Issue #6.1.5 "Let's Reset" (After 42 Matches)

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Tuesday, August 1, 2023 
Dailies: Jul 30-31 Aug 1 

START STRONG, LITTLE DRAMA... EXCEPT FOR USA-PORTUGAL
Hawkeye and Vlatko Better Win take over 1st with 5 groups complete

HOME, CA (smt) --  After 42 matches, Groups A, B, C, D, and E are complete, leaving 10 teams fighting for the final 5 Round of 16 spots.  Needing to win and leave no doubt, B1-Australia (1A) scored in the 9' and whipped B4-Canada, 4-0, in a battle of top 10 teams, A2-Norway (2A) scored in the 6' to demolish A3-Philippines, 6-0, C4-Japan (1C) scored in the 12' to embarrass #6 C1-Spain (2C), 4-0, to top Group C, E3-Netherlands (1E) scored in the 8' to wallop my wife's home country of E2-Vietnam, 7-0, and D1-England (1D) found their scoring touch scoring in the 4' to blow out #14 D4-China PR, 6-1.  AUS, NOR, NED, ENG left nothing to chance with their blowouts while JPN took their few opportunities (8 shots/6 on goal) to win Group C.  D3-Denmark (2D) opened scoring "late" in the 21' to beat D2-Haiti, 2-0, to advance.  In the one match that didn't matter, C3-Zambia scored their first-ever WWC goal in the 3' in beating C2-Costa Rica, 3-1.  So very little drama in these games and spots were secured without any nervousness.

Tea Time (7/2)

1F-USA's Alex Morgan celebrated her birthday by scoring in what turned out to be the game-winner with a sipping British tea salute in helping USA to their third straight 2-1 victory, this time over the jolly good women of 1D-England.  ENG had a brutal stretch from the 68' to 86' where Ellen White's game-tying goal was overturned by VAR (hairline offsides), an open tap in that was whiffed by White but then overturned by VAR into a PK as a foul (hairline contact to her leg), ENG continuing a tradition by missing a penalty kick (their 3rd straight miss), and then going down to 10 women after a second yellow to Millie Bright.  I guess ENG is just a semifinal team after all losing their 3rd straight semifinal ('15 WWC, '17 EURO).  Meanwhile, USA makes its 3rd straight final and 5th overall by winning their 11th straight WWC match (16th without a defeat).

When it Rains... (6/11)

After the first two games today, the past four matches saw three 0-0 halftime scores and one that was 0-0 until the 45'.  Well, the third match produced a few goals... more later...  It rained in Rennes that actually stopped the match and it rained goals in Reims that divided the fandom.

First, E3-New Zealand looked like it was going to hold E4-Netherlands to a 0-0 draw but a stoppage time goal in the 90'+2 gave the Dutch a 2-0 win and the full three points and into a first place tie with E1-Canada.

After a sunny start, in the 72', it had been raining hard for about twenty minutes but