Issue # 6.2.2 "Best of the Best?" (After Quarterfinals)

 Archive

Sunday, July 7, 2024

[Dailies: Jul 5-6 ]

First Semifinal -  Munich Football Arena			Second Semifinal - BVB Stadion Dortmund
ESP - Kingdom of Spain La Roja (The Red One) Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF)	FRA - French Rep Les Blues (The Blues) Fédération Française de Football (FFF)		NED - Netherlands Oranje Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond (KNVB)	ENG - England Three Lions The Football Assoc (The FA)
#8 | 1B | Winner | 5-0-0 6th Semifinal ('64, '84, '08, '12, '21) B1: Beat Croatia 3-0 B4: Beat Italy 1-0 B5: Beat Albania 1-0 R16: Beat 3F-Georgia 4-1 QF: Beat 1A-Germany 2-1 (aet)	#2 | 2D | Runner-Up | 2-0-3 5th Semifinal ('84, '96, '00, '16) D2: Beat Austria 1-0 D4: Tied Netherlands 0-0 D6: Tied Poland 1-1 R16: Beat 2E-Belgium 1-0 QF: Beat 1F-Portugal 0-0 ( PSO 5-3)		#7 | 3D | 3rd Place | 3-1-1 6th Semifinal ('76, '88, '92, '00, '04) D1: Beat Poland 2-1 D4: Tied France 0-0 D5: Lost to Austria 3-2 R16: Beat 1E-Romania 3-0 QF: Beat Türkiye 2-1	#5 | 1C | Winner | 2-0-3 4th Semifinal ('68, '96, '21) C2: Beat Serbia 1-0 C4: Tied Denmark 1-1 C5: Tied Slovenia 0-0 R16: Beat Slovakia 2-1 (aet) QF: Beat 2A-Switzerland 1-1 (PSO 5-3)

BIG NAMES IN SEMIS, BUT HOW GOOD ARE THEY
Merman in control with 102 pts; 13 get all 4 SF teams correct

ROSEMEAD, CA (smt) - We have the semifinals set with 1B-Spain facing 2D-France and 1C-England facing 3D-Netherlands.  The four have combined for six European championships and four World Cups with each team winning at least one of them.  While ESP has outscored opponents 11-2 (1 own goal), FRA has not scored in open play (its three goals have been 2 own goals and 1 PK), ENG has scored just four times (with the last two not getting a shot on goal for almost 95 minutes and 80 minutes, respectively), and NED only winning one game comfortably (3-0 in Round of 16) while needing to rally twice after falling behind 1-0. 

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.

Great save! (7/2)

Last minute diving save

CYPRESS, CA - Surprise group winners 1E-Romania and 1D-Austria were knocked out of the tourney with #46 (#47 in June 20 ranking) ROU getting routed by #7 3D-Netherlands 3-0 and AUT's rally falling short to 2F-Turkey, 2-1.  Finally, we had a player score more than once in a game and today we had two.  NED's Donyell Malen came on as a sub and scored in the 80' and 90'+3 while TUR's Merih Demiral scored 7 seconds in and in the 59'.  AUT had a great header in the final minute of stoppage time that was incredibly saved to preserve the TUR win.

It's over!

The TURvAUT match had great moments and when the rain was pouring down, AUT poured it on getting 21 shots off and TUR had a couple of great counters that were saved.  The players fell to the grass after that exhausting back-and-forth match.  TUR makes up for their poor 2021 performance where they were a dark horse but lost all 3 group matches and is the lowest ranked team (#40, or #42 in the June 20 rankings) left. 

47 had NED making the quarters and 2 had TUR (Toast and I Say Old Chap).  49 went 1-1 and the other 9 went 0-2.  The top 7 didn't change with Disabling Below Jobs in first with 83 pts.  Cool Guy takes back last place with 60 pts.  40 can still win money and 20 can still win the pool.  Germany Minus One still has the best chance to win the pool (13.3%) and money (26.6%).  Overall, two went 7-1 (Disabling Below Jobs and Rainman) and five went 4-4 this round.

Food run after Costco

21goals is tied for 5th but can't win the pool (has the same remaining picks as Germany Minus One) while Azzurri di Hermosa (ENG over FRA, which is possible since FRA fell to second in Group D) is tied for 50th but can still win the pool.  Kds911-2, Soccer Guru and Soccerbix are tied for 21st and are eliminated while Azzurri di HB Tre (3rd) and Azzurri di Hermosa (1st) are tied for 50th and can still win money.

Preparing for a family road trip (short) and did a Costco run but then ended with a little strip mall with good pasta (Noodles) and Mexican (Taco Masa - which I kept reading as Tacoma-sa when I got back from Washington).  I wore my 2019 Puma City Influence Pack red Amsterdam shirt.  

To be an English Fan (6/25)

AUT sky high for the win

LA PALMA, CA - Wow, how could the early Group D games be so exciting and then Group C games such duds?  D3-Austria's Marcel Sabitzer roofed one over the GK in the 80' to give AUT the Group D title in a 3-2 upset over D2-Netherlands (this reminded me of Landon's first goal in the comeback vs Slovenia in World Cup 2010).  AUT roofed another over the GK a couple minutes later but was called back for offsides. That NED GK is vulnerable if you hit it high at him.  Each team had a PK in a 1-1 draw by D1-Poland and D4-France.  The positions of the top 3 kept changing as each goal was scored.  Approximately:

• Start:  NED 4 pts (2 GF), FRA 4 (1 GF) pts, AUT 3 pts (throughout the day, all 3 were comfortably making the Round of 16)
• 6':  NED own goal puts AUT up 1-0 (AUT 6, FRA 5, NED 4)
• 47': NED ties it 1-1 (NED 5, FRA 5, AUT 4)
• 56': Mbappe finally scores in a Euro on a PK (FRA 7, NED 5, AUT 4).  FRA's two goals have been an own goal and a PK.
• 59': AUT takes the lead 2-1 (FRA 7, AUT 6, NED 4)
• 75': NED ties it again and VAR confirms no handball 2-2 (FRA 7, NED 5, AUT 4)
• 79': After a retake because the FRA GK left the line too early in making the save, Lewandowski's stuttering succeeds on the retry to tie it 1-1 (NED 5, FRA 5, AUT 4)
• 80': AUT go-ahead goal to give them the Group 3-2 (AUT 6, FRA 5, NED 4)

Two scoreless draws defined the C4-England vs C1-Slovenia and C2-Denmark vs C3-Serbia matches.  English fans are just upset.  Ok, something interesting.  I detailed yesterday how B2-Croatia could stay alive with a 3-0 SVN loss and SVN picking up three yellows.  Well, SVN and DEN were similarly tied on head-to-head (1-1 draw), goal difference (0), goals for (2), and with each team picking up 2 yellows, tied on lowest disciplinary points (6).  But the next tiebreaker is the European Qualifying Ranking which DEN was ranked above SVN (#9 vs #15) to take 2nd place.  BUT, what really happened was that SVN had a hidden yellow card, given to an assistant coach in the first match vs DEN.  So DEN won this 7-6 (or 6-7). Oh, and CRO is eliminated with SVN's draw.

Whereas yesterday was a good day for entries, today was a bad day.  Toast was the only one to pick the AUT win, Rainman was the only one to pick the FRAvPOL draw, and no one picked ENG to tie SVN.  17 did get the DENvSRB draw correct.  So Toast went 2-2 today while 40 went 0-4.  Six teams advanced from Groups C & D (remember, you will get F3-Portugal's 3 points tomorrow after Group F completes) today (well, FRA, ENG, and NED technically advanced yesterday but you get the points today).  Cool Guy was the only one to pick SVN into the Round of 16.  All 58 got ENG, 57 got FRA, 56 DEN, 54 NED, and 30 AUT.  24 got 5 of 6 teams  while the other 34 got 4 of 6.  Toast got 17 of 22 possible points to take sole possession of first with 47 pts.  24 got just 14 of 22 points.  El Buenísimo is second with 46 pts and Disabling Below Jobs and Germany Minus One are tied for 3rd with 45 pts.  Cool Guy is still last with 32 pts.

I hate blood work, but today was the annual time to get it done.  Been doing good with long fasting these days (14-16 hours) so not a big deal and found out I can drink lemon water.  The Quest kiosk was pretty cool and had a credit card sized tray to scan the driver's license and insurance card.  One try this time (that is always my worry, they miss the vein) and if you don't use the kiddie needle, the draw goes much, much faster (3 vials today).  I wore my 2010 England home jersey and whereas yesterday the ITA Puma jersey was very thin, this was essentially a polo shirt (thick).  

I Can't Dive (6/21)

Yeah, obstruction

CERRITOS, CA - D2-Netherlands thought they had a breakthrough goal against D4-France in the 69' but a defender next to FRA's GK was flagged for offsides and upheld by VAR.  Regardless if you thought the GK could dive and make the save (it was far to his left), just having a player in your peripheral vision is enough to hesitate and you can see the GK stutter-stepped instead of diving.   The game ended 0-0 which meant FRA still has not scored (their 1-0 win last game was via own goal) and it was the first Euro nil-nil draw since match #20 in 2021 (ENGvSCO) and ended a streak of 50 matches with at least one goal.  

With 4 points, both teams will be comfortably in but the draw also eliminated D1-Poland, who lost to D3-Austria 3-1 and can't finish in the top 3 (first tiebreaker is head-to-head which POL would lose to AUT even if POL beat FRA 20-0 in the next game).  

E2-Slovakia was continuing their dream run holding a 1-0 second half lead but E4-Ukraine roared back with two goals to stay alive.  More pressure on E1-Belgium tomorrow as the other three teams in Group E have 3 points already.

$5.95 for a single scoop

In two of the most split picks, 23 got AUT (16 had POL and 19 had a tie) and 18 got UKR (17 had SVK and 23 tie) while 14 got the NEDvFRA draw.  Only Toast was able to go 3-0 today and pulls into a tie with 21goals for 1st with 15 points.  18 went 0-3 with Cool Guy joining BlueIsTheColour 3 in last with 8 pts.  Just a reminder, points for teams qualifying (e.g., GER and ESP) won't be awarded until the final group match is played (e.g., you will get the 3 points for GER making the Round of 16 after Sunday's matches).  

We get a lot of transplants into my area and recently we got Sorry, Not Sorry Creamery that is based in Vegas.  The ice cream is very rich which means very good. Their popular flavor is Ube Honeycomb (I do not understand the fascination with ube, except for the bluish color) but I got Mint chocolate chunk.  Yum.  I wore my authentic 2016 home Slovakia jersey that has the anthem lyrics on the inside collar.  Then I went to Raising Canes for the kids, which is based out of Baton Rouge and opened last year in Cerritos.

Deflections (6/16)

SPOKANE FALLS, SPOKANE, WA - Two slight deflections gave D2-Netherlands the win (2-1) over D1-Poland and C1-Slovenia to salvage a tie (1-1) with C2-Denmark.  Both shots saw the GK go one way and the ball another.  I'm glad they didn't give own goals (like Opta used to do) for this when it was more strict.  Each of the three matches today also featured deflections with great reaction saves as well.

NED became the second team to win after giving up the first goal and SVNvDEN was our first tie and first "upset" of the tournament with SVN ranked #57 vs DEN's #21.  NED had six saves as POL fired 6 shots on goal (of their 11 total shots).

C4-England scored early on a great header but struggled in a 1-0 win over C3-Serbia, who became just the second team to fail to score (B2-Croatia) after 7 matches.

53 picked NED, 50 ENG, and 8 the SVN-DEN tie.  Four entries went 3-0 which leaves Disabling Below Jobs and I Say Old Chap tied for first with a perfect 7 points.   9 went 1-2 with five tied for last with 3 points. 

Was able to take a walk to Riverfront Park to take the SkyRide over Spokane Falls and learned about Expo 1974 (Spokane the smallest city to host an Expo) as this summer is the 50th anniversary of that event.  Of course, the falls is just over a dam but still pretty loud and cool.  I wore my 2013 home ENG jersey commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Football Association.

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.

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.

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.

"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.  

Foster's Futbol Brew # 4: The Fourth Froth

June 20, 2012

Foster's Futbol Brew: The Fourth Froth

Is anyone getting tired of hearing the same White Stripes song (7 Nation Army, I think) over and over and over again when a goal is scored? Wouldn’t it be cool if each team had a pre-selected (and different) song to play when they netted one? Perhaps we could hear “The Winner Takes it All” when the Swedes score (ode to ABBA)! England would have it best with “We Are the Champions!” Funny enough, the Miami Heat started using the same song as they took a big lead late in Game 4 against the Thunder in the NBA Finals! And the crowd actually started the “woooaaah…woah woah woah woah woooaaah, woooaaah.” Woah is me!

Back to the best sport on Earth. (For those of you not keeping track,

Group of Death to Double D (Dutch & Denmark)

Wow, what a Group of Death.  Every goal scored changed the possibilities (DEN v GER, POR v NED):

Start: GER & POR - let's keep it scoreless
NED goal 11': GER & DEN - the Danes are in!
GER goal 19': GER & POR - no, Portugal are in!
DEN goal 24': GER & DEN - no, I said the Danes
POR goal 28': GER & POR - no, I mean Portugal
POR goal '74: GER & POR - OK, Portugal, but GER in jeopardy of being eliminated if DEN scores next
GER goal 80': GER & POR - Insurance goal!  Now  both clearly through (NED would need 4 goals, DEN 2 in final 10 minutes)

In the end, both teams won by 2-1 scores as GER picked up the max 9 points while POR were a dominant runner-up playing well in all three matches.  Like ESP's Fernando Torres, POR's Cristiano Ronaldo responded after a lackluster match and exploded with a pair of goals.

In the pool,

Foster's Futbol Brew # 3: Trouble’s a Brewin

June 13, 2012

Foster's Futbol Brew:  Trouble’s a Brewin (Third Edition)

Well, the first half of Group play has concluded, and as usual, there were plenty of surprises.

Let’s start with Holland losing to the Great Danes.  Well, as I predicted, Arjen Robben would be the guy to hold back the Dutch…but I didn’t expect a loss.  I can count at least half a dozen shots taken by Robben, only one of which was a worthwhile strike, which hit the post.  All other attempts sailed over the cross bar or were an easy save for the Danish keeper.  If Robben

Death to No One

In the Group of Death, we saw our first two-goal comeback, our first 5-goal match, or latest goal thus far (87'), and an incredible miss by the one and only Cristiano Ronaldo.  Denmark may have bunkered down vs Holland in the last game after getting the early goal but today they were down two goals early and had to fight their way back, and they did, tying it on 2 goals by Nicklas Bendtner.  But Portugal, in danger of being eliminated pending the Germany-Holland match, got the thrilling game-winner.  27 entries picked POR which still left Walleye in first.  Kona Coast Sliders and Agenterob picked up their fourth straight win while V2 Wedding Bells!!! aren't ringing, losing his last 7 matches to take sole possession of last.

The Dutch wanted to erase the taste of their last game and came out strong with several good chances.  Despite scoring in the first match, it was still should Germany start Mario Gomez or Miraslav Klose, so Gomez responded by scoring twice in the first half.  Holland tried to come back with one goal but remain winless.  The good news is that they are still alive although they are the only team (of the 8 who have played their 2nd matches thus far) who don't control their destiny.  The bad news is that no team who lost their first two group matches (EURO) went on to the next stage.  Germany with 6 points still has a chance to lose a 3-way tiebreaker.  This was the match that had the most number of entries pick a tie (19) but in the end, the 13 who had Germany picked up the critical 2 points.  Kona Coast Sliders won his 5th straight match to tie Walleye (but has NED as their champ; maybe, maybe) with 16 points.  Popozao and The Mighty Mobelfakta are tied for 3rd with 14 points.  V2 Wedding Bells!!! snapped a 7-match losing streak to enter a 5-way tie for last.

Most of the goals thus far  in this tournament have come off incredible headers off corner or free kicks or crosses.  All 16 teams have now scored with POR and NED getting on the scoresheet.  As teams qualify to the Last 8, points will be awarded (usually, I wait until after all the group matches are played before awarding everyone their bracket points).  But no team has (yet).  Tomorrow, in the Gordo Group, Croatia could become the first team with a win while Ireland could become the first team eliminated with a loss.

A to the Z SPORTS! # 2: The Co-Hosts

Visit's ALBERT's BLOG: http://atothezsports.blogspot.com/

THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2012

With Euro 2012 only hours away it’s only fitting that we take at look at the teams that will be hosting the month long football fest, Poland and Ukraine.

Poland will be playing in only its second Euro; it played its first one four years ago. Ukraine will be participating in its first ever Euro since it started competing as an independent football nation in 1992.

The former Soviet Union republic will be the third national team in Euro history to play in its first final tournament due to automatic qualification as a host nation. Sweden in 1992 and Austria in 2008 are the other teams.

Out of the two nations,

Pick Ukraine and you can win!

Well, with 15 entries in, only 3 teams have been picked to win it all -- Germany (6), Spain (5), and the Dutch (4).  In the Final, just five teams make it (England and France each garnering one vote of confidence to lose in the Final).  So pick an underdog and you could win!  Will I pick France for the third time and will it be the good France leading me to a 3rd place finish in 1998 or the bad France in landing me 3rd from last in 2002? 

Also, since Michael W. (Walleye <- cool nickname!) brought it up, let me just reiterate that when you fill out your Quarterfinal bracket (picking the top 2 teams from each group), it doesn't matter how you picked the Group stage matches.  So, if you're a Dane, you can pick Denmark to win all 3 matches (so you don't have root against them) but NOT put them in your Quarterfinal bracket (or put them as Group B runner-up).  This was done to encourage novice fans to participate (don' t have to worry about calculating points) and allow flexibility if you were a homer for one of the countries or wanted to hedge your bet.  Also, for example, if you picked ties for all six Group A matches, all four teams would have 3 points so there is no way we could automatically advance the top 2 teams for you.  But, I may try to figure out how to calculate points on the fly and list them next to the team so you can see which two teams logically make sense to advance (again, you're not stuck to it). 

Foster’s Futbol Brew, Batch Number Two

June 5, 2012

Foster’s Futbol Brew, Batch Number Two:

Some of you follow the World Cup, but perhaps this is the first or second time following the European Championships.  Some of you who may not be as familiar with the tourney’s top players, nearly all of whom play for Club soccer somewhere in Europe.  For those of you who follow Club teams like me in the English Premier League (EPL), Serie A in Italy, La Liga in Spain and other European clubs, you've probably begun to hear about some rising stars.  For some European national sides, the next generation is here.  This is a sneak-peak at some of the rising stars to follow on their national squads that should have a big impact: