Day 3 (6/21) Comebacks!

SON'S FIRST TIME DRIVING, HOME, CA - Two low-ranked Asian teams managed to hold halftime leads (#373 E2-Urawa Red Diamonds 1-0 over #6 E4-Inter Milan and #276 F3-Ulsan HD 2-1 over #71 F1-Fluminense) while African team #97 F4-Mamelodi Sundowns scored first against #9 F2-Borussia Dortmund but in the end, all 3 lost.  INT got a stoppage time goal to down URD 2-1, BVB scored four unanswered before holding off a late rally by MSU, 4-3, and FLU scored 3 in the second half to beat UHD 4-2.

While 16 goals were scored in those 3 matches, the last match of the day between #51 E1-River Plate and #125 E3-CF Monterrey ended in the tourney's fourth scoreless draw.  No one clinched a berth in the Round of 16 but URD and UHD were eliminated.  INT's tying goal was a beauty, with a flick of the foot off a corner kick to bring INT back into the match.  MSU's first goal was a thing of beauty with the attacker just touching the ball past a defender to start a 3 on nothing break towards the box which was converted.

All 16 picked INT, 15 BVB, and 13 FLU.  Just 4 had the RIV-CFM draw.  Bobby Cee Racer and Mancitymania got all 4 correct to move from a tie for 5th to a tie for 3rd (8 pts).  1 Billion Cash Grab and Sweet Futbol Fabone still are tied for first with 9 pts.

One lost URD in the R16 (Mauihammy (tied for 12th (last), 6)) (yesterday, 2 lost LAFC).  You won't get points for BAY and FLA advancing until after their group games are complete.

Finally, it happened, my 18-year-old son got behind the wheel of a real car and drove a bit in our cul-de-sac.  I was wearing my 2024 home Fluminense jersey (by the way, the C-R-F intertwined symbol is very similar to CR Flamengo and Rangers FC (Glasgow), both of which I have).

Day 2 (6/20) Flamengo Shocks, Two are Out

HILTON COSTA MESA, CA - Both #17 C4-SL Benfica and #2-Bayern Munich clung to just 1-0 halftime leads but while SLB exploded after a 2 hour weather delay for five goals to win 6-0, BAY needed a late strike to outlast #95 C3-Boca Juniors, 2-1.   The goal of the tourney thus far was BOC's goal as the attacker passed to himself as he ran past a confused defender with a clinical strike to tie it at 1.  BAY became the first team to clinch a spot in the Round of 16 while #163 C2-Auckland City became the first team eliminated.  BOC's loss was South America's first loss of the tournament (6-1-3).

But #356 D4-LAFC would soon join AKL, as a missed PK late in stoppage time allowed #101 D2-ES Tunis to win 1-0.  LAFC didn't even have a shot on goal until the 4th minute of stoppage time (ended with 2 with saved PK) in their best opportunity to pick up 3 points.  #27 D1-Flamengo rallied to upset #12 D3-Chelsea 3-1 to lead win Group D.  LAFC usually only chokes in championship games, not the group stages.

All 16 entries picked SLB and BAY to win while just 5 picked FLA and no one picked EST.  1 Billion Cash Grab and Sweet Futbol Fabone are tied for first with 6 points while Alyonushka, Kona Coast Sliders, and Oreshnik are tied for last with 3 points.

Visited the Hilton Costa Mesa as a site visit for an upcoming IEEE meeting in 2027 and wore my 2023 home Boca Juniors jersey with all the patches.  BOC fans are some of the best and created a great atmosphere in Miami, almost getting BOC a draw.

Day 1 (6/19) Messi Does it Again

TACOMASA, EL SEGUNDO, CA - If there was a reason why MLS (as the USA rep for FIFA) arbitrarily chose their 2024 Supporters Shield winner (while the rest of the world chose their federation champion or 4-year best ranking) to be the "host" slot in the 32-team tournament, this is why.  #538 A4-Inter Miami, the worst-ranked team in tips.gg or footballdatabase (#535) even though Auckland City is basically a semi-pro team, was going to provide excitement.  Whether it was their run to win the Leagues Cup in 2023 or nearly making the playoffs in 2023 despite the worst-record in the league 2/3rds in or breaking the points record in 2024, when Messi, Suarez, etc are on the field, you don't know what will happen.

With the game tied at 1 against #47 A2-FC Porto, Messi bent a free kick past the GK (similar to what he did in stoppage time his first-ever MIA match in a group match in the the 2023 Leagues Cup) to complete MIA's 2-1 comeback and became the first MLS team to beat an UEFA team in a competitive match.  MIA faces though a tough #24 A1-Palmeiras team who beat #55 A2-Al Ahly 2-0 to lead Group A in goal differential.  Three teams could end up with 4 points and MIA could still miss out of the Round of 16.

Group B was shook up with #58 B3-Botafogo shutting out #1 B1-Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to lead the group with 6 points.  #10 B2-Atletico Madrid bounced back from the embarrassing rout against PSG to beat #432 Seattle, 3-1.  The Sounders are not out, but would need to beat PSG and have ATM lose by enough goals.

We got 16 entries in the first-ever HWCI Club World Cup pool from 9 people.  For comparison, our first NCAA pool had 12 entries, our first World Cup pool had 21, our first Euro pool had 39, our first Women's World Cup pool had 22, and our free MLS is Back pool had 15.

PSG was picked by 6 entries to win the title with Manchester City and Real Madrid being picked by 3 each.  Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, and Juventus each were picked by one entry.  15 of 16 have PSG in the semifinals while 12 have RMA making the semis.

In the first day of the pool (start of the 2nd round of group stage matches), three went 3-1 which happen to be all of Scott T's three entries (1 Billion Cash Grab, Inter's Revenge, and Sweet Futbol Fabone).  5 went 1-3.  The belief in Inter Miami!  12 got PAL correct, 4 MIA, 14 ATM, and no one picked BOT over PSG (this was 1 of 9 matches where all 16 picked the same team to win).  

This great chain Taco Masa (though I was calling it Tacoma-sa, like the Washington city) is caught between an all-Spanish menu to a quality American fast-food joint (like Habit Burger).  I got two punches on my 12-space punch card thanks to a nice gentleman at the cashier.  I wore my 2024 home MIA jersey which looks great in pink with badges in the middle.

Day -1 (6/18) Harsh call but save! + Admin Picks!

POACHED, DOWNEY, CA - The last day of the first group stage matches saw #8 G1-Manchester City and #22 G4-Juventus take care of business while in Group H, #143 H4-FC Salzburg (so sad FIFA doesn't allow named sponsors so they couldn't use FC Red Bull Salzburg) found itself topping the group as #67 H2-Al Hilal's GK Bono saved a PK in second-half stoppage time after a long VAR.  VAR deemed a foul just inside the upper corner of the box (so harsh it resulted in two yellows for dissent on HIL) but the save preserved a 1-1 draw with #7 H1-Real Madrid.  

With the first group matches done, just a few surprises (draws), a couple of long weather delays, and passionate fans and empty stadiums.  The quality of play has been good as these are "teams" and not we had two-weeks-to-practice national teams.  

Just 9 hours left to enter the pool and please use this link for the Web Entry.  We have just 9 entries so if you enter now, you have a pretty good chance to win (unlike Auckland City).

For the first time in 16 soccer pools, I have entered the max 3 times.  That just means losing $30.  Here are my picks:

Scott	T (1)	Sweet Futbol Fabone
Scott	T (2)	1 Billion Cash Grab
Scott	T (3)	Inter's Revenge

Poached is a really good breakfast place and it is one of the restaurants served by Resy, which is where I can redeem my $10 and $20 credit card credits every month.  I wore my 2022-23 Al Hilal home jersey and has the badges in a great blue pattern made by Mouj, who I have never heard before making jerseys.

Day -2 (6/17) Sunup!

HABIT BURGER, EL SEGUNDO, CA - A 65-minute thunderstorm possibility delay (or was it because no one showed up?) didn't stop #97 F4-Mamelodi Sundowns from snatching 3 points from #276 F3-Ulsan HD to surprisingly lead Group F with an 1-0 win.  That is because #71 F1-Fluminense held #9 F2-Dortmund (BVB) to the tourney's third 0-0 draw.

#51 E1-River Plate took care of business beating #373 E2-Urawa Reds, 3-1, while #6 E4-Inter Milan struggled in the heat to tie #125 E3-CF Monterrey 1-1 at the Rose Bowl.  

CFM's tie put CONCACAF with a 0-2-2 record with H3-Pachuca playing tomorrow.  MSU's win put Africa (CAF) in the win column (1-1-1) while Asian countries (AFC) (0-2-0) and Oceania (0-1-0) have not picked up a point yet.  South America (CONMEBOL) finished undefeated (3-0-3).

Just a day and half left to enter (deadline 9 am PDT Thursday) and note the new URL for the Web Entry: https://www.hwci.com/worldcup/2025/w_entry.html.  Only a handful of entries thus far, but that means you have a better chance to win!

When I was going regularly to Santa Barbara for work, that was the home of Habit Burger.  This one was near work in El Segundo and wore my 2007-08 Inter Milan 100th anniversary jersey.

Day -3 (6/16) Seeing Red

KING TACO, PICO RIVERA, CA - A high kick to the face put favorite #17 C4-SL Benfica down to 10 men trailing 2-1 but took advantage of a CK opportunity to tie #95 C3-CA Boca Juniors, 2-2.  BOC picked up 2 red cards as well, one in each half (the first leading to a SLB PK goal) and blew a 2-0 lead.  Another MLS team played well, but #356 D4-Los Angeles Football Club couldn't put away their second half chances and fell 2-0 to heavy favorite #12 D3-Chelsea FC.  #27 D1-CR Flamengo got an insurance goal late in the second half to beat upstart #101 Esperantce de Tunisie, 2-0.

There have been no surprises other than A4-Inter Miami holding to a 0-0 draw and B2-Atletico de Madrid getting trounced.  16 more teams will play in the next two days.

The deadline to enter the pool is 9 am PDT Thursday and you can do Web Entry or fill out a PDF/Word form.  Good luck!

I wore my 2024 LAFC home jersey which has the cool pinstripes and visited a King Taco for the first time in a long while (in the old days at the Rose Bowl, King Taco would be served in the press box for us).

Day -4 (6/15) 10-0 + Web Entry is now LIVE!

FATHER'S DAY IN ROSEMEAD, CA -- Well, a dumb push by B4-Seattle Sounders gave B3-Botafogo a dangerous free kick which they capitalized on to break a 0-0 tie.  #423 SEA nearly tied the match in the final seconds but #58 BOT came away with a 2-1 win in Seattle.  While MLS teams have played tough, neither A4-Inter Miami nor SEA came away with 3 points and they will only face better teams in their next two group matches.

In the battle between the #2 team in the world and a team of semi-pros and amateurs, C1-Bayern Munich jumped to a 6-0 halftime lead before winning 10-0 over OFC's lone rep, C2-Auckland City.  Jamal Musiala had a hat trick in 23 minutes in the second half.  The #1 team in the world B1-Paris Saint-Germain continued to roll blasting another top 10 team, B2-Atletico Madrid, 4-0.  PSG were coming off their UEFA Champions League's 5-0 rout over #6 Inter Milan.

In another evenly matched game, #24 A1-Palmeiras and #47 A2- FC Porto battled to a 0-0 tie.  All four Group A teams are scoreless and tied with 1 point each.  

Ten teams have played, 22 more to go.  You can now enter the pool via the Web Entry and remember the deadline is 9 am PDT Thursday (before the 2nd group matches are played).  The same rules apply as always, $10 per entry and up to 3 entries per person.  You can the Rules and FAQ on this website if you are new.  Good luck!

I wore my 2023 home Palmeiras jersey for our Father's Day celebration with lots of food, of course ;-)

Day -5 (6/14) No Goals!

HOME, CA - Well, it's started.  The 1st expanded FIFA Club World Cup got started in Miami (Day -5 for the pool) and saw two teams who desperately needed a victory considering the competition coming up and ended in a very entertaining 0-0 draw.  The first half could have easily been 2-0 Al Ahly or 2-0 Inter Miami or 2-2.  A PK save by MIA was equaled by a goal-mouth kick out by a AHL defender.  It's always amazing to watch Messi when he actually moves and his touches and shots are always spot on, with the last from far out would've squeaked by in the upper right corner if not for a tip save by the outstretched AHL GK.

I guess if you go tips.gg's club rankings, #538 (!) MIA held their own against #55 AHL but MIA had their chances to win after the first 10 minute onslaught from AHL.  

The web entry form is almost done and you will be able to enter until 9 am PDT Thursday (June 19).  By Wednesday evening, you will have seen all 32 teams play one match and we can see how accurate tips.gg rankings are.