Stoppage Time Game Winner (7/30)

HOME, CA - Let's start of with Group H, which were the buns to the meat of Group A for some reason.  The day started with H2-Morocco scoring on a diving header in the 6' that stood up for their first-ever win, beating H4-Korea Rep, 1-0.  The #73 ranked team nearly held KOR with zero shots on goal (FIFA after the match had KOR with 14 shots, none on goal; ESPN had 17 shots, 3 on goal; FIFA corrected itself to 17-1) to stay alive in Group H. 

The day ended with a shocking H3-Colombian 2-1 upset of #2 H1-Germany on a wicked header off a corner kick in the 7th minute of stoppage time (only +6 was revealed).  GER had tied in on a PK in the 89' but the Colombian fans were passionate and loud in the stadium to help put COL on top of the group.  COL, who upset KOR earlier, actually kept KOR alive with the win, as a GER win/draw would have eliminated the South Koreans.  All four teams are still alive.

In between the Group H matches, Group A had their final stage and A2-Norway, scoreless through two matches, needed a big win and they got it, routing A3-Philippines, 6-0, to take second.  Co-host A1-New Zealand, needing to win after NOR went up 3-0 at halftime, could not push through despite their GK helping (and getting a shot) in the 7 minutes of stoppage time.  A4-Switzerland, needing just a draw, got it with the tourney's 4th nil-nil draw to win Group A.  NZL becomes the first WWC host (maybe B1-Australia is next?) to not make the knockout stage and did it in the most improbable way - beating #12 NOR, tying #20 SUI, and losing to #49 PHI.  What could've been, and hopefully the Kiwis will still support the rest of the WWC.

With four GER players and one NOR player playing for FC Bayen München, wore my 2021 home FC Bayen München jersey, complete with 5th star (30th title), UCL 6 starball, and 2020 FIFA World Champion patch.  Those palm leaves are getting HUGE!

Looking at just Group H matches, Firewire (38th-Tied, 17 pts) and last place Tiny Destroyer (13) were the only two to pick both upsets COL (picked by 2) and MAR (picked by 7).  Eggman 2 was one of 38 to go 0-2 in Group H but keeps first (23). 

With Groups concluding, you now get the 3 points per R16 team.  Group A saw 23 get both SUI and NOR into the R16 while the other 14 got just 1 of 2.  All 47 got NOR's win and 9 got the SUIvNZL draw correct.  Five entries got the full 8 points in Group A while 19 got just 4 points. 

For the whole day (Groups A and H), five entries got 8 points and 13 got 4 points.  Eggman 2 is still in first (31) with Hawkeye second (29).

CK is the new PK (7/29)

NOT WATCHING BARBIE AT CERRITOS TOWN CENTER, CA - So, G1-Sweden is really the 3rd ranked team in the world after all.  Thanks to Jonna Andersson's corner kicks, SWE scored on 3 of the first 5 she took as SWE routed G3-Italy, 5-0 to become the 3rd team to advance to the Round of 16.  Comparing to penalty kicks, teams were 4 of the first 8 (technically, 4 of the first 10 if you don't count the retakes) so SWE has the corner kick cross locked down.  SWE has 4 goals from corners (the game-winning one last match was delivered by Kosovare Asllani in the 90').  Finishing has been atrocious at this WWC but SWE scored on 5 of their 7 shots on goal, bringing some great skill to this tourney.

In a preview that all the great matches will be at 3 am PDT, #5 F1-France faced #9 F3-Brazil in a marquee matchup but BRA failed to get revenge from their 2019 Round of 16 loss as FRA showed up, edging BRA 2-1.  After an embarrassing 0-0 tie with #52 F4-Jamaica, FRA is back on top of the standings (on goal differential) even after JAM beat D2-Panama, 1-0, for their first ever WWC win.  It was a rare non-UEFA confederation matchup in the group stage as the two CONCACAF teams faced each other.  PAN becomes the 5th team eliminated, leaving 24 teams battling for the final 13 knockout spots.

While the rest of the family went to see the record-breaking Barbie, I went grocery shopping.  No offense to Barbie, but most movies I just wait for streaming, especially if there are no "spoilers".  The last "movies" I've seen at a movie theater have been "Spirited Away - Live on Stage", "Macross Frontier - The False Songstress", "Macross Frontier - The Wings of Farewell", and a special Raytheon screening of "Top Gun: Maverick".  Non-traditional to say the least.  Wore my 2011 home Panama jersey as I knew they were not long for the game.  Will be visiting Panama in late August and now have 2 jerseys to wear.

So we'll start the final Group A matches in between the two Group H matches that have yet to play their second stage.  Qatar was so much simpler.  There will be an update just for the 32 matches (A-H each playing two games) like there was for the first 16.

14 entries went 3-0 including Hawkeye and Kds911 who are tied for 2nd with 22 points.  Eggman 2 still leads with 23 points.  Four went 0-3 as 33 got SWE, 28 got FRA, and 27 got JAM.  Tiny Destroyer actually went 2-1 but is still in last (11 pts).