One Step Forward, One Step on Back (8/7)

KAISER HOSPITAL, DOWNEY, CA - Like the #1 USA, #4 1D-England has had trouble scoring, barely beating #53 Haiti and #13 Denmark by 1-0 scores.  An outburst against China PR gave fans hope, but once again ENG struggled, not scoring in 120 minutes vs #40 2B-Nigeria.  NGA at one point outshot ENG 6-0 but NGA also had to settle for their 3rd 0-0 match.  Despite being a player up for 33 minutes due to a bonehead stomp by ENG's Lauren James on a downed NGA's player back that VAR correctly notified the ref "nope, that's a definite red, not yellow", NGA couldn't find the game-winner.  In penalties, 3 of the first 4 players missed (1 ENG, 2 NGA) before ENG nailed the last three, downing NGA 4-2.

Talk about being the focal point of the game, VAR intervened on a judgement call in the box and prodded the ref to change her call in the 31', negating the foul and penalty kick.  It didn't seem like a suggestion, but an order from up high.  Not clear and obvious and too bad the VAR officials wanted their 15 minutes of fame.

Meanwhile, co-host 1B-Australia weathered an early 2D-Denmark attack and got a goal in each half to advance to the quarters, 2-0.  Sam Kerr entered this WWC for the first time in the 80' after the brouhaha of her injury status at the start of the first match.  Wore my 2008 home AUS jersey when the cartoon kangaroo was in the logo.

46 had ENG making the quarters and 32 AUS and 27 got both while Rutin4Putin missed both.  Six R16 matches in, ten have gotten 5 of 6 teams and four only got 2 of 6.  Kds911-2 leads with 87 points with More$ second with 86.  Lavelle Lover and Vlatko Better Win are tied for 3rd (85).  Just 4 entries were eliminated leaving 28 alive and just one can't win the pool, leaving 16 with a chance to win the pool.  Kds911-2 has the best chance at 1st (15.6%) and money (59.8%).  Hawkeye is tied for 10th but can't win the pool while GenX99er is 26th but can still win it.  Sieger is tied for 13th (80) but is eliminated while Sebastian is tied for 34th and can still finish 2nd.  Tiny Destroyer is last with 53 pts (but can get up to 72 pts).

Just Win Not Draw (7/31)

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB, BOY SCOUTS, CYPRESS, CA - Co-Host B1-Australia needed to win to guarantee a spot in the Round of 16 while B4-Canada needed just a draw so it was AUS coming on hot getting a VAR assisted goal in the 9' en route to a 4-0 win, eliminating the defending Olympic Champions as B3-Nigeria just needed to lose not as badly as CAN, and drew B2-Rep of Ireland, 0-0 to clinch 2nd.  

Earlier, C2-Japan needed to win to win Group C while C1-Spain just needed a draw or win.  JPN let ESP have all the passing (925 to 625) and possession (68%-21%) and on their first three attacks/counterattacks into the final third, great finishing put JPN up 3-0 before the half.  A great 4th goal after wresting the ball from the sideline made the final score 4-0 as JPN finished the group with 11 goals with no goals allowed.  C3-Zambia, ranked #77, broke through with 3 goals in beating C2-Costa Rica, 3-1.  ZAM's second goal off a PK was the WWC's 1000th goal scored.  

I really needed to get the stink of watching the LA Galaxy blow a late 1-0 and lose 2-1 off an own goal and deflected blocked shot to Vancouver as LAG blew chance after chance.  JPN, had just 8 shots, 6 on goal, and scored 4.  Each one was just a breakaway where you saw the play build up (like most times) but with precision finishing.  Think of JPN's slash line of 8/6/4 compared to ESP's first match of 46/14/2 (one was an own goal).  Efficient.  Wore my 2012 JPN home jersey, the women's one with the pink line ("All Support for Japan"), 2011 WWC winners patch, and gold star while admiring the beautiful dusk after that crappy game in Carson.

E1-USA only needs to draw to advance... not a good omen (see CAN and ESP above) and if they do win but lose on goal differential to E3-Netherlands (let's hope E2-Vietnam's 5'-5" GK keeps playing like a superstar), a #1 v #3 R16 matchup with G1-Sweden is a high possibility.

Group C concluded with Kds911 (3rd-Tied, 38 pts) the only one to pick both JPN and ZAM to win and with 46 having ESP in R16 and 45 JPN, the only one to pick up all 8 points in Group C.  31 went 0-2 and three just got ESP or JPN, but not both.  44 got both.  Leader Eggman 2 (3rd-T) and last place Tiny Destroyer (47th, 24) each only got 3 of 8 points.

Group B concluded with BigRedMessiUSA (19th-T, 35) and More$ (3rd-T) the only two to get both AUS's win (picked by 20) and CRC-NGR draw (6).  23 went 0-2.  All 47 had AUS (barely) in their R16 but no one had NGR (45 lost CAN), meaning BigRedMesssiUSA and More$ got 5 of 8 points in Group B while 23 got 3 of 8.  

Combined, Hawkeye and Vlatko Better Win are tied for first with 39 points with six tied for 3rd with 38.  

Issue #4.1.3 "Underdogs Roar Back" (After 24 Matches)

 Archive

Thursday, July 27, 2023 
Dailies: July 25-26-27 

PHILIPPINES AND NIGERIA STUN CO-HOSTS; USA DRAWS
Eggman 2 takes the lead with 19 points

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt) --  After 24 matches, underdogs put on a show with #46 A3-Philippines (two California-born players leading the way) stunning co-host A1-New Zealand 1-0 and #40 B3-Nigeria rallying with three straight goals to beat co-host B1-Australia, 3-2.  B4-Canada had to rally to prevent #22 B2-Rep of Ireland from an upset, winning 2-1.  C4-Japan scored twice in two minutes in the first half but settled for a 2-0 win over C2-Costa Rica which allowed C1-Spain to edge JPN on goal differential when they put up 5 against C3-Zambia.  ESP and JPN both advance to the Round of 16 but ESP holds the GD edge to win the group if they tie in their last match.

In the competitive matches between teams just ranked 8 spots apart, both matches drew with #20 A4-SUI and #12 A2-Norway producing the third nil-nil draw and #9 E3-Netherlands allowing a second-half goal to tie #1 E1-USA, 1-1 (in the first of 3 matches between top 10 teams (upcoming CANvAUS and F1-France vs F3-Brazil)).

USA came out strong in the first 10 minutes and then listed in the first half as NED struck first in the 17', the first time USA has trailed in a WWC match since 2011 (17 matches).  USA uncharacteristically made just one sub the whole match, but Rose Lavelle's halftime entry seemed to spark the team, even picking up a yellow in the 51' and providing the corner kick assist to Lindsey Horan in the 62'.  Horan was just taken out hard by club teammate (Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)) Danielle van de Donk (no foul as Donk got to the ball first) and a shoving match ensued. But on the next play, she scores off the corner (interestingly, Horan is the only USA player to not play for the NWSL). 

Host Hangover (7/27)

THE BURGER DEN (aka, DENNY'S), EL SEGUNDO, CA - Host B1-Australia suffered the same fate as co-host A1-New Zealand, losing to the worst team in the group after winning their first match.  AUS actually scored first against #40 B3-Nigeria but NGR quickly tied it at 1 in the 45'+6 heading into halftime.  Two quick strikes 7 minutes apart stunned AUS and although AUS got a late stoppage time goal (+10), it was too late in falling 3-2.  NGA gave Africa their first win of the tourney (1-4-1) and are 2nd in Group B.  With B2-Rep of Ireland already eliminated, B4-Canada, NGA, and AUS are fighting for the two spots.

E3-Netherlands scored in the 17' against a listless E1-USA team, the first time USA has trailed in a WWC since 2011 (17 matches).  A hard no-call tackle on Lindsey Horan fired her up and seconds later scored a header off a corner kick in the 62' to tie it at 1.  A more inspired USA team, despite making only one sub, nearly netted the game-winner (offsides).  The 1-1 draw snapped USA's WWC record win streak at 13. 

E4-Portugal had reasons to smile getting 28 shots off against E2-Vietnam, but only managed to win 2-0.  VIE, without a shot against USA, got their first shot in the 3' and first shot on goal in the 43' but were the 4th team eliminated in this WWC.  Assuming both USA and NED beat up POR and VIE, USA currently has a +2 goal differential lead to win the group.

Wore my 2016 Vietnam home jersey (after visiting in 2019) and took a peak at the Toyota Center for Innovation in STEM Education on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills while walking to the LA Galaxy-Leon Leagues Match, that was postponed from Tuesday.

8 went 2-1 leaving Eggman 2 on top with 19 pts.  Jolly Old England and Tiocfaidh Ár Lá!!! are tied for 2nd with 18 pts.  Four went 0-3 including my 3am Down Under (25th-Tied, 15).  Tiny Destroyer is still last with 9 pts.  40 got POR and 7 got the USA-NED draw.  Two kids in our pool, Kung Fu Master Kai (44th-T, 12) and Pink Penguino (25th-T) were the only two to get NGA's win correct.

Off the Crossbar! (6/20)

Such 3rd place drama.  With both top 2 teams in Groups E and F already qualified, the bottom two teams faced each other to try to qualify with a win.  A4-Nigeria (3 pts, -2 GD) and D3-Argentina (2 pts) were waiting to see if they could sneak in.  First of all, E4-Netherlands beat E1-Canada 2-1 to win Group E and F1-USA comfortably beat F4-Sweden 2-0 to win Group F.  Boring. 

Needing a win, both E2-Cameroon and E3-New Zealand were pushing players forward to try to break a 1-1 tie and in the end, 5 minutes into stoppage time, Ajara Nchout single-handedly worked herself through and her strike went into the right corner for the final play of the match and sent CMR into the Round of 16 and eliminated ARG.  Then E3-Chile needed a 3-goal win to advance (E4-Thailand now needed a 15-goal win margin after CMR won) and were leading 2-0 when VAR awarded them a PK in the 83'.  But Francisca Lara's PK hit the crossbar hard and match ended 2-0 sending NGA into the Round of 16.  Two African teams claimed the last two R16 spots.  In retrospect, SCO blowing a 3-goal lead against ARG cost them a R16 spot and would've sent CMR home.  So the 3rd place teams are 3E-Cameroon (BEF), 3C-Brazil (CDE), 3A-Nigeria (ACD), and 3B-China PR (ABF).

Twenty-Two Shots (6/17)

Each match saw one team take at least 22 shots but only two of the four won today.  B1-Germany got tired of 1-0 wins and came out swinging shooting 23 times and scoring four times in a 4-0 win over B4-South Africa to clinch Group B with 9 points.  In an interesting match where the winner would be the loser, only a loss would keep B3-Spain, holding 2nd place, from likely facing the F1-United States in the Round of 16 and yet they came out shooting 24 times with 9 shots on goal but was held to a scoreless draw by B2-China PR, who had just one shot and none on goal.  By finishing 3rd, CHN will likely play C2-Italy, C3-Brazil, C4-Australia, D1-England, or D4-Japan, all preferable over facing a hot USA team.

Own It (6/12)

A3-Norway must be kings of the own goal as they benefited for the second straight match as an opponent scores for NOR, this time hometown A1-France which tied the score at 1 in the 54'.  It was a bizarre play as the cross would've gone harmlessly past the goal but FRA's Renard, who scored 2 goals in the opener, just seemed to tap the ball into her own net with no NOR defender around her.  However, a reckless tackle (really a mis-hit by NOR which made the follow through worse) in the box was looked at by VAR and deemed to be a foul, and FRA converted the penalty and held on to a 2-1 win to take the lead in Group A.

In the other Group A match, another own goal changed the tide of the match as A2-Korea Rep's control of the match was unhinged on a counter and accidentally kicked into their own net to give A4-Nigeria a 1-0 lead in the 29'.  The bizarre part was NGA's player near by put her hand up and appeared to graze the ball as it went past the goalkeeper into the net but VAR said no handball, thus the goal stood.  KOR had chances but it was another counter that did them in and NGA picked up three points in a 2-0 win.

Yawner and Thriller (6/26)

RICHMOND, VA -- In the fight of their lives, D1-Argentina got an early goal from Messi (finally) but D4-Nigeria fought back to tie it.  With elimination near, a great Marcos Rojo strike put ARG back in the lead in the 86' but with D2-Iceland still tied with D3-Croatia, an Icelandic goal would eliminate ARG.  But Croatia scored instead, in the 90', to secure Group D and helped ARG advance to the Round of 16 to the delight of Diego Maradona who was so excited he double-flipped the crowd and then had to be taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, C4-Denmark were content to just

Late Group E Game-Winning Goals (6/22)

E3-Costa Rica was headed to a scoreless tie with E1-Brazil despite taking no shots on goal and having just one corner kick but Brazil scored twice in stoppage time to dash those hopes.  E2-Switzerland was also heading to a tie in their match with E4-Serbia before Xherdan Shaqiri's great effort as he slipped the ball under the GK in the 90' to give them a 2-1 win.  Brazil and the Swiss are tied atop Group E with 4 points while Costa Rica is eliminated.  Serbia became the first team to score first and lose as well as have a lead at halftime and lose.

In a team that didn't play today, D1-Argentina benefited as

Force is Strong with Forza Pazza

Standings have been updated with 15 points up for grabs today (1 pt x 3 RR matches plus 3 pt x 4 teams that made the Round of 16).  South Africa's win snapped El Chileno and Lionelmessi's win streak at 8.  Sisyphus86 was the only one to get all 3 matches correct (pretty good picking RSA and URU).  Ten got both Group A teams correct while 9 got both Group B teams correct.  The intersection of five got all 4 teams correct (Forza Pazza, Source, EEChick1400, Big Tex, and Serrano).  Five missed both Group A teams and every entry got at least one of the two Group B teams.

That leaves Forza Pazza in first with 32 points followed by Big Tex with 31 and EEChick1400 with 30.  Serrano and Source moved from a tie for 39th to a tie for 4th place in just one day.  On the flip side, Chi-Town Mikey's and Desert17 went from a tie for 14th to a tie for 57th in just one day.  Krispy Kicker is further in the bottom with just 12 points clearing Coin Tossed by four and Samersig and SirMarcCharles by 5.

BTW, the four teams who didn't advance all put in great efforts today.  France finally scored, Greece held their own and had a better than expected Cup, Nigeria came to life in the second half (too little too late) and if they didn't have Gordo's feet, would have won by two or so goals, and host South Africa picked up a well-deserved win over the 2006 Runner-Ups.

More Gordos

Nigeria's #9 after missing the easy chip now fails to chest down a ball in the box which could have resulted in a easy goal.  Meanwhile Greece is cooked going down 2-0 which means of Korea protects the tie, they are in.

Nigeria is Gordo's team

Wow.  Another easy chip shot somehow missed by Nigeria.  Does Gordo have a training camp in Africa?

Argentina scores

If Nigeria wins and Argentina holds, the Super Eagles will qualify.

Redemption!

Man, I forget how exciting these simultaneous matches are!   After missing the easy sitter, Nigeria's #8 redeems himself with a PK goal to tie the game at 2 with 20 minutes left.

Gordo!

Nigeria just missed a four footer by somehow hitting it wide.