Our 1st Club World Cup pool is in progress with 16 entries. Good luck! Our 16th overall soccer pool.
There is now a tab above for "Possibilities" and you can see what percent of the 2,048 possible outcomes you can win something. Kds911-2 (1st, 77 pts) has the best chance to win the pool (18.5%) and money (52.5%).
Trying different ways to speed up Excel but didn't quite work out, thus, this is the debut of the Possibilities table (usually, it's after the Round of 16 when 32,768 possible outcomes are run).
GROUP H
Colombia — advances to the Round of 16 if it wins or draws against Morocco, OR if it loses to Morocco and Germany draws or loses to South Korea, OR if it loses to Morocco and Germany defeats South Korea (and Colombia advances on tiebreakers over either Morocco or Germany). |
| PSG Rumble on FOX! |
12:19 am PST - 3 goals were scored in the 3rd place match and this Final could add to that total which is our total goals tiebreaker. Remember, penalty shootout (PSO) goals do not count if it is tied after 120 minutes. Fernando B (Soccerbix) gets to relax after already clinching 1st place by building more than a 14-point (value for picking correct champion) lead over those who picked FRA.
Right now, if ARG wins, KevLo takes 2nd over SoccerWife (she needs 4+ goals in Final to switch this) and Unlucky and Merman take 4th and 5th with AC in Doha out of the money in 6th. AC in Doha needs 5 goals scored in final to get 5th (knocking Unlucky out) and 6+ goals to finish 4th.
If FRA wins, currently 2 Goals 1 World Cup, Redhat Dave, and Kona Coast Uno will finish 2nd/3rd/4th. If 3 goals are scored in final, then Redhat Dave and Kona Coast Duo finish tied for 2nd. If 4+ goals are scored, Kona Coast Uno takes 2nd, Redhat Dave 3rd, and 2 Goals 1 World Cup 4th. KevLo would take 5th over SoccerWife (but if 4+ goals are scored, it reverses).
For Bonus, if ARG and FRA are scoreless and go to PSO, then if ARG wins PSO, Union FC and Cisco split the Bonus. If FRA wins PSO after scoreless tie, then MezLove wins Bonus. But every goal scored in final will change who is in pole position.
5' - Woke up in time to see ARG get a long strike that was saved. ARG being aggressive which is good to see.
Slight correction to Unlucky's tiebreaker possibility below:
| If ARGENTINA beats FRANCE in Final… | |||||
| 1st | Soccerbix | 137 | |||
| 2nd-Tied | KevLo | 134 | Tie: | 4.5 | Wins 2nd if <=6, 3rd if >=7 |
| 2nd-Tied | SoccerWife | 134 | Tie: | 8.0 | Wins 3rd if <=6, 2nd if >=7 |
| 4th-Tied | Unlucky | 133 | Tie: | 6.0 | Wins 4th if <=7, |
| 4th-Tied | Merman | 133 | Tie: | 8.5 | Wins 5th if <=7, 4th if =8, 5th if >=9 |
| 4th-Tied | AC in Doha | 133 | Tie: | 9.0 | Wins 5th if =8, 4th if >=9 |
| If FRANCE beats ARGENTINA in Final… | |||||
| 1st | Soccerbix | 123 | |||
| 2nd-Tied | 2 Goals 1 World Cup | 121 | Tie: | 5.0 | Wins 2nd if <=5, 4th if >=6 |
| 2nd-Tied | Redhat Dave | 121 | Tie: | 5.5 | Wins 3rd if <=5, Tied 2nd if 6, 3rd if >=7 |
| 2nd-Tied | Kona Coast Uno | 121 | Tie: | 6.5 | Wins 4th if <=5, Tied 2nd if 6, 2nd if >=7 |
| 5th-Tied | KevLo | 120 | Tie: | 4.5 | Wins 5th if <=6 |
| 5th-Tied | SoccerWife | 120 | Tie: | 8.0 | Wins 5th if >=7 |
Friday, December 16, 2022
2022 FIFA Men's World Cup Final - Lusail Iconic Stadium - Lusail | ||
      1978 | 1986 | vs. |       1998 | 2018 |
   ARG - La Albiceleste Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) |    FRA - Les Bleus Fédération Française de Football (FFF) Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) | |
 #3 | C1 | Group C Winners | 4-1-1 6th Final ('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) SF: Beat #12 2F-Croatia 3-0 |  #4 | D1 | Group D Winners | 5-1-0 4th Finals ('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 SF: Beat #22 1F-Morocco 2-0 | |
FAVORITES OUTSMART UNDERDOGS
Which three will join Soccerbix, KevLo and/or SoccerWife in money
CYPRESS, CA (smt) -- Underdogs and Cinderellas were creating havoc in the tournament but then the favorites wised up and played their game, using the tools of their enemy to ultimately defeat them. 1F-Morocco had not had more than 37% possession in any of their five matches but 1D-France allowed MAR to have the ball (55% possession) and while MAR had excelled on counter-attacks in previous matches, this time it was FRA who picked their spots to apply pressure in the box as deflected shots led to both goals in their 2-0 semifinal win. 1C-Argentina who had jumped to a 2-0 lead in their 5th straight match, did not want to give up goals like they did in the past two matches, and conceded possession to 2G-Croatia (54%), playing CRO's game, and eventually found a back-breaking 3rd goal to win 3-0. Both MAR (who had defensive injuries which hampered them) and CRO should have been content to play for a 0-0 draw or an opportunistic goal here and there, but FRA and ARG turned the tables and baited them into taking the possession which FRA and ARG capitalized on.
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.
In a clash of giants, one heck of an entertaining match with 1D-France prevailing 2-1 over 1B-England where FRA's GK was busy for the first time (he didn't play in the loss vTUN). FRA converted early on a very long strike from outside before ENG tied it on Harry Kane's PK in the 54'. FRA went ahead in the 78' but then FRA committed an unnecessary push in the box where VAR had to get involved because it was so obvious. But Harry Kane's second PK attempt was skied over the crossbar in the 84'.
Whereas yesterday saw the underdog score on their only shots on goal, today's shot totals were more even in both matches (on goal: ENG 6-5, MAR & POR 3 each). MAR has already won more games this tourney than in all previous tourneys (3 vs 2).
In the pool, no one had MAR in the semi-finals but 57 did pick FRA (and 52 got none). Overall, Indy Ari and Free Merman (17th, 99 pts) got 3 of 4 SFs while 12 got none and can't get any more points. Indy Ari still leads with 106 points with Soccerbix and The Gambler 1 behind with 105 each. Meli clinched last place with 60 pts as Markofthebeast moved to 108th with FRA's win.
Soccerbix clinched at least 4th and has a 50/50 chance to win the pool for the second time ('98). A total of 6 can still win the pool with 16 (!) that can still finish in the money. Bwakewey 2 and Mimi are tied for 4th (104) but can't finish higher than 4th while Danish Dynamite is tied for 37th (92) but can still win the pool. Mezlove is tied for 10th (101) but is eliminated while Kona Coast Uno is tied for 47th but can still finish 2nd. The Final Four possibilities are also listed along with tiebreaker scenarios (some of the 16 may lose out on a tiebreaker for 5th and finish out of the money).
Eagle-eyed viewers will have already seen what the top 5 prize breakdowns are but will talk about it more tomorrow or Monday along with what this "$40 Bonus" is.
The possibilities above are after yesterday's R16 matches (NED, ARG). Updated possibilities and standings tonight.
| Semifinal # 1 - Wednesday 5pm PDT - FS1 | Semifinal # 2 - Thursday 5 pm PDT - ESPN2 | |||
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  2010-2018 |       1975 (NASL)- 2001 (A-League)- 2005 (USL)- 2011-2015-2018 |  2010-2014 (USL Pro) |    2010 (USL Pro)- 2012-2013- 2016 (NASL) | |
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| PHI - Philadelphia Union (The U) "Jungite aut Perite" ![[ Follow @HWCI_Pools ]](https://www.hwci.com/ncaa/archive/icon_twitter.png){kind=icon} #DOOPSons of Ben "DOOP" | POR - Portland Timbers (The Timbers) "Forever Green & Gold" "Rose City 'Til I Die" #RCTIDTimbers Army "Green is the Color" | ORL - Orlando City SC (The Lions) "Forever Our City" #OrlandoCityThe Ruckus & The Iron Lion Firm "La Grande Victoria" | MIN - Minnesota United FC (The Loons) "Forever United" #mnufcDark Clouds & True North Elite "Wonderwall" | |
| #10 | A4 | A Runner-Up | 4-0-1 5th Semifinal (USOC: '12, '14, '15, '18) | #13 | F4 | F Winner | 3-0-2 6th Semifinal (Cup: '13, '15, '18; USOC: '13, '19) | #22 | A1 | A Winner | 3-0-2 2nd Semifinal (USOC: '19) | #4 | D4 | D Runner-Up | 2-0-3 2nd Semifinal (USOC: '19) | |
Two vying for final spot, will TarjetaRoja get to keep 2nd?
LITTLE TIME OFF, CA (smt) -- Interestingly, three of the four semifinalists actually made the U.S. Open Cup semifinals last year. 2D-Minnesota United FC reached the USOC final while 1F-Portland Timbers and 1A-Orlando City SC both lost in the semifinal. 2A-Philadelphia Union reached the USOC final in '18. Of the four, POR is the only who has enjoyed success in the MLS Cup playoffs, winning the Cup in '15 and losing the final in '18. Three of the four teams got their start in the 2nd or 3rd Division and if you include that, POR (NASL1, NASL Indoor, WACS/WSA/WSL, APSL/A-League, USL-1, USL D-2) reached the semifinals in the NASL1 ('75, '78), WSL ('89), and USL-1 ('07, 09), ORL (USL) reached the semifinals in the USL ('11, '12, '13), and MIN (USL D2 Pro, NASL2) reached the semifinals in the NASL2 ('11, '12, '14, '15).
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