England vs Italy Live! (7/11)

1 am PDT:  Eleven hours to go until the Euro 2020 played in 2021 Final.  I'll try to do a live update (tormenting Tuan L or Giacomo G) although the total goals tiebreaker won't affect the top 4 (current total: 5) but will decide if my Futbol Fabone Twelf finishes 47th or 48th (no more than 3 goals!).  ENG is a slight favorite at approx 1.6:1, playing at home, with an over/under of 1.5 goals.

Noon PDT:  I love how all these matches start at the top of the hour.  Easy to predict where the matches are (e.g., 45 after the hour should be nearing halftime, all finish within 2 hours with no extra time).  Expecting 65K in the stadium.

2':  1:57 in, ENG scores on a great finish off by Luke Shaw a great cross.  Footballsack looks good now!  ITA is behind for the first time in 18 matches.

13':  Rain!  But cool at 67F.  Here in LA, 94F and rising.  ENG still attacking which is nice.  Can't find my Becks ENG jersey but maybe it doesn't matter (wore my ARG jersey and ARG won yesterday).  I do have a couple ITA jerseys but rooting for ENG today!  Although I love blue, I still prefer ITA's white... with the horizontal graphics of Puma logo and ITA crest with Italia underneath, it reminds me of a racing jersey (maybe I have Ford v Ferrari on the brain, great movie) for some reason, it looks classic and slick.  I don't care for ENG's home (white) jersey of the Nike and crest in the middle vertically.  Looks odd.  And their blue away is just an alternate mess (though maybe I might get one... cause blue ;-)).

It's Coming Home - Almost (7/7)

EL SEGUNDO, CA to DIGNITY HEALTH SPORTS PARK -- 2B-Denmark scored first for the 5th straight match on the tourney's first direct free kick goal for 25 yards out.  But 1D-England tied it on the tourney's 11th own goal before the half and the match eventually went to Extra Time.  But ENG kept pressing (its 21 shots was more than half its combined five-match total (37) and its 10 shots on goal were 67% of their combined 5-match total (15)) and was rewarded with a soft penalty call in ET.  Of course, Harry Kane missed (the 8th PK miss of the tourney) but the save was poor and he scored off the rebound.  The 2-1 win keeps ENG in London for the final against 1A-Italy.  The trophy is almost home for ENG.

Of the four times teams have lost when scoring the first goal, DEN has two of them.  ENG allowed a goal for the first time in the tourney but had their third straight multi-goal match (after scoring just twice in the first 3 matches).  This was the first ET match for both teams and of the 7 that have gone to ET, this is the fourth to feature at least one goal.

19 picked ENG which eliminated Kona Coast Facui's, Cloak, and Forza Roma.  Footballsack still leads with 115 pts.  Two money spots remain, will it be Gli Azzurri and FrankfromSeattle (ITA win) or Slyelf and Fantasy (ENG win)?

If ITALY beats ENGLAND in Final…
         Gli Azzurri 122 points
        Footballsack 115
          Avenger #3 110
    FrankfromSeattle 108
If ENGLAND beats ITALY in Final…
        Footballsack 127 points
          Avenger #3 122
              Slyelf 116
             Fantasy 115

It Starts with the GK (7/6)

You go left and I go right...

iTENNIS PERFORMANCE CENTER, SOUTH EL MONTE, CA -- 1A-Italy's only goal was started by the goalkeeper after catching an attempted cross and less than 15 seconds later, ITA was up 1-0.  But in the 80', 2E-Spain finally finished on a great give-and-go to send the match into their 3rd straight Extra Time.  ESP again had most of the possession and attack in the Extra Time but for their second straight match, it went to the Penalty Shootout.

ITA's first kick was saved but ESP skied high theirs.  After trading two kicks each, ITA scored again putting pressure on Alvaro Morata, who did score the 80' goal but had been up and down, and this was down, as his weak attempt was saved.  Knowing a goal would win it, ITA's Jorginho calmly baited the GK to his left and slotted a slow shot into the right corner for the win.  Not quite a Panenka, but so daring even the Spanish GK applauded after he was duped.

The 1-1 (4-2 PSO) win sent ITA to its 4th Euro final (where they only won once in '68).  ESP only won 1 of its 6 matches in regulation.  They may have the most goals (13) but two were own goals.  So they have the most shots (111) and shots on goal (43) and possession (66.8%) but not much to show for it.

ITA was picked by 5 and this eliminated Rich-inho and Carseroni, leaving 9 entries still alive.  Three can't win the pool and it will come down to either Gli Azzurri (if ITA wins final) or Footballsack (if DEN/ENG win final).

Footballsack is now our leader with 107 pts and can't finish lower than 2nd.  Avenger #3 is 2nd with 102 pts and can finish 2nd/3rd/4th-Tied only.  7 others are battling for the final two spots.  Carseroni is 6th (96) but is eliminated.  Cloak is tied for 11th (90) but can still finish with a tie for 4th.

If ITALY beats ENGLAND in Final…
         Gli Azzurri 122 points
        Footballsack 115
          Avenger #3 110
    FrankfromSeattle 108
If ENGLAND beats ITALY in Final…
        Footballsack 127 points
          Avenger #3 122
              Slyelf 116
             Fantasy 115
If ITALY beats DENMARK in Final…
         Gli Azzurri 114 points
        Footballsack 107
  Kona Coast Facui's 104
          Avenger #3 102 Tie: 7.5 Tied for 4th
               Cloak 102 Tie: 7.5 Tied for 4th
If DENMARK beats ITALY in Final…
        Footballsack 107 points
          Avenger #3 102 Tie: 7.5 Tied for 2nd/3rd
         Gli Azzurri 102 Tie: 7.5 Tied for 2nd/3rd
          Forza Roma 101 

Early Goals Set Tone (7/3)

DEN GK Fingertips Preserve Lead

2B-Denmark scored in the 5', added another in the first half, and held on for a 2-1 win over 3D-Czech Rep to advance to the semis for the first time since '92. DEN had just 13 shots which means they are 3-0 when shooting 16 times or less and 0-2 when shooting 22 times or more.

1D-England scored in the 4', added two quick goals after halftime, and completed the rout of 3C-Ukraine, 4-0.  This was ENG's first match away from London and they didn't lose a beat, doubling their previous goal total (now 8 goals).  They now head back home (their last 3 goals were headed in) for the Semifinal and hopefully, the Final.

DEN was picked by 9 eliminating no one.  21 picked ENG eliminating 2 (leaving 11) and eliminating Forza Roma from winning pool, leaving 5 contenders.  5 got both right while 24 went 0-2.  Three (Avenger #3, Footballsack, and Glory to the Heroes) got 3 of the 4 semifinalists while 12 got none.

Avenger #3 is now in the lead with 102 pts.  FrankfromSeattle also reached the century mark and is 2nd.  Avenger #3, Footballsack, and Gli Azzurri have a 1 in 4 chance to win the pool while Carseroni and Rich-inho each have a 1 in 8 chance to win the pool.  Six others can finish 2nd to 4th.  Full possible outcomes are outlined here.

Note: There was a slight correction to the possibilities as detailed here.

Didn't Expect These Two Teams This Early (7/2)

Who won the PSO?

When the tournament started, all the talk was about 1B-Belgium (#1 team in the world) and 1F-France (deeply talented roster) with maybe a wishful 1D-England thrown in and a little love for reigning champs 3F-Portugal.  1A-Italy was rumbling quietly through a 27-match unbeaten streak while some expected 2E-Spain to regain power in a couple years to let the team mature. Even our own Eric's Foster's Football Brew labeled both ITA and ESP as "pretenders" rather than "contenders".

Well, the time may be now as ESP got an own goal (the tourney's 10th) and survived the penalty shootout with an unfortunate and stubborn 3A-Switzerland, 3:1 (1:1).  ESP missed their first PSO kick, their 6th straight miss, while SUI made their first, their 6th straight make.  But after that, ESP got back on track and SUI had two saved and the latter skied high.  

A very harsh straight red card in the 77' stopped SUI from trying to break a 1-1 tie (after tying it in the 68') and settled to defend.  In the extra time, ESP outshot SUI 17-0 forcing SUI's GK to make 8 saves but SUI succeeded to getting to the PSO to hopefully duplicate their PSO win over FRA.  The ref should have given the yellow first and then let VAR advise on a red.  By giving the Red, there would never be clear evidence to overturn the ref's decision on intent.  You can go Y->R but never R->Y.  Unfortunate.

Meanwhile, ITA scored twice in the first half (a 3rd was ruled offsides by VAR) and held off BEL, 2-1.  Both teams were riding 14-match win streaks in Euro qualifying/tournament but it was ITA who advances, now unbeaten in 32 straight.  BEL had several near misses but didn't manage a shot on goal in the second half.  The #1 team and the golden generation fell short again and we should see new blood for the World Cup next year.

8 picked ESP eliminating 4 who can win pool (11 can win) and 2 for money (24 can win money). 14 picked ITA which eliminated 4 from winning pool (7 left) and 11 from money (13 left).  Carseroni is now in the lead with 96 pts as 1 of 3 (Footballsack (2nd-Tied, 93), Saharm17 (16th-T, 83) were the other 2) who got both correct.  30 went 0-2.  BigRedMessi 1 clinched last with 68 pts (while my Futbol Fabone Twelf (47th-T) will be stuck on 69 pts forever).

But it's Gli Azurri (7th-T, 88) with the best chance to win the pool (31.3%) and Avenger #3 (4th-T, 90) with the best chance to win money (65.6%).  Footballsack (59.4%), Forza Roma (2nd-T) (56.3%), and Carseroni (50%) are the other three with at least a 50/50 chance at money.  Slyelf (4th-T), who at least tied for the most Group Stage wins (25), R16 qualifiers (15), and R16 wins (15), and led since Match Day 11, can no longer win the pool here on Day 18.

Fantasy is 6th (89) but is eliminated while my second pick, Glory to the Heroes, is tied for 20th (82) and can still win 4th.  Rich-inho is 12th (86) and can still win the pool.

An Extra Time Stoppage Time Goal (6/29)

120'+1 Goal!

EL SEGUNDO, CA - 1A-England, playing at home, withstood 2F-Germany's attack and scored two late goals to advance to the Quarters, 2-0, posting their 4th straight shutout.  Joachim Low's 15-year tenure with GER ends on a whimper as GER was lucky not lose more than 1-0 to FRA and needed an 84' goal against HUN to advance out of the group.  GER's Thomas Mueller missed a one-on-one with the GK, not even getting the shot on frame which would have tied it.  Amazingly, ENG won a non-PSO Euro match for the first time since '68 and are 10-0-4 in Wembley Stadium.

I love the blue/yellow teams of 1E-Sweden and 3C-Ukraine.  Both teams traded first half goals but an unfortunate (but horrible) tackle by SWE changed the match in the first half of Extra Time as UKR finally capitalized in the 120'+1 (the extra time, stoppage time goal!).

ENG travels for the first time and will be in Rome to face UKR, but if ENG wins, they will be home for the semis and final.  Ironically, UKR benefited when SWE beat POL in the last group stage match to barely make the R16 as the 4th best 3rd place team.

31 picked ENG eliminating 4 (32 still alive) and preventing 5 from winning the pool (15 can win).  3 lost GER as their champ and 17 had them in the Semis.  Fabio was the only one to pick UKR into the Quarters eliminating 6 (26 left).  32 went 1-1 while 17 went 0-2. For the R16, 23 got 5 of 8 while 9 got just 3 of 8.

No change at the top (Slyelf by 2 (90 pts)) but the possibilities are shifting.  Gli Azzurri now has the best chance to win the pool (15.6%) and Slyelf has the best chance at money (57.0%).

Twenty-Three Goals (6/28)

Did that ball just blow past me?

And to think, when the day started, it looked like the terrible 2E-Spain GK misplay for an own goal would be the highlight of the day.  But no!  There were two 3-1 comebacks, 14 goals scored in regulation and extra time and nine goals scored in the penalty shootout (or kicks from the spot) meaning 23 shots saw the back of the net (well, one just crossed the line, our first goal line technology call via the ref's watch).

A hard pass back to the GK skipped by for an own goal giving 2D-Croatia an early 1-0 lead.  But ESP scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead with 13 minutes left.  But CRO did not give up scoring twice, the latter two minutes into stoppage time to force Extra Time.  But in ET, ESP scored twice to pull out a wild 5-3 win, ESP's second straight match scoring five goals (I guess technically, they scored six today).

3A-Switzerland took an early lead and had a chance to double it but missed a PK (Ronaldo 3/3, and the Rest (5/12)) and four minutes later FRA's Karim Benzema scored twice to take the lead.  FRA's 75' goal seemed to seal it but SUI kept attacking to score in the 81' and 90' to complete the comeback.  Extra time started well but then lagged (though FRA hit the crossbar on the last play) and the 3-3 match headed to the PSO.  SUI may have missed the earlier PK but they went 5-for-5 and FRA almost matched, but Kylian Mbappe's kick was saved, giving SUI the 5-4 PSO win.  SUI win their first PSO and make the Quarters for the first time.  The reigning World Cup champions and heavy favorites exit with all that deep talent.

47 had ESP into the Qtrs which prevented two from winning the pool (24 can win it all).  Four picked SUI which eliminated four from winning (leaving 36) and four from winning the pool (leaving 20).  Four went 2-0 (Kona Coast Fauci's, Isayolchap, Spermicidal FC, and NoFixing) while two went 0-2 (Big Blue and Club Med).  After six R16 matches, 31 are 4-2 and 18 are 3-3.  No change at the top with Slyelf still leading by 2 pts (86).

With FRA hurting many entries (19 had them winning it all and 39 in the Semifinals), Slyelf (who has ENG winning it all) now has the best chance at money (53.1%) and winning the pool (15.8%).  Bobby Cee Racer is tied for 22nd (76) but can't win money and NoFixing is tied for 3rd (83) but can't win the pool.  DenMarkMyTerritory is tied for 47th (68) but can still win the pool.

Hand the Ball (6/27)

If I just grab it...

1C-Netherlands, which did not qualify for the 2016 Euros or the 2018 World Cup, disappointed yet again committing a bad handball on a breakaway for a red card as 2D-Czech Republic took full advantage in their 2-0 win.  NED had scored the most goals in the group stage (8) but had zero shots on goal today.  NED had just two shots and no corners in the second half while Patrik Schick put the nail in the coffin in the 80' with his 4th goal.  A panic move, the attempted scoop of the ball by NED's Matthijs de Ligt as he fell at the top of the penalty box with no other Dutch defender close by in the 52' was initially a yellow until VAR gave the red three minutes later.

We will have a new Euro champion as 1B-Belgium outlasted reigning champ 3F-Portugal, 1-0, on their only shot on goal on yet another golazo from outside the box... so many great goals outside the box (can't remember the last LA Galaxy match that had one).  In yet another heavyweight match (can you believe we have already seen FRA-POR, FRA-GER, GER-POR, and now BEL-POR already?  ENG-GER is next!), POR took 16 shots in the second half after falling behind with four of those on goal.  Ronaldo had just a couple of semi-dangerous free kicks (kind of weird we haven't had a direct free kick goal yet).

CZE, ranked #40 in the world, will now face 2B-Denmark and another big showdown will feature BEL and 1A-Italy in the Quarters.

I Kante Lose was the only one to pick CZE into the Quarters to move from a tie for 19th to a tie for 9th.  Two lost NED in their Final.  46 got BEL while 4 lost POR as their champ (14 had them in the Final).  I Kante Lose went 2-0 (but can't win the pool) while 3 went 0-2.  29 have 3 Quarterfinalists while 20 have two.  

7 more can't win money (leaving 40) while 13 more can't win the pool (leaving 26) and losing NED and POR hurt quite a few entries.  FrankfromSeattle has the best chance at winning the pool (14.4%) and money (36.9%) but Slyelf still leads by two (82 pts).  Wolverine1 is now alone in last (63) but can still win 2nd.  Rainman and Rocket Ronaldo are tied for 20th (72) but are eliminated.

Wild Extra Time (6/26)

Header snaps ITA's GA streak

DRIVING A BOAT IN NEWPORT HARBOR -- 2B-Denmark's Kasper Dolberg scored in each half and DEN added two late goals to dominate 2A-Wales, 4-0.  DEN had 16 more shots (giving them 77, or 19.25 per match) and are 2-0 when shooting 16 times and 0-2 when shooting 22+ times.

2C-Austria played 1A-Italy tough (nearly had the lead but VAR rules offsides in the 65') forcing extra time but two ITA subs scored 10 minutes apart to fall 2-1.  AUT did snap ITA's 1168 minute streak without allowing a goal with a great header off a corner in the 114'.  ITA had 26 shots, 9 in the 30-minute Extra Time (AUT also had 7 of its 16 shots in Extra Time).

ITA will face the 1B-Belgium/3F-Portugal winner and DEN will face the winner of 1C-Netherlands/D3-Czech Republic, both games tomorrow.

32 got DEN into the Quarters eliminating two entries (Futbol Fabone Twelf and Otesgo 2) and leaving 41 who can win the pool.  48 got ITA which prevented two more from winning the pool, leaving 39.  31 got both correct and 18 got 1 of 2.  No change at the top as Slyelf still leads with 78 pts. BigRedMessi 1, DenMarkMyTerritory, and Isayoldchap are tied for last with 60 pts.

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.

Stay at Wembley (6/22)

Great header but great unis as well

Two teams playing in Great Britain (technically, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) saw different results.  D1-England had just five shots but protected an early goal to beat D4-Czech Rep, 1-0, to win Group D and get to stay at home in Wembley Stadium for their Round of 16 match.  CZE, who qualified yesterday, fell to 3rd in the group as D2-Croatia scored twice in the second half to beat home team D3-Scotland, 3-1, and the three goals was enough to overtake CZE on goal differential for 2nd.  SCO was the last team to score a goal.

37 got CRO right and 47 got ENG.  All 49 had ENG making the knockout stage while 46 had CRO and 13 had CZE.  36 got both matches correct while Saharm17 missed both.  Eleven got all 3 Group D teams in the R16 while Fantasy only got one.  Overall, ten got the full 11 points while Fantasy only got 4.  Forza Roma is our new leader with 50 pts with Slyelf now 2nd (49) and FrankfromSeattle 3rd (48).  Wolverine1 joins my Glory to the Heroes in last with 36 pts.

Four teams are left to be decided (E2-Sweden and F3-France have qualified) and C2-Ukraine is now on the cutoff for 3rd place teams and B2-Finland in dire straights.  Both need help and worse GD from other teams.  All 6 non-qualified teams in Groups E & F control their own destinies (win and they're in).  E1-Spain qualifies with another tie as long as E3-Poland do not win.  F2-Portugal qualifies with a two-goal loss or better as long as F1-Hungary doesn't beat F4-Germany, otherwise if POR loses and HUN wins, GER takes 3rd (who need to win tiebreaker to be one of the best 4 3rd place teams) via its win over POR.  Lots of fun left!

Open the Floodgates (6/21)

DEN (& 5 other teams): Did we make it?  Refresh, refresh...

Although a tie would technically get both C2-Ukraine and C3-Austria in with 4 pts, AUT would lose tiebreaker and sit in 3rd and wait, thus, AUT came out and got the early goal to assure themselves 2nd place in Group C with a 1-0 win.  UKR now has to wait at 3 pts (-4 GD/4 GF).  C4-North Macedonia, already eliminated, had a great goal taken away by offsides and hit the right post early, but C1-Netherlands finally showed their strength in another 3-0 win (both A2-Italy and NED have posted two 3-0 wins).  

Thanks to a coin flip, B1-Denmark got the home match between the two Group B hosts, and the atmosphere helped the Danes pull off a 4-1 win over B4-Russia.  Needing to win by 2 goals and a B2-Finland loss to guarantee a spot in the Round of 16, DEN led 2-0 and around the 68' B3-Belgium scored but then a double whammy as BEL's goal was taken away by offsides (keeping FIN tied 0-0) and DEN gave up a soft PK.  RUS converted meaning DEN only led by 1 (2-1) and FIN still had the point they needed.  But the next ten minutes saw BEL score for real and DEN added two goals and by the 82', DEN lead by 3 and FIN was trailing by 2.  BEL's 2-0 win made them the 3rd team with 9 points (joining ITA and NED).  RUS got the short end of the three Group B teams tied with 3 points, losing on GD to finish 4th.  Gotta love the simultaneous matches (which you can watch split screen on the TV but on an iPad).

With both Group B and C having a third place team with just 3 points (thanks, DEN!), all teams with 4 or more points now qualified for the Round of 16 including A4-Switzerland who only had to wait a day to find themselves in.  D4-Czech Rep, D4-England, E2-Sweden, and F3-France can relax as they are now in the Knockout Stage.  Third-place teams FIN (GD -2) and UKR (GD -4) will have to wait, in that order.

48 got NED, 10 got AUT, 33 DEN, and 48 got BEL.  Five teams from Groups A/B/C made the Round of 16:  all 49 got BEL & NED, 47 DEN, 40 SUI, 32 AUT.  Those who have CZE and/or ENG will have to wait until tomorrow to get the 3 pts each and those who have SWE and/or FRA will have to wait until Wednesday to get the 3 pts.

Six got all four matches correct while Wolverine1 went 0-4.  26 got all 5 R16 teams today while 5 got just 3 teams.  Five got 19 points today while yesterday's leader Footballsack got just 11 pts (to fall to tie for 20th (34 pts)).  Slyelf moves into 1st place (41 pts) with Forza Roma second (39).  My second entry Glory to the Heroes is now in last all by itself with 28 pts.

Perfect 3-0 (6/20)

A2-Italy completed group play a perfect 3-0 with a comfortable 1-0 win over A3-Wales as both teams advanced to the Round of 16.  The Italian home cooking will end as they will go to London for their Round of 16 match.  A4-Switzerland scored early and often to beat A1-Turkey, 3-1, to sit in a good position with 4 points in 3rd place.  TUR was disappointing but did end their scoring drought with a great strike just over the GK's outstretched hands.  SUI's Steven Zuber became just the 2nd person to notch 3 assists in a Euro match (CZE '08) while Xherdan Shaqiri has now scored in 4 Euro tourneys.

28 got SUI right and 45 ITA while 48 got 3 points for ITA in the R16 and 18 WAL.  25 went 2-0 while DenMarkMyTerritory went 0-2.  17 got both ITA and WAL making the R16 while 32 got just one.  Eight got the full 8 points today (ITA, SUI wins x 1 = 2; ITA, WAL in R16 x 3 = 6) while DenMarkMyTerritory only got 3.  Footballsack is still in the lead with 23 pts with 4 tied for 2nd with 22.  DenMarkMyTerritory and Otsego1 are tied for last with 13 pts.

All six groups could produce a 3rd place team with 4 points (though there were just 2 in '16) but 4 should be enough.  SUI (who lost GD tiebreaker to WAL for 2nd) could advance as early as tomorrow if both 3rd place teams in Groups B & C have just three points.  In Group B, RUS and FIN each likely just need a draw but DEN beating RUS would mean they would own the head-to-head tiebreaker if tied for 3rd with 3 pts.  DEN, RUS, and FIN tied at 3 points will depend on additional tiebreakers.  In Group C, UKR and AUT play each other and are guaranteed at least 3rd place with MKD already eliminated, so a boring, defensive-minded draw between them likely will advance both.  

Groups E & F Scrambled (6/19)

Another loud sold-out, full-capacity crowd in Budapest, Hungary (side note: can't wait to see tonight's first full Galaxy crowd since last March), saw F1-HUN go up 1-0 right before halftime and then held on to a surprising 1-1 draw with F3-France to keep their hopes alive.  Four F4-Germany crosses resulted in goals, two on own goals four minutes apart, to lift them to a 4-2 win over F2-Portugal.  The 4th goal was on a typical German header, reminding me of all of Miraslav Klose's headers in the World Cups (who Ronaldo tied with most goals in Euros & World Cups with his 19th which put POR ahead 1-0).

E1-Spain again dominated possession and even scored, but E3-Poland tied it to keep their hopes alive (they would've been eliminated with a loss) in the 1-1 draw.  ESP had a chance to go back ahead but missed a PK, their first non-PSO PK miss in Euro history as the shot went off the left post.

So raise your hand if you had E2-Sweden and E4-Slovakia in 1st and 2nd after two matches in Group E.  Another draw for ESP would have them dependent on others so they need a win to guarantee a spot.  Group F may still see the top 3 teams in FRA, POR, and GER advance, but the FRA-HUN tie complicates things for POR and GER.  Also, since head-to-head is the first tiebreaker, GER would jump POR if tied in points, regardless of GF.

Footballsack was the only one to get the HUN-FRA tie, 12 picked GER, and 7 picked the ESP-POL tie.  Footballsack (16 pts) is our new leader as the only one to go 2-1 for the day to push Club Med to 2nd place.  There is a 3-way tie for last now (9 pts).

Double the Ties and PK Goals (6/18)

SANTA BARBARA, CA -- We had just two ties in the first 18 matches but today we got two to double it to four.  We had just two made PKs in the first 18 matches but today two were converted to double it to four and up the percentage to 50% (4/8).  

Earlier, E2-Sweden picked up a key win that will most likely see them through to the Round of 16, edging E4-Slovakia, 1-0, on a 77' PK.  CZE took the lead on a controversial VAR given foul in the box, leading to Patrik Schick's PK and 3rd goal of the tourney.  From the picture, the elbow does look high (above the shoulders) and I guess a bloody nose on Schick is convincing for VAR and the ref (who did look on the monitor, one of only a couple times the ref has done that and not relied slowly on VAR).  CRO did tie it right after the half and the match ended 1-1.  

D1-England, playing at home in Wembley Stadium, was lackluster which gave D4-Scotland a much needed point in the scoreless draw.  Each team had just one shot on goal.  Interestingly, the CRO-CZE match played 3 hours earlier in Scotland had just 5,807 fans as most Scots opted to get ready to watch SCO-ENG.

SCO still have not scored but is still alive to make the Round of 16.  No teams officially qualified for the Round of 16 today but with 4 points, SWE, CZE, and ENG are near guarantees (as is A3-Wales) as four points easily got every 3rd place team with 4 pts in last time ('16 was the first time Euro featured 24 teams and this top 4 3rd place team qualifying).

44 picked SWE, 6 picked the CRO-CZE tie, and James Saint George was the only one to pick the ENG-SCO tie.  James Saint George was also the only one to go 3-0 to move into a tie for 19th (12 pts) while four went 0-3.  Club Med still leads by one with 15 pts.

Tribute. Comeback (6/17)

GOLETA, CA -- Working so this update later than usual.  In the early match, C2-Ukriane's duo of Yarmolenko & Yaremchuk each scored again and held off C4-North Macedonia, 2-1.  Each team missed a PK (though MKD put in the rebound) and it was an entertaining match.  In the late match, C1-Netherlands took care of C3-Austria 2-0, and the 11' made PK was just the 2nd of 6 PK attempts made in the tourney thus far.  NED qualified for the Round of 16 and knocked MKD out of the Round of 16, the first eliminated.

In the middle match, emotional B1-Denmark playing in front their home crowd came out flying and scored just 100 seconds into the match.  The early lead seemed to make B3-Belgium forget to kick the ball out of bounds in the 10' (technically at 10:11 or the 11') in honor of #10 Christian Eriksen, who was recovering well in a hospital nearby.  DEN had many chances but only took a 1-0 lead at the half.  BEL's superstar Kevin De Bruyne made his debut as a 2nd half sub and had an assist and goal in leading BEL to a 2-1 win, the first comeback this year.  

BEL advanced to the Round of 16.  BEL and NED joined ITA yesterday into the Round of 16.  Remember, you won't get the 3 pts for these three teams until after the 3rd match is played in their group.  Two more VAR rulings, meaning that 5 of the past 7 matches have had a review after the first 11 matches produced just one.  VAR gave UKR a PK (which was saved) which said that protecting your face from a free kick strike is moving the arm toward the ball.  Tough technicality. 

40 got UKR, 35 BEL, and 46 NED.  Club Med's lead got reduced in half to just one point (14 pts).  32 went 3-0 while 3 went 1-2.  Dagger is now last with 7 pts.

One Team In, One Nearly Out (6/16)

B2-Finland got more than one shot (albeit the game-winning goal) this time, getting 11 against B4-Russia, but had a goal overturned by VAR (offsides) as RUS prevailed 1-0 at home.  These two and B3-Belgium have 3 points with BEL playing tomorrow.

A1-Turkey's defense was no match against A3-Wales' Gareth Bale as he tore apart the defense with great needle and over the defense passes leading to two assists, a near goal pursing the GK, and drawing a penalty.  Alas, he missed the PK (teams are just 1/3) but WAL won 2-0, the last goal the last play of the match.  In the other Group A match, A2-Italy started fast and furious against A4-Switzerland in winning their second straight 3-0 match with two strikes outside the box.  ITA is now unbeaten in their last 29 matches and have not allowed a goal in their last 10 in being the first team to qualify for the Round of 16.  TUR is last with a horrible -5 GD.

After having just one VAR in the first 11 matches, there have now been 3 in the past 4.  ITA had their goal taken away with an inadvertent handball by the scorer.  Apparently, if the ball had dropped to another ITA player who scored, it would have counted - only the player with the handball can't score when it accidentally hits his arm/hand.

37 picked RUS, 14 WAL, and 39 ITA.  7 went 3-0 while DenMarkMyTerritory and Otsego1 went 0-3.  Club Med now leads by 2 with 12 points over 10 others tied for second.  Six are tied for last with 6 pts.  Also, note that in the Standings page, if your nickname has a pound symbol (#), you need to view your pick via the Picks page.  HTML doesn't work well with certain symbols like # (but I still allow it in the nickname) and the standings are automated.

Full Capacity & Ronaldo (6/15)

Playing in front of the tourney's first full-capacity crowd (55,662), F1-Hungary held tight against heavy favorites F2-Portugal only to see the visitors score three times after the 84' to lose 3-0.  Ronaldo scored the last two goals, on a PK, and then a great effort to get around the GK in stoppage time (first goal past 90' in this tourney).  That broke a tie and his 11 goals is the new Euro record.  HUN also had a goal taken away by offsides, which rocked the stadium.  

F3-France had two goals called back by offsides (1 by VAR) so it was an own goal in the first half that gave the 1-0 margin over home side F4-Germany.  The 3-time Euro champion GER lost an opening match for the first time.

The first stage is done!  12 matches down, 24 to go in the Group Stage.  47 picked POR and 32 picked FRA.  Club Med remains in 1st with 9 pts.  31 went 2-0 while Dagger went 0-2.  There's a 3-way tie for last with 4 pts.

54-Yard Bullseye (6/14)

A pair of teams ranked in the 40s played each other with D4-Czech Rep (#40) getting the better of home side D3-Scotland (#44) thanks to two great goals from Patrik Schick, including his 54-yard bending strike just over the running GK's head for the final score of 2-0.  Why SCO's GK was near the midfield circle is puzzling, but his desperate run backwards and falling and getting tangled into the net will be meme'd everywhere.

Schick's goal reminded me of USWMT's Carli Lloyd's midfield bomb in the WWC15 final or Zlatan's first goal with the Galaxy.  But Carli's had plenty of margin bouncing into the goal while Schick's strike just barely fit between the GK's hands and crossbar.  And to think we had golazos just yesterday from C3-Austria and C2-Ukraine.

More drama as E4-Slovakia got an own goal off the GK's back and after going up a man, the game-winner in the 69' to beat E3-Poland, 2-1.  POL's Robert Lewandowski had 5 shots but none on goal.  Each team had more than 10 shots (POL 17, SVK 11) but momentum changed when POL picked up a red card on a second yellow (unfortunately, the first yellow was very soft but the second was deserved) in the 62'.  

Like WC18, E1-Spain again dominated possession but lacked finishing as E2-Sweden held on with just 25% possession in the scoreless draw.  In WC18, three times ESP had 63% or more possession and came out it with just a 1-0 win (over Iran, no less), a draw, and another draw that led to a loss in the penalty shootout.  SWE was without an official shot on goal but had one chance that was cleared off the line by a Spanish defender, off the right post, and into the waiting arms of the GK.

ESP's draw meant home teams are just 3-3-1 with F1-Hungary and F4-Germany playing at home tomorrow.

In our closest pick of the pool, 18 picked CZE (15 SCO, 16 ties), no one picked SVK (43 had POL), and just 8 picked the ESP-SWE tie.  The unexpected results scrambled up the standings with Club Med now alone in first with 7 points after 10 matches. 11 others have 6 points while Isayoldchap remains at 2 pts.  3 went 2-1 while 26 went 0-3.

"It's Coming Home" off to a Great Start (6/13)

D1-England came out strong and were finally rewarded in the 2nd half to win their first Euro opening match ever (was 0-3-5), 1-0, over D2-Croatia, the team they lost to in the semifinals in WC18.  "It's Coming Home" is back again, just maybe not in pubs.  Both teams now get to play their remaining two games against teams ranked in the 40s so both are still in good shape.

Lowly C4-North Macedonia played C3-Austria tight - opportunistically tying the match midway through the first half, but two late scores by two subs gave AUT the 3-1 win.  Although MKD is ranked #62, they did beat Germany in a World Cup qualifier in Duisburg and have scored in 15 of their last 16 international matches.  AUT's Stefan Lainer had a golazo in the 18' leaping high on a long cross to hit it into the far post. 

After yet another scoreless first half (5th of 7 matches), home team C1-Netherlands exploded for two goals in 7 minutes but then C2-Ukraine answered back with 2 goals in 4 minutes to tie it at 2.  But six minutes later in the 85', NED retook the lead and held on for a thrilling 3-2 victory.

In the pool, 34 picked ENG, 40 AUT, and 42 barely got NED.  23 went 3-0 while 5 went 1-2.  This left just three at the top of the standings (Club Med, Futbol Fabone Twelf, and Poolraider) with 6 points.  Isayoldchap is still last with 2 points.