The Hand of Thibaut Courtois

The 1986 World Cup saw a quarterfinal matchup between the Diego Maradona lead Argentina against the nation's rivals in the Falklands War of 1982. The first goal scored by Argentina is the most infamous goal scored at a World Cup. The diminutive Maradona stands at 5'5", and leapt up for a ball against England's keeper Peter Shilton who stood an even 6 feet. Yet, Maradona was able to put the ball into the net with an outstretched hand that was not whistled for a foul in what will forever be known as the "Hand of God".

 

Today's second matchup saw Belgium take a 2:0 over 5 time World Champions Brazil. The little canaries fought hard and managed to pull one back. Their start player Neymar da Silva Santos Junior took an incredible looping shot at the Belgian goal only to be stopped by a hand that appears to be even greater than God's. Thibaut Courtois jumped, stretched out his left hand, and pushed the sure goal over the post and out for a corner kick. Just like that, Belgium have booked their way honorably to the semifinals.

There, they will meet France. Les Bleus managed a 2:0 defeat of Uruguay who were only at half strength as Luis Suarez was without his partner Edinson Cavani for the match. The unfortunate defeat of the first ever World Cup champions was just the first in a pair of South American giants falling to the best Europe has to offer. Now, the only remaining teams that stand to win this World Cup are of the European persuasion.

France 2:0 Uruguay

Raphael Varane 40' 1-0

Antoine Griezmann 61' 2-0

			France		vs	Uruguay
	Result	Points	W49	Score	Points	W50	Score	Points	Total
Artifex	Russia	0	France	2	2	Russia	4	0	2
Fortuitous	Croatia	0	Croatia	3	0	Saudi Arabia	0	2	2
Historicus	Peru	0	Peru	1	0	Uruguay	0	2	2
IoannesNix	Nigeria	0	Nigeria	3	0	Uruguay	2	0	0
Musicus	France	5	France	2	2	Uruguay	1	0	7
Praeceptor	Portugal	0	France	1	0	Portugal	2	0	0
Scriptor	France	5	France	2	2	Uruguay	1	0	1

  

Brazil 1:2 Belgium

Fernandinho (og) 13' 0-1

Kevin de Bruyne 31' 0-2

Renato Augusto 76' 1-2

			Brazil		vs	Belgium
	Result	Points	W53	Score	Points	W54	Score	Points	Total
Artifex	Brazil	0	Brazil	3	0	Belgium	2	2	2
Fortuitous	Costa Rica	0	Costa Rica	5	0	Panama	0	0	0
Historicus	Belgium	0	Germany	1(3)	2	Belgium	1(4)	0	2
IoannesNix	Brazil	0	Brazil	3	0	England	2	2	2
Musicus	Brazil	0	Brazil	3	0	Belgium	2	2	2
Praeceptor	Belgium	5	Brazil	4	0	Belgium	6	0	5
Scriptor	Brazil	0	Brazil	2	0	Belgium	1	0	0

  

Uruguay's elimination has earned Artifex 0 points. It also means she is no longer paired with anyone for the tournament.

Here's how everyone fared with their Semifinalist picks.

	Artifex	Fortuitous	Historicus	IoannesNix	Musicus	Praeceptor	Scriptor
	France	Croatia	Peru	Nigeria	France	Portugal	France
	Brazil	Costa Rica	Belgium	Brazil	Brazil	Belgium	Brazil
	Argentina	Iceland	Spain	Portugal	Argentina	Spain	Spain
	Germany	Poland	Brazil	Germany	Germany	Switzerland	Germany
Total	10	0	10	0	0	10	10

  

Also, please note the Musicus was serving his red card suspension in the France vs Uruguay match. Therefore, none of the points he could have earned are being added to his total. That includes the 10 points he would have received for France making it to the semifinals, or the 7 points he would have earned for correctly picking France to defeat Uruguay. He also picked France for his bonus team, and as such lost 20 points that could have been added to his total.

Fortuitous chose Uruguay for his bonus points. Here is how he fared.

Uruguay
Yellow Card	Betancur	-3
Yellow Card	Rodriguez	-3
	Total	0

  

Historicus went with Brazil and fared as such.

Brazil
Own Goal	Fernandinho	-17
Goal	Renato Augusto	8
Assist	Coutinho	5
Yellow Card	Fernandinho	-8
Yellow Card	Lemos	-11
Saves	Alisson	1
	Total	0

  

Artifex chose Belgium, and rode to succes with:

Belgium
Goal	De Bruyne	7
Assist	Lukaku	4
Yellow Card	Alderweireld	-1
Yellow Card	Meunier	-7
Saves	Courtois	36
	Total	39

  

Please note, it is not possible to lose points with the Bonus Selections. As such, Fortuitous and Historicus were awarded 0 points, and not penalized any.

Standings Below:

	Standings	Points	Oracle
1	Artifex	292	55
2	Historicus	275	65
3	Praeceptor	262	65
4	Musicus	257	79
5	Scriptor	238	66
6	IoannesNix	190	49
7	Fortuitous	133	27

  

Today's Disciplinary Official is this third wheel soccer ball from the France vs Uruguay match in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. While this ball is feeling the love, or just the combined impact of two professional footballers coming together, it can't help but feel like its done its family proud. It saw white today. It saw blue today. It ignored Hugo Lloris's yellow goalkeeper outfit. No cards for anyone today. Four matches left, and any of them could light a fire.

The Grand Salmon Alpaca