The home 2A-Italian team didn't disappoint though they would have to wait until the second half to explode for three goals in a 3-0 drubbing of 1A-Turkey. Hard to believe it was the first time ITA scored more than 2 goals at a Euro match and the dam was only broken by an own goal in the 53'. TUR had no shots in the first half and just three for the match (none on goal) while ITA peppered them with 24. Not only is TUR in a hole with a -3 goal differential but they picked up two late yellow cards as well.
This is the first Euro with VAR, and while you could make an argument ITA should have gotten a PK late in the 1st half, if the consistency is that in a normal running motion, if the player isn't intentionally making himself bigger, there is no PK call, then I'm fine with that. It sets a precedent but if VAR starts becoming inconsistent, that's when we'll run into controversy.
For our 3rd HWCI EURO pool, we got a record 49 entries, which even tops our highest Women's World Cup (44 in '19) and is our fourth-highest soccer pool ever (behind World Cups '18's 79, '14's 75, and '10's 66). France and Belgium are clear favorites with England in the mix.
You can view everyone's picks ("Picks" on the top menu) and by tomorrow will have the Who's Who, Choice Distribution, and other information up. 43 of 49 picked ITA (boy, I thought TUR was a dark horse but they folded big-time).
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