Winning a Lautaro Games Very Late

 51/52nds of the World Cup

 

 

England's only World Cup Championship came in 1966 when they hosted the tournament. England defeated Argentina 1-0 in the Quarterfinals that year. Since then they have met Argentina 3 more times at the World Cup. In 1986 Argentina eliminated them in the Quarterfinals of Mexico City 2-1, with both goals coming from Diego Maradona, including the infamous Hand of God goal. In 1998, the two would finish in a 2-2 draw in the Round of 16 in Saint-Etienne, France. Argentina would advance after a 4-3 victory in the penalty shootout. Just 4 years later England would win 1-0 in a Group F match-up that would lead to Argentina finishing 3rd and being eliminated. In the Lionel Messi era, this is England's first match-up with Argentina. Though both sides would battle for possession and control, both sides would combine for just 3 shots and not a single one on target. The second half saw England make their move as a goal by Anthony Gordon in the 55' minute put England ahead, and the defending Champions on the verge of elimination. Here, England would sit back more and more trying to defend their slim lead. Lionel Messi and Argentina would pummel the English defense and their goal. In the 85th minute, the 39 year old Messi would find Enzo Fernandez for the tying goal, as the Argentinian team and fans would explode in excitement. In the 80th minute Lionel Scaloni would substitute Nicolas Tagliafico off for Lautaro Martinez, the Argentinian talisman. Martinez would find himself in the perfect position to receive a pass from Lionel Messi and find the back of the net giving Argentina a 2-1 lead in the 2nd minute of 2nd half stoppage time. England's defensive substitutions left them with too little attacking personnel to challenge Argentina's goal. England are the latest victims, falling once again to Argentina and their late match heroics. England will face France on Saturday for 3rd Place. Argentina move onto the Final Match where Spain are the last team standing between them and a repeat as Champions.

  

 

 

Today's Lionel Mess-like performance was a big one. Of the 3 players who predicted Semifinal Number 2 would be England and Argentina, and that Argentina would advance, only 1 correctly foresaw the 2-1 victory. With 160 points, edging into 1st place by 3 points, and continuing his lead at the top, three cheers for Historicus!

We take a 2 day pause in the action and reconvene on Saturday at 5:00pm. Miami, Florida hosts the Bronze Medal match between France and England. You earn 25 points for picking this match-up correctly, 50 points for selecting the 4th Place finisher, and 75 points for correctly identifying the Bronze Medal winning team. Some may argue this match is completely pointless, but it could be the difference between finishing first or worst for you. Enjoy the week.

 

 

Porro France Miss World Cup Final for First Time in Eight Years

101/104ths of the World Cup

 

 

France were 1 match away from their 3rd straight World Cup Championship match. They entered their Semifinal with Spain on 16 goals scored, the most of any team in the World Cup. Spain sat just behind France in the goal tally with 15. The Spanish had a huge advantage in the defensive stat of goals allowed with just 1 in the whole tournament. France had given up just 2. Both teams had easier runs in the playoffs as all of their matches thus far ended after the 90 minutes of regulation. The battle to see who the best team was perhaps should have been held in the Championship match, but we were lucky enough to see it played here. Neither side could break their opposition until the 27th minute. Lucas Digne would take Lamine Yamal down in the penalty box to cede a penalty kick to Spain. Mikel Oyarzabal would shoot right beating Mike Maignan's dive. Spain would take the 1-0 lead into the half. In the second half both teams would resume trying to find a goal. France's efforts would all end in vain as Pedro Porro would put Spain up 2-0 in the 58th minute. From there, France pushed on as hard as they could. Much like Croatia in at the 2018 World Cup, France finally ran out of steam. The difference is that Croatia sputtered out in a single tournament. France have played more World Cup matches in the last 12 years than any other team. They won the 2018 World Cup, finished Runner-up in 2022, and were 1 match away from a 3rd consecutive Final. They will have a chance to redeem themselves in the 3rd Place Playoff on Saturday. Spain head to New Jersey where they will face the winner of England and Argentina for the World Cup on Sunday.

 

 

 

Two players correctly predicted that France and Spain would meet in Semifinal number 1. Both predicted that Spain would win. Only 1 of them would predict that Spain would score 2 goals. With 182 points, and a jump from 3rd place into a 2 way tie for first, give it up for Historicus!

 

A scoring update for the Semifinals. Each finalist correctly picked is worth 100 points. Each 3rd Place Playoff team is worth 50 points. A correct match-up in the Semifinals earns you 20 points, with another 10 if you predicted the correct winner. Historicus and Scriptor battle for first place in tomorrow's Semifinal, but neither are out of the woods, yet. 3rd place MalumSigma trails by just 81 points. He can easily make that difference up tomorrow with his pick for England and Argentina. There is also the wildcard of England. An English lifting of the World Cup Trophy could draw the other top 4 picks into the forefront to determine our 2026 World Cup Champions. Sleep well, my Crias. The action picks up tomorrow at 3:00pm from Atlanta, Georgia.

 

 

Julian to Argentina's Alvarez-cue

25/26ths of the World Cup

 

 

The last time Argentina were defending champions at a World Cup, they failed to make the playoffs, only to return and reclaim the championship at the following World Cup. Their opponents Switzerland have only been to the Quarterfinals 3 previous times in their history. The last was in 1954 when they hosted, and were eliminated by Austria. It was the defending champions who would strike quickly in the 10th minute when Alexis Mac Allister would put Argentina up 1-0. The Champions would take the lead into halftime. The second 45 minutes would tell a striking story. in the 67th minute Dan Ndoye would tie the match for Switzerland. Just 5 minutes later Argentina's Leandro Paredes would see a yellow card for a foul on Breel Embolo. VAR would intervene and lead referee João Pinheiro changing his decision due to a simulation by Embolo. The rule states that because Leandro was shown a yellow card, that card would be rescinded, and Embolo would be shown a yellow card. If a card was never shown, then Switzerland would earn a free kick without VAR intervention. Due to the initial yellow card being shown to Argentina's player, Embolo, who was already on one yellow card, received a second and was sent off. Switzerland would play the rest of the match down one man. Still, they pressed on and defended well to take the match to extra time. The first 15 minutes proved fruitless, as neither side could find the back of the netting. The second 15 minutes proved too much for an out-manned Swiss side. in the 112th minute Julian Alvarez would score to put Argentina ahead. 9 minutes later, in the 1st minute of the final stoppage time in the match, Lautaro Martinez would score a 3rd goal and shut the door on Switzerland's World Cup for good. Switzerland went farther in this tournament than many people thought they would, outlasting the likes of Brazil, Colombia, and the Netherlands. Argentina continue on their path to defend their 2022 World Cup Championship and will face England on Wednesday in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

 

 

Today's top performer picked both England and Argentina to advance to the Semifinals. He also earned 9 Oracle points on the day. Moving back into 2nd place with 169 points, congratulations to Scriptor!

 

Only four teams remain with a chance to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The matches pause to give each team time to rest before resuming on Tuesday. France and Spain will battle for the first slot in the Championship match at 3:00pm from Dallas, Texas. Wednesday the winner of that match will find out who their opponent will be as England and Argentina meet for the first time since Lionel Messi has suited up for Argentina at 3:00pm from Atlanta, Georgia. Five contestants in the 2026 TSzAL World Cup have their Champions still alive. Two competitors have 3 of their final 4 still alive in the tournament. An unprecedented 3 players have all 4 of their Semifinalists ready to compete. MalumSigma sits first and has all his hopes riding on Argentina's ability to repeat as Champions. Scriptor maintains a slim 2 point lead on Historicus as both look for Spain to raise the trophy once again. Oracle points will be a huge factor in separating these two as they have picked the exact same teams to finish 1 through 4. Musicus leads Praeceptor by 13 points as they both picked France to win it all. They have different teams finishing 2nd through 4th, and each lost out on 1 of those finishers landing where predicted. Just 4 matches remain in the 2026 World Cup, and we could see the tightest finish in TSzAL history. Best of Luck to ALL!

 

 

 

 

Hey Jude, don't be so Sad, England is Moving On

99/104ths of the World Cup

 

 

In only their 4th World Cup of their long history, Norway have already gone farther than ever before. Twice they've been eliminated in the Round of 16, what was once the first round of the playoffs. This year they procured victories in both the Round of 32 and the Round of 16. The enthusiasm around the team was about to face a wall in the team of England. Since their Championship in 1966 England's best finish has been 4th Place, which they achieved in 1990 and 2018. Their quest to improve upon that meant finding a way to keep Erling Haaland from scoring. That task they would achieve, but Andreas Shcjelderup would put Norway ahead 1-0 in the 36th minute. England fought back thanks to Jude Bellingham who score in the 2nd minute of first half stoppage time to send England into the break with a draw. The second half would see both teams search for the go ahead goal, but neither side could make the break in their opposition's defense. This match was headed to extra time. It took all of 3 minutes for Jude Bellingham to put England ahead 2-1. Norway would battle, as any Viking would, but on this day the English would prevail. Norway head home with much to look forward to in the upcoming UEFA European Championship. England move on to face the winner of Argentina and Switzerland in the Semifinals.

 

 

Mira-Mikel Merino Strikes Again

59/52nds of the World Cup

 

 

Spain's last victory in the Round of 16 came at World Cup 2010 when they defeated Paraguay 1-0 on the road to their World Championship. They would have to break their current streak against a Belgian team that was looking better and better as this tournament went on. Belgium's problem would be figuring out how to score on Spain. La Furia Roja haven't given up a goal in 484 minutes of play at the World Cup, and have only seen 6 shots on target combined through their first 5 matches. Belgium's quest to reach beyond the Quarterfinals for the first time 2018 would start in peril. After 30 minutes of back and forth action, Fabian Ruiz would put Spain ahead 1-0. It seemed as though the Spanish attack was coming back to life in this tournament. Charles de Ketelaere would tie the match just 11 minutes later and rejuvenate a Belgian side that were trying to prove they belonged. As the match wore on, each side would see substitutions that would impact the match. Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois would go down in an injury. He would be subbed off for Senne Lammens who was making only his 3rd appearance for the national team. On the flip side, Spain had an ace up their sleeves. In their Round of 16 match-up the Spanish found themselves struggling to score against Portugal. In the 88th minute they subbed on Mikel Merino who would score the game winning goal in the 1st minute of 2nd half stoppage time. Needing a victory late in this Quarterfinal match-up, the call was made to swap Dani Olmo for Mikel Merino in the 86th minute. Just two minutes later, he would score to give Spain the 2-1. They would never look back. Belgium are once again eliminated without a trophy to show for their efforts. The last of their golden generation have aged and most likely played in their final World Cup matches. Spain rolls on in search of their 2nd title. They face France in the Semifinals on Tuesday, July 14.

 

 

 

Four players predicted that Spain and Belgium would face off in the 2nd Semifinal. All would pick Spain to win. Only one of these players would predict for the match to finish 2-1 in Spain's favor to gain all 5 Oracle Points. With 105 points on the day, and jumping from 3rd to 2nd, today's Player of the Day is Historicus!

The final two Semifinal matches will conclude tomorrow. First up Norway hope to continue their Cinderella run by defeating England at 5:00 pm in Miami, Florida. The winner of that match will face the better of the two sides between Argentina and Switzerland who will kick off at 9:00 pm from Kansas City, Missouri. Only 6 matches remain to determine the Winner. May those of you whose Champions are still playing find favor on the fields.

 

 

 

Morocco have a Case of French Deja Vu

97/104ths of the World Cup

 

 

Morocco was the surprise of World Cup 2022. Two victories and a draw against Croatia, Belgium, and Canada had them top Group F. They defeated Spain on penalties in the Round of 16, defeated Portugal in the Quarterfinals, and ran into France in the Semifinals. It took all of 5 minutes for France to score and grab a lead they would never relinquish. The 0-2 loss on December 14th, 2022 was the end of the road for Morocco's World Cup hopes. They would lose 1-2 to Croatia in the Third Place Playoff. Three and a half years later, Morocco found themselves in the Round of 16 once again facing the 2-time World Champions. The rematch would start in a better favor for Morocco as they would make it into halftime with a scoreless draw. This came about even after France were awarded a penalty kick, but not without some controversy. Morocco's defender Noussair Mazraoui would take down Kylian Mbappe in the box as the forward skillfully dribbled past him. VAR would step in to confirm the penalty, which lasted 3 minutes and 10 seconds. The delay impacted Mbappe who would shoot low to the right corner of goal, but Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou would stop the shot. Kylian would complain to the referee several times about the delay in his allowance to take the penalty. A fired up France came out in the second half looking to put the match to bed. Goals by Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in the 60th and 66th minutes put the match out of reach for Morocco. The reigning African Champions head home to reload for the next round of Continental and World Championships. France march on for their quest to reach their 3rd straight World Cup Championship match. They await the winner of Spain and Belgium in the Semifinals.

  

 

 

Today's top performance was the only selection of France and Morocco to face off in the first Quarterfinal, and selection of France as the Victors. With 100 points on the day, and increasing his lead from 49 points to 67, give it up for the madman, MalumSigma. He is the second player to be top performer for 3 days in a row. However, he is doing it at the end of competition where it may matter most. Can anyone stop him? Tune in tomorrow.

Tomorrow Quarterfinal number 2 will be played at 3:00 pm from Los Angeles, California. Musicus and Praeceptor saw their World Cup Champions advance today in France's victory. Artifex has been let down by her pick for Champions in Sweden. It was a good effort, but the top spot seems impossible to reach now. Fortuitous has life with Norway still in the mix. MalumSigma continues to ride Argentina to his first Championship aspirations. Historicus and Scriptor both see their Championship picks in Spain battle in a do-or-die contest against a positive looking Belgian team. Will these two grow braver in their chances for victory, or will two more hopefuls come crashing down. Only time will tell.