Day 8 (6/26) Comfortable Wins

SUE THE T-REX HEAD, CHICAGO, IL - #8 G1-Manchester City routed #22 G4-Juventus 5-2 even though MCI's GK essentially gave away a goal to win Group G.  #7 H1-Real Madrid easily handled #143 Salzburg (FC Red Bull Salzburg) 3-0 to win Group H and with #67 H2-Al Hilal's chip over the GK in the 22' (who eventually won 2-0 over #144 H3-Pachuca), HIL took 2nd in Group H, giving Asia its first team in the Round of 16.

In a game that didn't matter, #402 G3-Al Ain score their first two goals in the tournament (the last team to score) to beat #235 G2-Wydad AC, 2-1.  Interestingly, VAR played a role in both goals, the first giving AIN a PK on the incidental contact in the box by WAC for their first goal and VAR confirming that the AIN player did not commit a foul nor had enough of a handball infraction to confirm their 2nd goal.  WAC became the 5th team to lose after scoring the first goal.

All 16 got RMA, 14 got HIL, 8 got AIN, and 7 got MCI correct.  All 16 had RMA and MCI in their R16 bracket, 15 had JUV, and 13 had HIL.  Kona Coast Sliders (14th, 54), UnrealMadrid (9th-Tied, 56), and EEChick1400 (5th-T, 59) went a perfect 16-for-16 points while Mauihammy (16th-last, 470) and Yamine I'm Gonna Win (15th, 53) picked up just 11 each.  The 3 got all 4 games correct while 6 got just 2 of 4.  12 got all four R16 teams correct while 4 got 3 of 4.  Alyonushka and Oreshnik remain tied for first with 63 pts.  Sweet Futbol Fabone got 22 group stage matches correct (of 32) while three had just 17.  Alyonushka, Oreshnik, and PoolraiderPSG (3rd-T, 60) got 14 of 16 R16 teams correct while Mauihammy had just 10.

Visited the Field Museum and was planning on spending maybe 1.5 hours there and spent nearly 4 hours with the crown jewel the actual fossil head of Sue the T-Rex (it was damaged during fossilization all those years ago, so the head on the life-size display is fixed replica head (nearly rest of the body is real fossils).  Since FC Salzburg can't use Red Bull in their name for a FIFA tournament, I wore my 2016 New York Red Bulls away jersey as a tribute.

Day 7 (6/25) Just Enough

ORIGINAL BILLY GOAT TAVERN, CHICAGO, IL - #9 F2-Borussia Dortmund got a first half goal and that was all they needed to beat #276 F3-Ulsan HD, 1-0, to win Group F.  #71 F1-Fluminense was happy to slog through a 0-0 draw with #97 F4-Maelodi Sundowns to advance to the Round of 16.  This was the second time FLU was in a scoreless draw and this was the first time the upstart MSU did not score.

#6 E4-Inter Milan was also happy to slog through a 0-0 draw with #51 E1-River Plate (although the first half was pretty action packed) but a RIV red card allowed INT to put more pressure and got a goal (plus an insurance late in stoppage) to win 2-0.  #125 E3-CF Monterrey scored three goals in 9 minutes in the first half to easily put away #373 E2-Urawa Reds, 4-0, to punch their ticket to the Round of 16, CONCACAF's second team in.  RIV needed a win or a high scoring draw and got neither.

All 16 got BVB, 12 got INT, 11 got CFM, and three picked the MSUvFLU tie.  All 16 had INT and BVB in their Round of 16 and 15 had FLU but just 3 had CFM.  Alyonushka and Oreshnik went a perfect 16-for-16 today to jump into a tie for first with 48 pts.  They were the only two to get all 4 games correct and they along with Kona Coast Sliders II (11th-Tied, 42) got all 4 R16 teams correct.  UnrealMadrid (14th, 40) only got 1 game correct while previous leader Sweet Futbol Fabone (5th-T, 44) got just 2 R16 teams correct and had a low of 9 pts today.  Sweet Futbol Fabone still has a high of 20 games correct (of 28) while Alyonushka, Oreshnik, and PooraiderPSG (3rd-T, 45) have 10 of 12 R16 teams correct.

Traveled to Chicago today but went through Salt Lake (planned) but then Milwaukee (unplanned).  I am remembering why I never go through Chicago's O'Hare airport as weather delays meant at least a 45-minute wait pattern, which the plane did not have fuel for, and thus diverted to Milwaukee.  After finally arriving, went to the original Billy Goat Tavern for old style cheeseburger and a hot dog wearing my River Plate 2016-17 3rd jersey which commemorates RIV's 30th anniversary of their 1985-86 title.

Day 6 (6/24) Moral Draws

GROWING SAGO PALM, HOME, CA - #12 D3-Chelsea scored twice in two minutes of first half stoppage time to deflate #101 D2-Esperance de Tunisie's chances (who needed to win) en route to a 3-0 victory to finish 2nd in Group D.  #17 C4-SL Benfica scored an early goal and held on to beat #2 C1-Bayern Munich (who already qualified), 1-0, to win Group C.  

Two minnows managed to secure their first goal and their first point of the tournament.  D4-LAFC, who were held without a shot on goal until the 90'+4 last game, waited until the 84' for their first SOG but made it count.  However, two minutes later #27 D1-Flamengo (who had already won Group D) tied it and prevented LAFC with a moral victory, just a moral 1-1 draw.

#163 (or 4,971 according to Opta) C2-Auckland City's goalkeeper Nathan Garrow did everything with 10 saves (most of the spectacular variety) and even scored (on himself for #95 C3-Boca Juniors' only goal) in securing a point (and the $1 million that comes with it) in the 1-1 draw.  BOC had 39 shots with 10 on goal but didn't score (again, an own goal was their only goal).  Christian Gray will etch himself in the record books with a great header goal, AKL's first of the tournament. 

AKL's goalkeeper has seen 102 shots come his way with 43 of those on goal, making 27 saves.  With no real competition, the semi-pro/amateur side will likely qualify for 2029's CWC.

16 picked CHE but just 3 picked LAFvFLA tie and only Mauihammy (16th (last), 24 pts) picked SLB.  No one could imagine AKLvBOC ending in a draw.  All 16 had BAY and CHE making the Round of 16 while 14 had FLA and 11 had SLB.  Only four got 2 of the 4 games correct while 9 got all 4 R16 teams right.  Mancitymania got 14 of the 16 pts today to from a tie for 7th to a tie for 3rd (33).  8 others got 13 pts today.  Sweet Futbol Fabone only got 11 pts today but remains in first with 35 pts followed closely by PoolraiderPSG (34).  5 lost BOC in their R16 bracket.  12 got only 1 match correct while 7 got 3 of 4 R16 teams correct.  Four got 10 of 16 pts.

One of our sago palms just doubled in height this month, its newest leaves shooting skyward.  I wore my 2023-24 SL Benfica home jersey, which celebrates 120 years.

Day 5 (6/23) In the End, it was a Draw

TITO'S TACOS, CULVER CITY, CA - The early games for Group B saw #1 B1-Paris Saint-Germain take care of MLS's #423 B4-Seattle Sounders, 2-0, holding them to no shots on goal (the first of the tournament).  Playing simultaneously, SEA's listless play meant #10 B2-Atletico Madrid needed a 3-goal win to advance; they managed just one late goal and the 1-0 win still eliminated them and despite the loss, #58 B3-Botafogo advanced.  All three top teams had 6 points but for this tourney, the 3-way tiebreaker is head-to-head-to-head and all were 1-1-0 against each other but PSG had the better goal differential (+3, thanks to their 4-0 win over ATM) to win the group and BOT had the second-best GD (0) to hold off ATM (-3).  In the usual format (pts, wins, GD, GF, etc), a 2-0 win would've advanced ATM (via goals for) but with the 3-way head-to-head, they needed a 3-0 (or 4-1, 5-2, etc) win.

The evening games were exciting, action-packed, and in the end, didn't amount to much as the #538 A4-Inter Miami and #24 A1-Palmeiras 2-2 draw determined the whole group.  PAL rallied late with 2 goals in the final 10 minutes to tie and win the Group while #47 A2-Porto answered 4 (!) times against #55 A3-Al Ahly to tie 4-4.  AHL's Wessam Abou Ali had a hat trick with his 3rd goal off a powerful header to put AHL 3-2.  With all the goals POR and AHL scored, when MIA was up 1-0, POR just needed a 2-goal win and when MIA was up 2-0 in the 65' (about 59' in the PORvAHL match), POR needed just a win.  When PAL tied it at 2 and kept on threatening a 3rd, a PAL 3-2 lead would mean AHL needed to win by 2 and AHL was leading by one (4-3) for about the next five minutes before POR tied it at 4 in the 89' (the MIAvPAL was about 6 minutes ahead (90'+5).

The unfortunate tie meant MIA got #1 PSG instead of #58 BOT in the Round of 16 and the two Brazilian teams will face off in the other matchup (BOTvPAL).  While a MIA win would be epic, a MIA win would also break a lot of pool brackets (15 of 16 have PSG in Semifinals)!

15 picked PSG, 14 picked ATM, 5 picked MIAvPAL draw, and 2 picked PORvAHL draw.  All 16 had PSG in the Round of 16 while 11 had PAL.  Just 6 had MIA and 1 BOT (PoolraiderPSG (3rd, 21 pts)) making the knockout round and the $7.5 million that comes with it (the draws cost all 4 Group A teams $1 million each).  Alyonushka (7th-Tied, 19) and Oreshnik (7th-T) got all 4 games correct while PoolraiderPSG, Sweet Futbol Fabone, and Inter's Revenge (2nd, 22) got 3 of 4 R16 teams correct (remember, it doesn't matter if you had PSG as 1A or 2A, you still got the 3 pts).  Sweet Futbol Fabone got 12 of the 16 pts to take sole possession of 1st place with 24 pts and leads with 15 group stage wins.  PoolraiderPSG and Mauihammy (16th (last), 13) got just 1 game correct while Mauihammy got just 1 of 4 R16 teams correct (for a low of 4 pts today). 15 entries lost ATM and 14 POR in their Round of 16 bracket.  Mauihammy lost AHL.

There is this taco place that usually has long lines but the wait wasn't long when I got to Tito's Tacos and their hard tacos are very good, just maybe not $6 good (you do get chips and salsa).  I wore my 2022 Seattle Sounders home jersey to support MLS.

Issue #3.1.2 "Some Shockers and Lots of Goals" (6/22)

Archive 

Sunday, June 22, 2025 

INTER MIAMI, BOTAFOGO, AND FLAMENGO PULL OFF UPSETS
16 entries received from 9 people in first edition of Club World Cup; 3 tied for first

HOME, CA (smt) --  A classic Messi free kick goal put A4-Inter Miami over A2-Porto, 2-1, to put the Major League Soccer team into a virtual tie with A1-Palmeiras, who beat A3-Al Ahly 2-0.  MLS's first win over an UEFA club in real competition wasn't the only shocker.  Brazilian side B3-Botafogo stunned the reigning UEFA champions, B1-PSG, 1-0, to sit atop of Group B with 6 points.  Another Brazilian side B1-Flamengo ran over D3-Chelsea 3-1 to win Group D with a game left. 

However, other top UEFA clubs rolled over their opponents with C4-SL Benfica winning 6-0 as C2-Auckland City became the first team eliminated, G4-Juventus winning 4-1, B2-Atlético Madrid winning 3-1,  and G-Manchester City winning 6-0 (MCI tried hard for a 7th, but alas, JUV will win the goals for tiebreaker if these two teams draw).  F2-Borrusia Dortmand was cruising 4-1 but had to hold on to beat upstart F4-Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3.  Another Brazilian side had an easy win as F1-Fluminense beat F3-Ulsan HD, 4-2.

Day 4 (6/22) UEFA Super Clubs Win Easily

GARDENING AT HOME, CA - 13 combined goals were scored by club powerhouses #22 G4-Juventus, #7 H1-Real Madrid, and #8 G1-Manchester City.  JUV's 4-1 win over #235 G2-Wydad AC followed by MCI's 6-0 rout over #402 G3-Al Ain sent both teams to the Round of 16 with an epic matchup between them coming up Thursday.  It didn't look good for RMA coming off a surprise draw to #67 H2-Al Hilal with a red card in the 7', but it was all RMA after that as they took care of #144 Pachuca, 3-1 to eliminate them.   A nice toe flick off a cross gave RMA a 3-0 lead.  HIL picked up their second draw, this time a scoreless one with #143 H4-FC Salzburg.

All 16 picked JUV, MCI, and RMA while just 3 picked the SALvHIL draw, thus 3 went 4-0.  BigRedMessi was one of the 3 to move into a tie for first with 1 Billion Cash Grab and Sweet Futbol Fabone with 12 pts.  

Four have clinched spots in the Round of 16 (BAY, FLA, JUV, MCI) but you won't the 3 pts each until after their group has completed play.  Mauihammy (tied for last (12th) with 9 pts) was the only entry to lose a team in the R16 between AIN (his pick), WAC, and PAC.

On a sunny Sunday, did some gardening in the backyard and found a few plums (which were plentiful in 2023 and disappeared in 2024).  I wore my 2005 Juventus away jersey celebrating its 100 years.