Issue # 3.1.2 "Ties and Stayin' Alive" (After Matchday 2)

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 Saturday, June 22, 2024

[Dailies: Jun 19-20-21-22 ]

HALF THE GAMES END IN A DRAW; 23 TEAMS STILL ALIVE
21goals and Disabling Below Jobs Tied for 1st

WHITTIER, CA (smt)- After having just one draw in the opening 12 matches, the next 12 saw half (6) end in draws which has kept every team except D1-Poland alive to make the Round of 16.  POL could beat D4-France 15-0 and would lose out to the head-to-head tiebreaker with D3-Austria, who POL lost 3-1 to.  A3-Hungary is the only other team without a point but could advance with a win and some help as 3 points may not be enough, especially starting with a -4 goal differential after two matches.  4 points will not be enough for E4-Ukraine if both games in Group E draw as they will get 4th place (not 3rd) and won't be considered even if other 3rd place teams have just 3 points.  It's the best four 3rd place teams not the best 4 teams outside the top 2 in each group.

E1-Belgium bounced back with a 2-0 win over E3-Romainia to help

Glory to the Heroes

Less than 10 months ago, I was commenting about a spat between Ukraine and Russia on UKR's jersey for Euro 2020 (ne 2021). Glory to Ukraine on the jersey was okay but the additional phrase Glory to the Heroes was interpreted as a rallying cry when you put both together so the latter had to be removed.  UKR still was able to keep the complete outline of their country on the jersey despite RUS claiming the Crimea peninsula was no longer part of UKR.

Well, on Feb 21st, RUS was at it again recognizing two eastern UKR states then three days later attacking UKR from Belarus and western Russia, determined to change the map of UKR again.  Over 400 Ukrainian civilians have been killed with the count unfortunately going up every day.

As it relates to soccer, FIFA did a slow burn penalizing RUS,

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).

You're Unpredictable

Almost forgot how crazy having simultaneous matches is. Having to watch the replays was even trickier. Going about fifteen minutes at a time switching between games hoping you don't hear the score of the other match.  In a group where all four teams could not only qualify for the quarterfinals, but also win the group, the possibilities were numerous.  But who would've thought that both Greece AND Czech Republic would make it the Last 8.  In their first matches, GRE had to play down a man and a goal, missed the tourney's only PK attempt, and rallied to tie while CZE were routed by RUS 4-1.  How things change.

GRE were outshot

Greek Tragedy

Finally, the baby is sleeping after several hours.  But then she got hungry again.  This has been a long night after another long day at work.

Greece GK Kostas Chalkias allowed two goals in the first six minutes and then had to leave in the 22' due to injury.  And after that, Czech Republic didn't score another goal.  Had he only left in the 2' instead.  So, CZE avoided being eliminated with the win although GK Petr Cech (who was incredible for Chelsea in the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League) had another shaky outing with a poor clear for GRE's only goal. Just 10 got this result correct in one of the more conflicted matches (16 GRE, 13 TIE).

A Russian march in Poland (doesn't sound wise on paper) on Russia's Indpendence Day was going fine until they met some Polish fans.  Despite the violence and 123 arrests, RUS and POL met for real on the pitch with RUS a chance to be the first team to clinch a spot in the quarters.  POL once again came out strong and once again failed to put away chances allowing RUS to strike first.  A golazo by Jakub Blaszczykowski evened it up ending in a 1-1 tie.  Just 13 picked the tie with Popozao, JP, Kona Coast Sliders, and Agenterob (the latter two on 3-game win streaks) going 2-0 today while 26 went 0-2.  But Walleye once again is alone in first with 14 points.  VZ Wedding Bells!!! is on a 6-game losing streak and is in a 4-way tie for last.

Both GRE and POL had goals disallowed by very close offisde calls.  This has been a great group to watch as all four teams have scored at least once in each of their matches, 12 goals total (3.0 per match).  All four teams are alive and all control their destiny... a win by any team will get them through to the Quarterfinals, even GRE (who'd advance if there were a 3-way tie at 4 pts each).

The Group of Death resumes in a few hours with DEN-POR and then with another big superpower matchup, NED-GER.

Wild First Day - Six tied for 1st

What a topsy-turvy first match.  Seemed like co-host Poland was going to blow out Greece, especially when the refs generously sent a Greek off with two soft yellows, giving 18 entries a first taste of victory to start the pool.  Then Greece tied it with super sub Dimitris Salpigidis equalized early in the second half putting 10 entries closer to the win column.  Then the Polish GK took down Salpigidis for a PK and 11 who picked Greece were getting ready to celebrate their two points.  But the backup GK saved it and in the end, 10 entries got it correct -- a tie.  The first tie of our soccer pools where you could earn points and it happened in the very first game.  So instead of 18 entries losing a chance for points in a wash (no points for anyone), 10 picked up two points.  Of course, I was one of those 18 who are now 2 points behind instead of tied with everyone.  How bizzare must it be for the Polish fans to hear a goal celebration song when Greece scored in their own stadium.

In the nightcap (in Poland at least), Russia showed they are the team to beat in Group A by thumping the Czech Republic 4-1.  Roman Pavlyuchenko's one-man effort (for the 4th goal) was so great it reminded me of someone like Kobe Bryant taking on the entire opposing team and still scoring.  So 27 of the 39 entries picked Russia and in the end, six are on top of the standings with 4 points while eight entries are still pointless.  You can now find the daily standings in the menu above (usually by the next morning, but hopefully always earlier).  We are unofficially at 39 entries which is more than the 20-25 I expected.  We should be official by Monday evening when I check the PO Box for any more mailed entries (we had 2).

Refs off to a bad start; Poland off to a great one

Co-host Poland is having a ton of chances but can only put away one, leading 1-0 at the half over Greece,  Meanwhile, the refs are having a run of questionable calls, unfortuantely both on the same player putting Greece down a man (after already having to sub one of its starters due to injury).  One missed handball (saving Greece) and one non-call handball (ref looked to be correct, accidental), thelatter which sent Greece into a frenzy, earning yet another yellow card.  What a start!  Maybe Ukraine has a chance then?

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,

Issue # 2.0.2 "The Reign in Spain Falls Mainly in the..."

Less than 24 hours left to enter!  We are up to 22 entries which is about what I expected so with a late push, hopefully we can speed past 30.  Good luck!  Make sure to follow us on twitter!

http://www.hwci.com/euro/2012/e2012_02.htm
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