Scare in Copenhagen (6/12)

B1-Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapsed in the 43' and needed CPR in a scary scene as the home crowd stood in silence.  The match was suspended of course but then resumed (of course not... wait, they did, about 90 minutes later) at the request of the players (and a stable and awake Eriksen).  B2-Finland, making their first major tournament, converted their only shot of the match on a cross to upset DEN 1-0.  DEN came out flat (as expected) and missed a game-tying penalty.  DEN, #10 in the world, now faces the top team in the world, B3-Belgium, who also won on the road dispatching B4-Russia, 3-0.

In the early match, A4-Switzerland eased off the pedal after going up 1-0 and A3-Wales took advantage gaining a 1-1 tie.  The first three matches of Euro 2020 were scoreless at the half but none ended up as nil-nil draws.  

All 49 entries picked DEN (the only match that was unanimous), which means no one got the point.  12 picked a tie between WAL-SUI and 45 picked BEL.  Eleven (11) are tied for first with 3 points while Isayoldchap has no points.  

Dailies # 1 - Worth the Wait

After a one-year delay, 364 days to be precise, Euro 2020 in 2021 kicked off in front of a sold-out limited capacity crowd of 12,916 in Rome's Stadio Olimpico.  The unique thing about this Euro is that 9 countries will get to play at least two group matches in front of their home crowd.  

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).

Admin Picks!

 Okay, so I have submitted two entries:

• Futbol Fabone Twelf
• Glory to the Heroes

Explanations for why the nicknames forthcoming...  Good luck!  We have at least 45 entries... kickoff is minutes away!

Edit for Explanations:  This is the 12th HWCI soccer pool and since this is played across Europe instead of one host country, I picked an older language for Twelve, one where the semifinals and final will be held in England, in this case, Old English ("Twelf"), which means "two left over after ten".  Turns out 12 has more dividable (thus, desirable) properties over 10, believe it or not.

Russia was upset with Ukraine's new jerseys, which dropped just five days ago, as it has an outline of the country, including the part Russia annexed.  But since it is the UN-recognized border, UKR gets to keep the outline.

There are also two innocent phrases that individually are fine but when combined, become the rallying cry of Ukraine during the annexation.  We get this drilled into us at work, where unclassified + unclassified can be classified.  Or if you apply it to spoilers, one post may say "Luke and Vader get into an interesting conservation" which is fine, and one post may say "One reveals a family secret", which is fine, but put them both together and connecting the dots, "The Empire Strikes Back" gets spoiled for someone.

So "Glory to Ukraine" is cool and if another country had "Glory to the Heroes" that would be neat, but put them both on a Ukraine jersey, it's a political reference, and both Russians and Ukrainians will know what you are really talking about.  So "Glory to the Heroes" is to be nixed on the jersey but it survives as my nickname on my second entry!

Classic USA-MEX match & Other Friendlies

WORK FROM HOME -- It was not surprising that the USA won a meaningless match against MEX (they sometimes do, and no, the Nations Cup trophy is not worth playing for, as evident by players MEX did not call up) since this does not lead to, for example WC qualifying or a Confederations Cup berth.  But, oh what a match it was.  Of course, a typical USA misplay led to a MEX goal barely 70 seconds in and a near death blow when they went up 2-0.  Except they didn't, VAR rules offsides and minutes later, USA scored off a corner kick to tie it at 1.  Boy, nearly every one of USA's 6 corners resulted in a great header, most on goal, something that rarely happens in soccer.  It was like a free scoring opportunity every time.  When MEX went up late, USA tied it again three minutes later (yeah, off a corner).  

Then VAR ruled PKs twice in the second half of Extra Time, one for USA (where Christian Pulisic nailed the PK) and one for MEX (where backup GK Ethan Horvath came up big with a save).  That gave the final USA 3, MEX 2.  But let's not forget

FFB-5.1 "CONTENDERS, PRETENDERS, and DARK HORSES: EURO 2020" (6/4)

 

June 4, 2021 
FFB-5.1 "CONTENDERS, PRETENDERS, and DARK HORSES: EURO 2020"

by Eric Foster

CONTENDERS, PRETENDERS, and DARK HORSES:  EURO 2020

 Who Will Exceed and Fall Short of Expectations?

Readers be warned, the views I’m about to inflict upon you are skewed, formulated by a huge soccer fan who cancelled his cable plan in 2020, almost exclusively following top European players in the English Premier League thru Barclay’s Fantasy Football.  Furthermore, the rest of the insight expressed herein originate from dated impressions made during World Cup 2018!

When I compared the odds (based on betMGM) for teams to win the Euro 2020 (oddly not renamed Euro 2021) with FIFA rankings and Power Rankings (The Athletes Hub), I scratched my head.  Recent team playing form aside, there are definitely some underrated and overrated teams.  These disparities made me rethink which of the top teams in the Euro 2020 are Contenders, just Pretenders, or Dark Horses that may surprise us!  I’ve listed these teams in descending order of my own personal rankings of their chances to win the tournament.

1) BELGIUM

Power Ranking:  3^rd

FIFA Europe Ranking:  1^st 

Odds to Win: +550

Verdict:  CONTENDER! 

Some bookmakers had Belgium level with France, or at least better than England…and they may have slipped after Kevin De Bruyne broke his face in the UEFA Championship game.  The Phantom of the EurOpera should be ready to make an appearance with a protective face mask.  He won’t let down his teammates!