It had to be Chadli

27/32 of the way through the World Cup. Today's games were a tale of two halves. Both matches saw the opponents tied 0:0 at the half. In the early game Neymar and Roberto Firmino would combine to score 2 for Brazil eliminating Mexico. In the evening game, Japan would come out firing in the second half to lead 2:0 before the Red Devils of Belgium would come alive scoring 2 to tie. It would all come down to Nacer Chadli and his 94' goal in stoppage time. There was excitement in the air, and lot's Japanese words of despair.

Brazil 2:0 Mexico

Neymar 51' 1-0

Roberto Firmino 88' 2-0

			Brazil		vs	Mexico
	Result	Points	E1	Score	Points	F2	Score	Points	Total
Artifex	Brazil	5	Brazil	3	0	Mexico	1	0	5
Fortuitous	Costa Rica	0	Costa Rica	4	0	South Korea	2	0	0
Historicus	Germany	0	Switzerland	0	0	Germany	1	0	0
IoannesNix	Brazil	5	Brazil	3	0	Mexico	2	0	5
Musicus	Brazil	0	Brazil	3	0	Sweden	0	2	2
Praeceptor	Brazil	0	Brazil	4	0	Sweden	2	0	0
Scriptor	Brazil	5	Brazil	2	2	Mexico	0	3	10

Belgium 3:2 Japan

Genki Haraguchi 48' 0-1

Takashi Inui 52' 0-2

Jan Vertonghen 69' 1-2

Marouane Fellaini 74' 2-2

Nacer Chadli 90+4' 3-2

			Belgium		vs	Japan
	Result	Points	G1	Score	Points	H2	Score	Points	Total
Artifex	Belgium	0	Belgium	2	0	Senegal	1	0	0
Fortuitous	Panama	0	Panama	6	0	Colombia	1	0	0
Historicus	Belgium	0	Belgium	2	0	Poland	0	0	0
IoannesNix	England	0	England	1	0	Colombia	0	0	0
Musicus	Belgium	0	Belgium	2	0	Senegal	1	0	0
Praeceptor	Belgium	0	Belgium	3	2	Senegal	2	3	5
Scriptor	Belgium	0	Belgium	2	0	Poland	1	0	0

   

Here's how everyone is faring with Quarterfinalists.

	Artifex	Fortuitous	Historicus	IoannesNix	Musicus	Praeceptor	Scriptor
	Russia	Saudi Arabia	Uruguay	Uruguay	Uruguay	Portugal	Uruguay
	France	Croatia	Peru	Nigeria	France	France	France
	Brazil	Costa Rica	Germany	Brazil	Brazil	Brazil	Brazil
	Belgium	Panama	Belgium	England	Belgium	Belgium	Belgium
	Spain	Portugal	Spain	Portugal	Spain	Spain	Spain
	Argentina	Iceland	France	Australia	Argentina	Nigeria	Argentina
	Germany	Serbia	Brazil	Germany	Germany	Switzerland	Germany
	England	Poland	Colombia	Poland	England	England	Colombia
Total	20	5	20	10	20	15	20

Finally, 4 Extra Time picks played today.

Artifex chose Brazil and has added these points:

Yellow Card	Felipe Luis	-3
Goal	Neymar	10
Assist	Willian	9
Yellow Card	Casemiro	-2
Goal	Firmino	20
Saves	Alisson	1
	Total	35

IoannesNix opted for Mexico and added these points:

Yellow Card	Alvarez	-10
Yellow Card	Herrera	-8
Yellow Card	Salcedo	-1
Yellow Card	Guardado	-9
Saves	Ochoa	36

Historicus picked Belgium, and dominated with these points:

Goal	Vertonghen	5
Goal	Fellaini	8
Assist	Hazard	5
Goal	Chadli	22
Assist	Meunier	7
Saves	Courtois	3
	Total	50

Fortuitous slugged it out with Japan earning these points:

Yellow Card	Shibasaki	-3
Goal	Haraguchi	8
Assist	Shibasaki	3
Goal	Inui	14
Assist	Kagawa	5
Saves	Osako	15
	Total	42

Praeceptor was paired with Mexico and earned 0 points as El Tri were eliminated. Fortuitous was paired with Japan who also earned 0 points through elimination. 

	Standings	Points	Oracle
1	Historicus	257	57
2	Musicus	247	75
3	Praeceptor	240	63
4	Artifex	232	49
5	Scriptor	219	62
6	IoannesNix	181	45
7	Fortuitous	131	25

Today's Disciplinary Official is the Adidas Telstar Mechta. It is the official match ball of the 2018 World Cup Knockout Stages.

 Yes, the Telstar Mechta has some red on it. Yes, it's rolling into the net as Thiboult Courtois looks on in disgust. This knockout stage has been missing the goal extravaganza ever since France and Argentina duked it out. Finally, this little guy got to go where soccer balls are meant to go. That is into the wide yonder of fishnet between post located on the nether regions of the grassy football field. Ah yes, there was much yelling at moments of climax and delight. No cards, no pictures, no cuddles. There are more matches tomorrow.

The Grand Salmon Alpaca