI{2}, 30-ITA, 29-PAN{2}, 32-KOR{2}, 33-SUI{2}, 33-NZL{2}, 34-PHI{2}, 37-ESP, 35-CAN, 36-IRL{2}, 36-NGA{2}, 41-POR{2}, 41-USA, 42-VIE{3}, 40-HAI{3}, 45-ARG{2}, 44-JAM{2}, 44-BRA, 48-COL | 51-RSA, 52-SWE, 52-USA {2}, 54-ENG, 54-NGA{3}, 53-DEN{2}, 56-JAM{3}, 55-MAR{2}]... PK: 17/22 [1-nzl (x) 90', 2-AUS 52', 4-can (s) 50', 3-SUI 45', 5-esp (s) 34', 9-usa (s) 44', 6-JPN <retake> 90'+11, 7-ENG <retake> 29', 16-COL 30', 26-CHN 74', 31-GER 89', 34-NOR 53', 38-ZAM 31', 35-CAN 90'+4, 39-CHN{2} 57', 40-DEN 21', 46-ITA 11', 45-SWE 90', 43-FRA 37', 43-FRA{2} 52', 43-PAN 64', 48-mar (s) 45'+4 | -]... Extra Time: 2 [52-SWEvUSA 0:0 (0:0), 54-ENGvNGA 0:0 (0:0)]... PSO: 2 (15/23) [52-USA:SWE 7.0 (4:5 {GGGhlGp:GGhsGGG}), 54-ENG:NGA 4.5 (4:2 {lGGGG:lhGG})]... Red Card (GF/GA): 6 [4-NGA R 90'+8 (0/0), 6-ZAM 2Y 90'+7 (0/1), 11-JAM 2Y 90'+2 (0/0), 26-CHN R 29' (1/0), 34-PHI R 67' (0/1) | 54-ENG R 87' (0/0)]... Multiple Goals: 16 [Smith 2 (9-USA), Miyazawa 2 (6-JPN), Popp 2 (15-GER), Borges 3 (13-BRA), Hermoso 2 (20-ESP), Redondo 2 (20-ESP), Ilestedt 2 (30-SWE), Haug 3 (34-NOR), Miyazawa{2} 2 (37-JPN), Raso 2 (35-AUS), Brugts 2 (42-NED), Roord 2 (42-NED), James 2 (39-ENG), Caruso 2 (46-ITA), Diani 3 (43-FRA) | Bonmati 2 (49-ESP), 55-Le Summer 2 (55-FRA)]... Goal Line Tech: 3 [9-USA xG 85' | 50-NOR xG 90'+1, 52-SWE G PK7]... VAR (-Reversal(Taken Away), +Reversal(Added), =Confirmed, xNo Call): 41 [ 1-NOR xHB= 52', 1-NOR xHB+{pk+NZL} 87', 2-IRL xHB= 45', 4-NGA xFoul+{PK+CAN} 48', 4-NGA Y-{R+} 90'+6, 3-PHI xFoul+{PK+SUI} 43', 9-VIE xFoul+{PK+USA} 41', 9-USA Off-{g+} 45'+7, 6-JPN xOff+{g-} 21', 6-JPN xOff+{g-} 49', 6-ZAM xOff+PK-Y= 51', 6-ZAM xEnc+{retake PK+JPN} 90'+10, 7-HAI xFoul+Foul-{PK-} 17', 7-HAI xHB+{PK+ENG} 26', 7-HAI xEnc+{retake PK+ENG} 28', 10-NED Off-{g+} 13', 20-ESP Off-{g+} 70', 20-ESP Off-{g+} 85', 27-RSA Off-{g+} 30', 26--CHN Y-{R+} 28', 26-CHN Off-xFoul+{PK+} 72', 26-xFoul+Box-{n/a} 76', 26-HAI Foul-{PK-} 90'+2, 29-PAN HB-{PK-} 90'+2, 34-PHI xFoul+{PK+NOR} 50', 34-PHI xR+ 63', 38-CRC xOff+{Foul-PK-} 55', 35-AUS Off-{g+} 9', 35-AUS xOff+{g-} 34', 35-CAN xFoul+{PK+AUS} 90'+2, 42-NED Off={xG=} 67', 39-ENG xOff+{g-} 45'+5, 39-ENG xHB+{PK+CHN} 54', 40-DEN xOff+{g-} 4', 40-DEN xF+{g-} 83', 46-RSA xHB={xPK=} 34', 46-ITA xOff={g=} 74', 43-PAN xHB+{PK+FRA} 49', 43-PAN Off-{g+} 87', 47-GER xOff+{g-} 57' | 54-NGA Foul-{PK-} 31', 54-ENG Y-{R+} 84']... 58%+ Poss (w/in contest): 22 [3-SUIvPHI (65/24) W, 5-ESPvCRC (64/18) W, 9-USAvVIE (59/23) W, 7-ENGvHAI (63/23) W, 12-SWEvRSA (59/27) W, 11-FRAvJAM (60/24) D, 15-GERvMAR (59/22) W, 13-BRAvPAN (61/25) W, 17-NZLvPHI{2} (59/24) L, 20-ESP{2}vZAM (63/23) W, 24-PORvVIE{2} (61/24) W, 25-ENG{2}vDEN (59/27) W, 34-NORvPHI (60/25) W, 37-ESP{3}vJPN (68/21) L, 42-NEDvVIE{3} (67/21) W, 39-ENG{3}vCHN (67/20) W, 43-FRA{2}vPAN{2} (61/24) W, 44-BRA{2}vJAM{2} (63/20) L, 47-GER{2}vKOR (60/24) D | 49-ESP{4}vSUI (62/27) W, 51-NED{2}vRSA{2} (61/26) W, 55-FRA{3} (65/22) W]... Zero SOG (Shots): 8 [3-PHI (3), 5-CRC (1), 9-VIE (0), 6-ZAM (0), 41-POR (5), 42-VIE{2} (5), 44-JAM (4) | 55-MAR (1)]... 20+ Shots (S/SOG/G): 15 [5-ESP (46/14/2(1 og)) W, 9-USA (26/7/3) W, 6-JPN (26/11/5) W, 13-BRA (33/9/4) W, 21-JPN {2} (25/11/2) W, 20-ESP{2} (22/13/5) W, 22-AUS (27/7/2) L, 24-POR (28/9/2) W, 30-SWE (20/7/5) W, 29-JAM (20/4/1) W, 34-NOR (30/12/5(1 og)) W, 42-NED (43/17/7) W, 43-FRA (27/9/6) W | 49-ESP{3} (25/10/5) W, 52-USA{2} (21/12/0) D(L)]... Breaks (>30 min): 0 [-]... Regions (Teams/R16/QF/SF/F/C): UEFA (12/8/5) 22-12-10, AFC (6/2/2) 9-10-1, CONCACAF (6/2/-) 3-11-6, CAF (4/3/-) 5-6-4, CONMEBOL (3/1/1) 4-4-2, OCEANIA (1/-) 1-1-1... Match Order of Play: RR: 1-2 | 4-3-5 | 9-6-7-8 | 12-10-11 | 14-15-13 | 161-17-18 | 21-20-19 | 23-24-22 | 27-25-26 | 30-28-29 | 32-33-34A-312 | 37-38C-35-36B | 41-42E-39-40D | 45-46G-43-44F | 47-48H | R16: 49-50 | 51-52 | 54-53 | 56-55 | QF: 57-58 | 59-60 | SF: 61 | 62 | 3rd: 63 | F: 64 ]...
SIDES 'N KICKS: first-time WWC teams are 5-18-1 (PHI, VIE, ZAM, IRL, HAI, POR, MAR [R16], PAN) (1 win due to two debutantes playing each other PORvVIE)... JPN's Hinata Miyazawa leads golden boot race with 5 goals... JAM only scored 1 goal and allowed 1 goal in 4 matches... MAR had two biggest-ever WWC wins as underdog (#72 v #17 KOR (+55) and #28 COL (+44))... even possession between COL and JAM (39-39%)... 7 of 8 group winners advanced to QFs... all 3 African and both CONCACAF teams lost while both AFC (Asia/Australia) teams won...
Locally in AUS/NZL, on Saturday, 33 had ESP in the quarters and 29 had JPN with everyone getting at least 1 of those 2 teams and 15 got both; Kds911-2 jumped to first place with 72 points with More$ second with 71 pts; four are tied with 70 pts; 3am Down Under and Rutin4Putin jumped from a tie for 34th to a tie for 22nd; Tiny Destroyer still last with 48 pts; 38 of 47 entries are still alive to finish in the top 4 and 22 can win the pool; Kds911-2 has the best chance to win the pool (21.0%) and money (52.6%) ... on Sunday, 34 had SWE and 9 had NED making the quarters but 46 lost USA (including 26 who pegged them as champions); 43 went 1-1 with 4 going 0-2; no change at the top with Kds911-2 in first (77 pts) and More$ is second (76); Tiny Destroyer still in last (48); 15 entries have been eliminated, leaving 32 vying for one to the top 4 prize spots; 17 can still win first, despite USA (picked by 26), GER (6), and BRA (1) out; ENG (5), ESP (5), FRA (2), and SWE (2) are still in it; leader Kds911-2 has the best chance to win the pool (18.5%) and win money (52.5%); of those who can't win the pool, 3am Down Under (22nd-Tied, 69) has the best chance to win money (12.6%); Flying Elvi is tied for 10th (73) but can't win the pool while GenX99er is tied for 28th but can still be champion; Panama Red and The Ghost of Mia Hamm each have 67 pts (25th-T) but are eliminated while, ironically, Rapinoe's Last Stand is tied for 39th (62) but can still finish 2nd... on Monday, 46 had ENG making the quarters and 32 AUS and 27 got both while Rutin4Putin missed both; six R16 matches in, ten have gotten 5 of 6 teams and four only got 2 of 6; Kds911-2 leads with 87 points with More$ second with 86; Lavelle Lover and Vlatko Better Win are tied for 3rd (85); just 4 entries were eliminated leaving 28 alive and just one can't win the pool, leaving 16 with a chance to win the pool; Kds911-2 has the best chance at 1st (15.6%) and money (59.8%); Hawkeye is tied for 10th but can't win the pool while GenX99er is 26th but can still win it; Sieger is tied for 13th (80) but is eliminated while Sebastian is tied for 34th and can still finish 2nd; Tiny Destroyer is last with 53 pts (but can get up to 72 pts)... on Tuesday, 39 got FRA and GenX99er (21st, 81 pts) got COL; 40 went 1-1 while 7 went 0-2; despite picking COL, FRA winning eliminated GenX99er from the money along with two others, leaving 25 entries still in the running; Hawkeye is tied for 10th (87) but can't win the pool while Jota is tied for 18th (82) and can still be champ; Flying Elvi is tied for 16th (83) but is eliminated while Sebastian is tied for 34th (76) and can still win 2nd place. ..
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Going East so instead of games starting at midnight, they start at 3 am... darn...
Scott
HWCI circa 1990
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