Lived up to the Hype (12/18)

HOME - On paper, it was a great story for a few days talking about Messi vs Mbappe, two PSG teammates with different legacies on the line.  But for the first 75 minutes or so, 1C-Argentina came out firing on all cylinders while 1D-France, whether due to the flu bug that was spreading or just unprepared how ARG would attack this match, was always playing catch-up.  ARG buzzed and scored twice (Messi his 3rd PK) and blew chances for more in the first half.  ARG kept the pressure in the 2nd half as well.

I mean it took FRA 67 minutes to get their first official shot.  But a couple of key subs in the 71' and speed kills as a FRA player was pulled down in the box.  Mbappe just snuck the PK past the GK and 93 seconds later, a give-and-go and first-time strike by Mbappe tied the match at 2 in the 81'.  ARG was in survival mode but made it to the end of regulation.

In extra time, after some caution play, things opened up for some end-to-end action.  Messi put in a rebound with his right foot in the 108' but never count FRA out.  Pressure and off a CK, a shot hit an ARG defender in the arm for a clear PK.  Unlike Harry Kane, who had 2 PKs and missed the second, Mbappe went the same direction to tie the game at 3.  

Third Top 3 (12/17)

CERRITOS, CA - 2F-Croatia and 1F-Morocco played a very entertaining first half before wearing out in the second half as CRO held on to their 2-1 halftime lead to win their second 3rd place finish ('98) to go along with 2014's second-place finish.  A couple of header goals by each team before the ten-minute mark set the pace.  The final CRO goal was a perfectly placed strike that went off the right post and into the net.  The sad thing is we didn't get to see MAR's coach Walid Regragui get tossed in the air by his players one last time.  So it remains the only non-European/South American team to finish in the top 3 is --- USA in 1930 (only retroactively placed in 1986 by FIFA, with better GD over other semifinal loser YUG).

So the closest related jersey I had, to support MAR and Africa's first semifinalist, is my 2010 South Africa away jersey where I wore to take a pic of the pink sushi statue outside Magic Touch Bullet Train sushi restaurant, one of the very few places where the prices on Uber Eats (pickup) is the same as the menu price.  The only bad thing is that any specials do not show up in the app, but those are few and far between.

Issue #9.2.4 "Power Doesn't Panic" (After Semifinals)

Archive

Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Dailies: 13-14 ]

SOCCER POWERS REMOVE DOUBT
Soccerbix wins the pool! 8 entries still alive for final 4 money spots; 32 can win Bonus

HOME (smt) -- The soccer powers have been threatened all tournament long, with E1-Germany and F1-Belgium exiting in the group stage and knockout round upsets of 1G-Brazil and 2E-Spain.  But power doesn't panic.  1C-Argentina built up their 5th straight 2-0 lead but this time they not only held on to it, but added the back-breaking 3rd goal to squash upstart 2F-Croatia, 3-0.  Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi were involved in all 3 goals (Alvarez drew PK & Messi converted PK; Messi touch (no official assist) & Alvarez long run for goal; Messi magic dribbling and pass to Alvarez for goal). 

1D-France quickly broke 1F-Morocco's impressive play of never trailing nor allowing an opponent to score in the 5th minute and did something they haven't done yet in the WC, pitch a shutout, winning 2-0.  The two soccer powers will face each other in the Final and will feature two superstars of Paris Saint-Germain - ARG's Messi and FRA's Kylian Mbappé.  Maybe a repeat of the wild 2018 Round of 16 match won by FRA 4-3 on 19-year old Mbappé's brace.

The crowd was very pro-MAR and they have gotten support from a lot of neutrals around the world including Israel, which had a great newspaper cover showing their support.  Interestingly, MAR played more attacking and fun soccer after giving up the goal but could not get the tying goal before FRA added a 2nd in the 79'.  For a team that never had more than 37% possession in any match (and less than 23% in the past two), MAR had 56% possession and took 15 shots (though just 1 on goal - the bicycle kick was tipped by GK but would've hit the left post anyway so not a shot on goal).

With FRA's win, this secured the pool for Soccerbix who leads with 123 points.  It's Soccerbix's 2nd title after winning the inaugural one in 1998 as Le Bix.  12 got both FRA and ARG and 8 of those are the top 8 in the standings (and all 8 have picked ARG as their champion).  Soccerbix has a 16-point cushion over those who have FRA as their champion (2 Goals 1 World Cup, Kona Coast Uno, and Redhat Dave (17th-Tied, 107)) so if FRA wins, the 14 points will not dethrone him.  Those 3, if FRA wins, will knock AC in Doha, Merman, and Unlucky (4th-T, 119) from the money spots.  KevLo and SoccerWife are tied for 2nd (120) but will fall for a tie for 5th if FRA wins (and 1 of those 2 will leave empty-handed).  For the final, 31 have ARG and 9 FRA as their champ (I wonder how many more would pick FRA if they did not have all those injuries prior to the start of the WC).

Dynamic Duo (12/13)

HOME -- With 2F-Croatia keeping most possession, 1C-Argentina used a burst of energy from Julian Alvarez and a careless GK challenge was called for a PK which Lionel Messi, who was not involved up until then, buried his 3rd PK of the tournament (ARG has earned 4 PKs, all taken by Messi).  Then all it took was a CRO corner kick a few minutes later that went awry, a slight touch by Messi before he was fouled (the refs have been doing a good job playing advantage) found Alvarez before midfield and he ran and duked and ran past some poor defending with the ball popping up for an easy tap in past the GK.

A second-half third goal as Messi awed the audience and the defender, somehow the 35-year old getting around and giving a perfect pass for a tap in for Alvarez's second goal.  The 3-0 win in front of 88,966 fans sent ARG to its 6th final (2-3).  So the dynamic duo officially had 3 goals and 2 assists between them (Messi's touch on Alvarez's first goal not an assist since it did ping pong off a couple of CRO defenders - dumb rule but it is consistent so all assists are the same and FIFA does not even list assists on their match center).

With no ARG jersey (thought I had a replica blue one) or CRO (really need to get a red/white checkerboard one), figured I would pull out the official Ted Lasso jersey for AFC Richmond since it has "DubaiAir" as a sponsor (no spoiler for Season 2).  Also funny that with the Apple TV logo on the left sleeve (its a promo jersey), all MLS teams will have one on their left sleeve as well (as part of Apple TV's 10-year deal with MLS)- life imitating art.

FFB 6.2 - Foster's Futbol Brew 12.13.22.1

Foster's Futbol Brew 12.13.22.1

Argentines at home and abroad have their stomachs in knots this morning.  It's as if they drank this bad batch of Foster's Football Brew.

Google says Argentina has a 61% chance to win this semifinal game vs. Croatia.  Oddsmakers at various casinos and online sports betting sites are also leaning steadily toward La Albiceleste.  I have to scratch my head as to who should be favored; I think Croatia may have a slight edge.  Let's take look at the Pro's & Con's on why either team should advance to the finals or go home in defeat:

ARG Con's:

-Lost to SAUDI ARABIA.  That still sticks with every player on the pitch that took a shot or didn't clear the ball on defense when scored against by SAUDI ARABIA.

-Starting every game anxiously since losing to Saudi Arabia- they don't hold their nerve as well as CRO, and it's been evident in the first 25-30 minutes of the four games ARG won

-Knowing they lost bad to CRO in 2019

-Without regular starting left wingback Acuna due to two yellow cards.  That hurts on both offense and defense.

-Messi's Last Stand- did I mention the nerves?  Messi has had some uncharacteristically bad shots on free kicks and from open play whenever he tries to aim for the "top shelf"... sailing too many attempts over the bar (and in some cases wide)

-Unable to hold on to leads, giving up late goals vs. Saudi Arabia, Australia, and The Netherlands

CRO Con's:

-Only scored two goals thus far in 5 games against teams not named Canada

-Third oldest squad at the World Cup at 29.5 years of age, and thus far have played the most minutes of any team at the tourney. Although they could have tired legs, their lack of possession reduces the impact of these extra minutes.

-A poor run in 2020-2021 UEFA Nations League and not-so-great run at the 2020 Euro Finals (took place in 2021) reflects lackluster recent major tournament performance where the team "looked old"

Issue #8.2.3 "There Will Be Times When the Struggle Seems Impossible" (Semifinal Preview & Bonus Details)

Archive

Monday, December 12, 2022

First Semifinal - Lusail			Second Semifinal - Al Khor
ARG - La Albiceleste Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA)	CRO - Vatreni (Blazers) Hrvatski Nogometni Savez (HNS)		FRA - Les Blues Fédération Française de Football (FFF)	MAR - Ousud Al-atlas (The Atlas Lions) Fédérarion Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF)
#3 | C1 | Group C Winners | 3-1-1 6th Semifinals ('30, '78, '86, '90, '14) C1: Lost #53 Saudi Arabia 1-2 C4: Beat #13 Mexico 2-0 C5: Beat #26 Poland 2-0 R16: Beat #38 2D-Australia 2-1 QF: Beat #8 1A-Netherlands 2-2 (4-3 PSO)	#12 | F4 | Group F Runners-Up | 1-0-4 3rd Semifinals ('98, '18) F1: Tied #22 Morocco 0-0 F4: Beat #41 Canada 4-1 F5: Tied #2 Belgium 0-0 R16: Beat #24 1E-Japan 1-1 (3-1 PSO) QF: Beat #1 1G-Brazil 1-1 (4-2 PSO)		#4 | D1 | Group D Winners | 4-1-0 7th Semifinals ('58, '82, '86, '98, '06, '18) D1: Beat #38 Australia 4-1 D4: Beat #10 Denmark 2-1 D6: Lost #30 Tunisia 0-1 R16: Beat #26 2C-Poland 3-1 QF: Beat #5 1B-England 2-1	#22 | F3 | Group F Winners | 3-0-2 1st Semifinals F1: Tied #12 Croatia 0-0 F3: Beat #1 Belgium 2-0 F6: Beat #41 Canada 2-1 R16: Beat #7 2E-Spain 0-0 (3-0 PSO) QF: Beat #9 1H-Portugal 1-0

CROATIA IS RANKED #12 IN THE WORLD, YOU KNOW
16 entries fighting for remaining 4 money spots; Bonus keeps another 69 entries with hope

FISHBAR IN MANHATTAN BEACH, CA (smt) -- 2F-Croatia has less wins in this WC than teams like 1E-Japan and 2D-Australia and yet, thanks to four draws, are a step away from their second straight final.  They are the #12 team in the world and yet are lumped with 1F-Morocco as impossible party crashers.  Ironically, CRO and MAR are the only 2 semifinalists who have not lost a match yet (1A-Netherlands is the only other team without an official loss (lost in PSO)).  CRO have beaten the #1  (1G-Brazil) and #2 (F1-Belgium) teams in the world, and in order to win their first WC, they will have to beat #3 1C-Argentina and then potentially #4 1D-France.  Their struggle is real though, as they have played 2 scoreless draws and 4 of their 6 goals were against F2-Canada.

MAR is ranked decently at #22 (not #53 like C2-Saudi Arabia who beat ARG), are on a 10-match unbeaten streak (last loss to 2B-USA), and have only conceded one goal (an own goal) but are still huge underdogs (9:1 to win the WC).  FRA (~1:1 to win WC) could have underestimated MAR but close relations (several players born in France play for Morocco as well as their coach; several MAR players play in FRA's Ligue 1; as well as MAR was once a colony of FRA) should make FRA more cautious than #1 BEL (lost 2-0), #7 Spain (lost 3-0 in penalty shootout), and #9 Portugal (lost 1-0) who were all ousted by this team.  Morocco has also bid many times to host the WC (losing in '94, '98, '06, '10, and '26) and maybe winning the WC could give them a boost (I mean, if tiny Qatar can host one...). 

As an aside, Morocco used to have the abbreviation MOR (used for the 1998 World Cup) but around 2000, it changed to its French name (Maroc) and the abbreviation became MAR.  Same for Spain, which is ESP but not for its Spanish name España, but for its French (Espagne).  English and French are traditional languages for FIFA (whose acronym is based on French title) but its official language list just included Arabic, Portuguese, and Russian (in addition to German and Spanish) in June 2022.

Issue #7.2.2 "So Fat and Satisfied, They Can't Imagine It" (After Quarterfinals)

Archive

Saturday, December 10, 2022
Dailies: 9-10  

HEAVY FAVORITES BRAZIL & PORTUGAL STUNNED, ARGENTINA SURVIVES
Indy Ari leads but it's Soccerbix who has clinched money; 16 entries still alive and 6 can win the pool

HOME (smt) -- While nothing is a guarantee, 1G-Brazil and 1H-Portugal were coming off blow-outs where both teams were dancing and smiling heading into the quarterfinals as both thought they had the tourney now figured out (BRA just doing choreographed dances after every goal and POR benching Ronaldo).  When BRA went up 1-0 at the end of first half extra time on Neymar's beauty of a goal, BRA celebrated as if they had won and their second half of extra time was very disjointed.  2F-Croatia capitalized on their only shot on goal in the 117' to stop the dancing and in the penalty shootout, CRO made all 4 to win 4-2.

POR had lots of possession but was stunted by a stingy 1F-Morocco team and a late first half goal was all MAR needed to hold off Ronaldo (who came on as a sub) and team, 1-0.  What is cool is that MAR is now the de facto home team as the Arab powerhouse replacing host QAT, who finished #32 of 32 teams in this WC.

After Lionel Messi scored on on a PK in the 73' to put 1C-Argentina up 2-0 against a 1A-Netherlands team that didn't even have a shot on goal, ARG fans were celebrating.  But in a foul-marred match (18 yellows but only 12 in the field of play), NED pulled one back in the 78' and on potentially the very last play in the 90'+11', NED pulled a trick free kick play that was put in to tie it at 2.  Unlike BRA, ARG actually tried to win the game in extra time and when that was scoreless, came alive in the PSO to hold off NED 4-3. 

Late Comebacks & Heartache (12/9)

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Two South American teams had leads late and both allowed European teams to rally and tie.  Only one overcame heartache to win.  

The #1 team in the world, 1G-Brazil, came off of dancing in the Round of 16 to struggle yet again on offense despite 20 shots.  In extra time, a couple of give-and-gos and great touch around the GK, provided a dramatic goal by Neymar as first half extra time expired.  Neymar's 77th goal for BRA tied him with Pele but the goal affected the team in the second half of extra time as they were confused, being passive, show-boating, and driving forward and that lack of defending focus allowed 2F-Croatia to counter with their first shot on goal slightly deflected and going into the net in the 117'.  

CRO's second straight comeback (third of this WC) sent the match to their second straight penalty shootout, a spot CRO is feeling comfortable having now played 4 in the last two WCs.  CRO's GK made another save (4th in the two PSOs) and with the PSO 4-2 in favor of CRO, BRA hit the left post, sending CRO to their second straight semifinal.  It'll be the "doink" heard around the world.  Neymar didn't even shoot as there was no fifth round of PSO.

6 of CRO's last 7 major tournament knockout matches have gone to extra time, and CRO is 4-0 if it goes to the PSO.  BRA has lost to a European team in the knockout stage in five straight WCs since their title in 2002.  

Issue #6.2.1 "That Would Be Me" (After Round of 16)

 Archive

Wednesday, December 7, 2022  ***NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY***

IT'S THE USUAL SUSPECTS BUT MOROCCO CUTS IN LINE
Five tied for 1st; 57 entries still alive and 21 can win the pool

HILTON AT THE BALLPARK, SAINT LOUIS, MO (smt) -- After a fun and crazy group stage that saw teams like 1E-Japan and 1F-Morocco win their groups and four-time champion E3-Germany,  two-time champion (4 if you include pre-WC Olympic titles) H3-Uruguay, and #2 F1-Belgium eliminated, the Round of 16 was shaping up to be a Europe/South America vs North America/Africa/Asia competition.  But the soccer powers rose in stature but there would be one team that defied the odds to make the Quarterfinals.  That would be MAR. 

While favorites 1A-Netherlands (3-1 over 2B-USA - where USA had more possession and shots, but couldn't finish while NED were precision strikes), 1G-Brazil (4-1 over 2H-Korea Rep - Neymar returning for a PK goal), 1B-England (3-0 over 2A-Senegal), 1D-France (3-1 over 2C-Poland - Kylian Mbappe getting his 2nd brace), and 1H-Portugal (6-1 over 2G-Swiss - Goncalo Ramos netting the tourney's 1st hat trick) all rode multi-goal easy victories and 1C-Argentina controlling a 2-1 win over 2D-Australia (where ARG scored for AUS, the tourney's 3rd own goal), you would expect 2E-Spain to have an easy time over MAR.  Even 2018 runner-up 2F-Croatia was able to keep European power in play easily winning in the penalty shootout 3-1 (1-1 draw) over JPN thanks to GK Dominik Lilakovic's three (3!) PK saves.

ESP nearly had 1,000 completed passes and yet just had one shot on goal as MAR battled them to a 0-0 tie after extra time, the tourney's 7th nil-nil draw.  In penalties, MAR GK Yassine Bounou saved 2 PKs and went the right way on another (where ESP hit the right post) to help his team seal a 3-0 PSO win, the last goal by Achraf Hakimi, born in Spain, with a hard panenka down the middle. 

Depth (12/5)

CYPRESS, CA - One thing that separates the European and South American teams from the rest of the world is their depth.  2F-Croatia rallied to tie 1E-Japan early 1-1 in the second half and then subbed judiciously, even replacing their scorer, to wear down the JPN pressure in extra time.  JPN seemed to settle for the penalty kick shootout and that is not what should have happened, because the PSO is not a 50/50 chance, experience plays a big role.  Two of the 3 PSO scorers for CRO were substitutes and CRO's towering GK made not 1, not 2, but 3 saves to help CRO win another PSO, 3-1, to advance to the quarterfinals.

1G-Brazil which had the luxury of resting all their starters in their 3rd match (even their GK who had faced zero shots on goal in 2 matches) ran all over 2H-Korea Republic in the first half, scoring four goals, three of the pretty kind and one PK by Neymar, who returned from injury.  After each goal, BRA were dancing in choreographed moves, which after a bit, seemed like they were stomping on the dead, who hadn't died yet.  KOR did manage to get a goal in the 76' to prevent the shutout.

But just as you are ready to brand BRA the villains of this WC, they bring out a touching tribute and banner for Pele, who was hospitalized.  Great gesture.

Craziness at the Top (12/1)

LA MIRADA, CA --  So we all had F3-Morocco and E4-Japan winning Group E and F, right?  All goals in Group F were scored before halftime as MAR scored 3 (ok, one was an own goal to F2-Canada) in winning 2-1 while F1-Belgium and F4-Croatia would play to the WC's 6th scoreless draw.  With MAR handling CAN (started with mistake by CAN GK), #2 in the world BEL just needed one goal and they had many chances in the end (most by halftime sub Romelu Lukaku who was just unlucky and should've easily scored on at least 2 of his 5 shots) and the Golden Generation bows out of group stage for first time since 1998.  By holding on, CRO takes 2nd in Group F.

At halftime, Group E was reverting back to normal from chaos as 2-time champ E1-Spain and 4-time champ E3-Germany were sitting 1-2 in the standings.  But chaos returned as subs helped JPN net two goals in 4 minutes to lead ESP, 2-1.  The latter goal was initially called out of bounds before the great cross but VAR's super tech determined a sliver of the ball was still in play and the goal stood.  Sliver.  That sliver put JPN on top of the group with GER chasing.  GER ran into trouble giving up two goals to E2-Costa Rica in 6 minutes (the latter a GER own goal) and CRC took 2nd over ESP.  But GER scored 3 minutes later and though added two more goals to win 4-2, ESP had a massive GD advantage to keep 2nd.  In stoppage time after JPN made two key saves, ESP seemed content with 2nd place (while JPN fans were nervous of giving up tying goal which would have eliminated them) which I'm sure annoyed GER fans.

For the 2nd straight WC, GER fails to make the R16 while JPN has rallied twice to beat two WC champs in the same stadium (sandwiching a perplexing 1-0 loss to CRC).  Talk about the hardest path.  GER had 32 shots and would have needed to win by 8 to guarantee a spot but all they needed was ESP to tie. JPN had just 17.7% possession (14% if you include "in contest" possession) and that's the lowest for a winner of a WC match.  

JPN made the R16 in 2002 for the first time so wore my authentic 2002 JPN Home jersey while taking care of Dad.  My jersey is #7 Hidetoshi Nakata with JPNvTUR imprint for their R16 match (which JPN lost).  Was lucky today though and just as nerve-wrecking as USAvIRN match, but glad ESP took the pedal off the gas in the last two minutes of stoppage time.

As it happened:

Not as Expected (11/27)

CUCINA ALESSÁ, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA -- F2-Canada scored in the 2' but it was all F4-Croatia after that in losing 4-1 and becoming the second team eliminated from the Knockout Stage.  For a CAN team that outplayed #2 F1-Belgium and won the CONCACAF qualifying group, this was a disappointing outcome heading into co-hosting in 2026.  Speaking of #2 BEL, F3-Morocco scored two late goals to shock BEL, 2-0 and take the group lead.

E4-Japan, who rallied and beat E3-Germany, overthought the game against E2-Costa Rica, who got blown out 7-0 by E1-Spain, by changing their lineup and keeping CRC in the match.  A spirited CRC defense fought for every through ball and took their one chance with an off-speed lob that fooled JPN's GK into jumping a tad early for the game-winner in the 81'.  Who would have thought CRC would give CONCACAF their first win of the tourney.

ESP was in control leading 1-0 but power doesn't panic and GER, although with JPN losing they would not have been eliminated with a loss, got the equalizer in the 83'.  GER has one of the more unique direct qualification path in that if they beat CRC by 8 goals, they will qualify.  But most scenarios need help even with a win.  

With Asian Football Confed's C2-Saudi Arabia and JPN losing, they are on the verge to be one of the 16% to fail to make the Round of 16 after winning their first game.  

So waking up at 3:30 am just in time to see CRC score was demoralizing and went out with my family to a very good Italian restaurant (yes, I had an Italian sausage omelet but the kids had pasta which was really good) in Huntington Beach to drown my sorrows in my authentic 2021 Anniversary JPN jersey, one of my favorite jerseys.

While 74 picked CRO, just 29 picked the ESP-GER draw, 13 CRC, and Party Brigade (104th-Tied, 10 pts) was the only one to pick MAR.  26 went 2-2 while 18 went 0-4.  CDOG, DDubs, Kankleiscious, and The Gambler 1 are tied for first with 17 pts while Meli is now alone in last (8).

Issue #9.2.5 "Efficiency Beats Effort" (After Final)

Archive

25th HWCI NCAA Basketball Pool March 2019 Our Silver Anniversary!

2nd HWCI FIFA Women's World Cup Soccer Pool May 2019 Can USA repeat?

3rd HWCI UEFA EURO Soccer Pool May 2020 No host nation, Europe hosts!

7th HWCI FIFA Men's World Cup Soccer Pool November 2022 World Cup in the winter!

2018 World Cup Champion	2018 Winningest Region
FRA - France (Les Bleus) Fédération Française de Football	UEFA - Europe Union of European Football Associations
#7 | C1 | Group C Winners | 6-0-1 | 14 GF-6 GA 3rd Finals ('98, '06) 2nd Championship C1: Beat Australia 2-1 C3: Beat Peru 1-0 C5: Tied Denmark 0-0 R16: Beat 2D-Argentina 4-3 QF: Beat 1A-Uruguay 2-0 SF: Beat 1G-Belgium 1-0 F: Beat 1D-Croatia 4-2	UEFA | 10 Teams | 13 Wins | 13-9 Qualified: 2A-RUS, 1B-ESP, 2B-POR, 1C-FRA, 2C-DEN, 1D-CRO, 2E-SUI, 1F-SWE, 1G-BEL, 2G-ENG R16: 50-FRA, 51-RUS, 52-CRO, 54-BEL, 55-SWE, 56-ENG QF: 57-FRA, 58-BEL, 59-CRO, 60-ENG SF: 61-FRA, 62-CRO F: 64-FRA

CROATIA HUSTLES BUT FRANCE IS ON TARGET FOR 2ND TITLESacre Les Blues, Sokkerbix, and Krispy Kremer join Walleye and BigRedSquare in winner circle 

BERLIN, DEUTSCHLAND  (smt) -- D1-Croatia started off strong and had most of the possession but C1-France finished when needed in winning their 2nd World Cup title, 4-2.  France was so efficient that at halftime they had 2 goals on just one shot on goal.  The hero from the semifinal, Mario Mandzukic, accidentally headed the ball off a FRA set piece into his own goal to give the French an early lead.  Croatia would equalize on Ivan Perisic's goal but before halftime Perisic would be called for a handball in the box and Antoine Griezmann buried the PK as France headed into halftime with a 2-1 lead.  VAR played its final review on that PK with its ~10th pro-PK overturn of the ref (there were about 4 PKs taken away from the ref).  Like in the ARG match, FRA struck often and quickly, with two great strikes 6 minutes apart for an insurmountable 3-goal lead, though FRA GK Hugo Lloris would try to help with a horrible misplay allowing Mandzukic to capitalize to the cut the lead to two with 21 minutes left.  CRO ran out of gas and didn't have many chances after that.  While CRO outshot FRA 15-8, only 3 were on target while 6 of 8 FRA shots were on target.  CRO played nearly 3 times as many opportunities into the attacking third but FRA were deadly on their limited chances.  The second-youngest team in the tournament can now be thinking about EURO 2020 and a repeat in 2022.

All four who picked FRA to win it all managed to

Final: FRA v CRO (Live!) (7/15)

REFRESH periodically, as this post will be updated throughout the day and match.

1:00 am:  The tiebreaker total goals is currently at 2.  The goals scored today in regulation and Extra Time will be added.  This is important for those in a tiebreaker situation to win money.  If CRO wins, then there is a tie for 2nd place and 4th place.  BigRedSquare gets 2nd if total goals in 3rd place & Final matches is 5 or less and Blitzkreig813 gets 2nd if the total goals is 6 or more.  Bigblue2 gets 4th if the total goals is 5 or less and FernandoHeirrosArmada gets 4th if the total goals is 6 or more (note the loser ends in 5th which is zero prize money).
For the $40 Bonus, if FRA wins, then Flying Elvi and Bigblue2 will split the $40 prize ($20 each) if the total goals is 6 or less, they will split with Krispy Kremer (3-way tie or $13.33 each) if the total goals is 7, and Krispy Kremer will win the Bonus if the total goals is 8 or more.  If CRO wins, then Flying Elvi wins if total goals is 5 or less (because Bigblue2 will win 4th and be ineligible for Bonus), Flying Elvi and Bigblue2 will split ($20) if total is 6, will split 3-ways ($13.33) with Krispy Kremer if total is 7, and Krispy Kremer will win if total goals is 8 or more.

1:25 am:  Coincidentally, all four who picked FRA will finish 1-2-3-4 if FRA wins.  Sokkerbix, who got a worst 17 of 48 group matches correct (but tied a high getting 14 of 16 Round of 16 teams), would jump to 109 pts, two more than

Issue #8.2.4 "It's Not Coming Home" (After Semifinals)

Archive

Thursday, July 12, 2018 

2018 World Cup Final - Luzhniki Stadium - Moscow
	vs.
FRA - France (Les Bleus) Fédération Française de Football		CRO - Croatia (Vatreni) Croatian Football Federation
#7 | C1 | Group C Winners | 5-0-1 3rd Finals ('98, '06) C1: Beat Australia 2-1 C3: Beat Peru 1-0 C5: Tied Denmark 0-0 R16: Beat 2D-Argentina 4-3 QF: Beat 1A-Uruguay 2-0 SF: Beat 1G-Belgium 1-0		#20 | D3 | Group D Winners | 4-0-2 1st Finals (-) D2: Beat Nigeria 2-0 D3: Beat Argentina 3-0 D6: Beat Iceland 2-1 R16: Beat 2C-Denmark 1-1 (3-2 PSO) QF: Beat 2A-Russia 2-2 (4-3 PSO) SF: Beat 2G-England 2-1 (AET)

ENGLAND RUN ENDS IN EXTRA TIME; FRANCE HOLDS ON

Walleyewins the pool, BigRedSquare in money, but 5 vie for final two spots

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt) -- For all the hype f bringing the Cup back home to 2G-England, tiny D1-Croatia's effort and heart won out in a 2-1 win after Extra Time.  ENG started strong and got a free kick goal, their 9th set piece goal, in the 5' but Croatia tied it in the second half to send it to extra time.  With ENG no longer afraid of the PSO and with CRO playing their third-straight extra time match, things looked good for the team that really isn't a country.  But then CRO's Mario Mandukic was in the right place for an opportunistic laser strike in the 109' to put CRO up for good.  It was CRO's second time scoring in Extra Time but this time their defense held down the stretch.  ENG only had one shot on goal (their free kick) though Harry Kane had a couple of point-blank opportunities (save then left post off the GK) on the same play and although ruled offsides, probably would've been overturned by VAR if he had actually scored.  CRO, the second smallest country to make the final and began play just in '96, advances to their first final while ENG is still overjoyed by the lads effort in this World Cup.

In the battle of giants, 1C-France (ranked #7) just needed

Run of play (7/11)

LA GALAXY FREE NACHOS AT EL TORITO IN MANHATTAN BEACH, CA -- 2G-England can go home again, but without the Cup in hand.  1D-Croatia became the sixth team to win after allowing the first goal, this time beating ENG 2-1 in Extra Time to reach their first final.  An opportunistic strike by Mario Mandzukic in the 109' in front of a slow to react ENG defense was the difference.  CRO becomes the first team to win three straight matches that went into Extra Time and even scored in their last two.  With ENG now confident in the PSO, CRO wouldn't allow them to get there.  A strong start by ENG with Kleran Trippier's bend-it-like-Beckham free kick, the ENG's 9th off of a set piece, in the 5' had their fans in a frenzy.  A rare double-miss by Harry Kane at point blank range (he was eventually ruled offside, but if it went to VAR, it likely would've been overturned) with the second off the post, off the GK, and still not finding the net, almost gave ENG a two-goal cushion.  With all the set piece goals lately, CRO used two run-of-play goals to seal the match.

The 20th ranked CRO team is the

Issue #7.2.3 "The Greatest Showman" (Semifinal Preview)

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Monday, July 9, 2018

FRANCE-BELGIUM THE REAL FINAL
Final four feature teams who have not won the Cup in at least 20 years

HILTON SANTA BARBARA BEACHFRONT RESORT, CA (smt) --  The first semifinal will feature the two best teams of the tournament, a pre-final of sorts, with Group C winners France facing off against Group G Belgium, both undefeated in regulation and both ranked in the top 7.  France rallied from a 2-1 2nd half deficit to beat 2D-Argentina 4-3 and Belgium rallied from a 2-0 2nd half deficit to beat 2H-Japan in their Round of 16 matches so they have been tested.  The second semifinal features 1D-Croatia which needed to PSO wins against non-group winners to advance and 2G-England which barely beat G3-Tunisia but did get the PSO monkey off their back in beating 1H-Colombia.  Only 2 of the 8 teams on this side of the bracket were ranked in the top 11.  So will the Final be anti-climatic?  The current odds:  France 2:1, Belgium 2.5:1, England 2.75:1, Croatia 4:1. 

English fans are going bonkers over England's success thus far, especially finally winning a penalty shootout, they believe they are destined.  They are going almost as crazy as buying albums of The Greatest Showman, which spent 11 straight weeks at #1 in the U.K. tying Adele of all people.  My son got me to buy the digital version of the movie as he saw it with his neighborhood friend and after resisting for a long time, got to watch and LOVE it (ignore the biopic liberties taken).  I should never doubt Hugh Jackman (I highly enjoyed The Boy From Oz and saw him live on Broadway) in a musical again.  So to link the topics together, below is the actual track list from the movie (all great songs and damn addictive, even my son and daughter are humming the tunes) and how it relates to the 2018 World Cup.  BTW, each title is linked to the song courtesy of Atlantic Records.  Enjoy!

The Greatest Show: Where it's covered in all the colored lights; Where the runaways are running the night; Impossible comes true, it's taking over you; Oh, this is the greatest show.  Indeed, the World Cup is the greatest show on earth and this particular one has seen the "runaways" running the show with