Last Day Drama (6/23)

Blame it on the sun

ROSEMEAD, CA -- This day had a lot of drama.  18 goals in 4 matches.  Two big GK gaffes.  First game-winning extra time goal.  A rally from two goals down to tie.  Two more own goals - in the same match.  First subs to score since Match # 16.  Four players scoring two goals each.  Four PKs, three in the same match.  Wow.

Group E saw E4-Slovakia's GK made a couple of great saves including one off a soft PK (E1-Spain's second missed PK this tourney) but it was a high ball into the sun/shadow that he accidentally knocked into his own net that opened the floodgates for ESP.  ESP scored four more times to rout SVK 5-0 (the last goal also an own goal) to finish 2nd and knock SVK out of the tourney with a very bad GD.  E3-Poland needed a win but E2-Sweden scored 82 seconds into the match (first of 2 goals for Emil Forsberg) to put POL on their heels.  Down 2-0 with 30 minutes left, POL's Robert Lewandowski scored twice (earlier he had to the crossbar on back-to-back sequence) to give POL hope but SWE scored four minutes into stoppage time (just the 3rd stoppage time goal this tourney) to win 3-2.  SWE wins Group E and SVK's GD meant C2-Ukraine made the Round of 16 as a 3rd place team. Could B2-Finland sneak in as well?

Group F.  Okay.  Ten minutes in, F1-Hungary, playing in Munich (GER), stunned F4-Germany (FRA 1st/POR 2nd/HUN 3rd (GER out)) with an early goal in a must-win match for HUN.  Twenty minutes later, a soft PK call is converted by F2-Portugal's Ronaldo (POR/FRA/HUN).  After tying with PK, two minutes into the 2nd half FRA scores again (after VAR negates the offsides) for a 2-1 lead (FRA/HUN/POR with FIN hoping FRA scores three more).  Another PK for Ronaldo in the 60' (to tie 2-2) essentially seals FIN's hopes (FRA/POR/HUN).  GER finally breaks through in the 66' off a missed GK punch that leads to an easy head-in (FRA/GER/POR).  About 18 seconds after kickoff, HUN scores again! (FRA/POR/HUN).  Pressure gets awarded as a GER sub scores in the 84' to tie it at 2 (FRA/GER/POR).  Both matches end in 2-2 draws eliminating HUN and FIN.

Two days to rest before the Round of 16 begins.  Breathe.

45 picked ESP, 23 SWE, 19 the POR-FRA tie, and Fantasy picked the GER-HUN tie.  All 49 got ESP into the R16, 48 FRA, 47 SWE, 46 POR, 44 GER, and 42 UKR.  Pretty clear majorities.  Today, 9 got 3 right while two got none (Rainman, Big Blue).  33 got all 6 R16 teams correct (impressive!) while two still got 4 of 6 (MK, Fabio).  Five got 21 points today while Fabio only got 14.

Amazingly, six entries got 15 of the 16 R16 correct and 23 got 14 correct.  Even MK still got 11 right.  Overall, Slyelf got 25 of the 36 round robin matches correct while Wolverine1 only got 13 (but he did 14 R16 teams correct but not enough to get out of a tie for last with 55 pts with MK).  After the Group Stage, Slyelf is first with 70 points with FrankfromSeattle second with 68 pts.