Rallies (7/6)

10th own goal stuns TUR

PALOMAR OBSERVATORY, PALOMAR MOUNTAIN, CA - For the second straight knockout match, 1C-England had to rally late with an 80' goal (for the second straight match, they scored on their only shot on goal in regulation) after allowing a 75' goal from 2A-Switzerland. Pushed to the penalty shootout, ENG hit all 5 of their kicks while SUI had their first saved as ENG advanced to the semis, 5-3.  2F-Türkiye were holding on to 1-0 halftime lead over 3D-Netherlands but NED scored twice in a six-minute span to stun TUR, 2-1.  The game-winning goal was the 10th own goal of the tournament (the second TUR have put into their own net) and was the 4th game-winning own goal this year.  

NED will try to replicate Portugal's third-place run to a title and will face ENG.  Like TUR's last group stage match, bench players and coaches were carded but this time, TUR's bench player was ejected and TUR's coach got a yellow in stoppage time.  NED's win was their second win after giving up the first goal (vPOL) and just the third time a team trailing at the half rallied to win.

200-inch telescope

44 had ENG making the semis and 12 NED.  Thirteen (13) went 2-0 while ten went 0-2.  Merman stays in the lead with 102 points but now Sporty Xtina is second (101).  Nacho Libre takes over last place with 75 pts although Soccer Guru (57th) will be stuck on 76 pts.  Overall, eight entries got all 4 semifinalists correct while Soccer Guru got none.

15 still have a chance to win money and six can still win the pool.  Merman has the best chance at money (62.5%) while Merman, BigRedMessi 1 (3rd-Tied, 100), and Sporty Xtina each have a 25% chance to win the pool.

BigRedMessi 3 (same remaining picks as Merman) is tied for 3rd but can't win the pool while JBueno (ESP>ENG in final) is tied for 12th (94) but can win the pool.  El Buenísimo is 8th (97) but is eliminated while Azzurri di Hermosa (FRA>ENG in final) is 41st (87) but can still win 3rd place.

Made the hour-long drive from Fallbrook to Palomar Observatory about 5,500 feet up.  On the tour there is a very helpful demo of how the telescope moves and tracks - because in looking at it behind the scenes, it's hard to visualize how these big pieces move.  I wore my adidas fan Ajax (NED) jersey featuring starry night which I always get compliments on, including the Cal Tech lady selling the tour tickets.