Colombia Jhon's the Round of 16

 11/13ths of the World Cup

 

 

 Colombia were eliminated from the 2014 World Cup by Brazil 1-2 in the Quarterfinals. Since then they lost out in the Round of 16 in 2018, and missed out on 2022 completely. Their hope to lift their first World Cup Trophy took them through a meeting with Ghana. Similarly for Ghana, they were eliminated from the 2010 World Cup in the Quarterfinals by Uruguay on Penalty Kicks 2-4. They never made it out of the group in 2014, missed out altogether in 2018, and were eliminated in the Group Stage of 2022. Finally reaching the playoffs, they hoped to be the first African nation to lift a World Cup Trophy. Unfortunately, Colombia's superiority would show on the pitch. Jhon Arias gave Colombia a goal on the board in the 14th minute. From then on Ghana failed to really threaten Colombia's goal. The main man keeping Ghana in this match was Lawrence Ati Ziggi, the goalkeeper who faced 6 skillful shots, but could only save 5. Ghana return home looking to reset for the future. Colombia move on to the Round of 16 and a date with Switzerland. 

 

 

The chart below shows how each competitor fared with their Round of 32 picks. A number in parantheses indicates a top four pick and where you ultimately placed them to finish. 

 

The Round of 32 finally sputtered down on the last day. No one had a single match-up picked correctly. Even worse, only 1 player had Egypt, Argentina, and Colombia moving on the Round of 16. With 85 points on the day, three cheers for Artifex!

Tomorrow begins the Round of 16 as Canada and Morocco face off in Houston, Texas at 2:00 pm. Paraguay and France will meet at 5:00 pm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An update to the scoring for this round. Picking a correct match-up is now worth 10 points. If you pick the correct result on top of it, that's a total of 20 points. You have 8 chances to pick a team into the Quarterfinals. Pick the correct team, and you earn 50 points each. Only 16 teams remain. Only 4 rounds to crown a Champion. Good Luck to All!

 

 

The Hand of Diney Borges

 87/104ths of the World Cup

 

 

Argentina entered their 91st World Cup match against the minnows of Cape Verde. The African participants have been a joy especially since they are competing at their first World Cup since gaining independence from Portugal. Their first possible tournament would have been 1978, but they could not make the leap and play like the Blue Sharks until 2026. Facing the defending champions of Argentina, they made their presence known. Lionel Messi's 29th minute goal seemed to set the direction of the this match's plot. Deroy Duarte would make the match nervy once he drew the score 1-1 in the 59th minute. The sides would battle back and forth but fail to find a decisive goal after 90 minutes. Extra time would start in Argentina's favor as 2 minutes in and Lisandro Martinez would score a go ahead goal to lead 2-1. Sidney Lopes Cabral would strike just before the first 15 minutes were up and draw the Champions at 2-2 in the 103rd minute. Heartbreak would come in the 111th minute. A Lionel Messi corner kick would find the head of Cristian Romero who would deflect the ball down and see it bounce off the outstretched hand of Diney Borges to beat Cape Verde's Vizinho and put Argentina ahead 3-2. Cape Verde would press for the final 9 minutes plus stoppage time, but the clock would run out on their battle with Argentina, and their entry into the World Cup. Cape Verde have made fans all across the world, and have the task of trying to build on their tremendous performance. Argentina move on to the Round of 16 where Egypt and Mohamed Salah await them. 

 

 

Egypt give Matthew Ryan a Shot in Goal

43/52nds of the World Cup

 

 

 

Australia are yet another nation to never have won a World Cup Playoff match. The furthest they've ever been is the Round of 16, which this year would mean winning an extra elimination match in the Round of 32. Egypt's only Round of 16 appearance was in 1934. They lost to Hungary 2-4. Both teams were vying for a bit of history in their football lore. Of particular note was Australian Captain Matthew Ryan once again finding himself on the bench. Egypt would strike first via Emam Ashour in the 13th minute to give them a 1-0 lead. That scoreline would carry to the 2nd half where Australia would draw even thanks to Mohamed Hany's own goal. Neither team could find the net for the remainder of the match, and that included 30 minutes of extra time. A substitution in the 118th minute pulled Australia's starting keeper Patrick Beach for Matthew Ryan. Would the veteran's experience pay off in the penalty shootout? 

Harry Souttar would take the first spot kick for Australia, but would fire high right and over the bar. Mahmoud Saber would try to put Egypt ahead and  shoot to the keeper's right. Matthew Ryan guessed correctly, but couldn't match the speed of the shot. 0-1 Egypt.

Jackson Irvine would take the second attempt for Australia and fire to the top right corner as Mostafa Shobeir dove the other way. Rami Rabia would go next for Egypt, and fire low to the left of center as Matthew Ryan dove the other way. 1-2 Egypt.

Awer Mabil would try to keep Australia in this shootout and put the ball just right of center as a Mostafa Shobeir fell the wrong way. Mohamed Salah would take charge for Egypt and power the ball down the center as Matthew Ryan moved to his left. 2-3 Egypt.

Lucas Herrington needed to score to keep Australia's hopes alive, but fired the ball to the right of goal and over the crossbar. Hossam Abdelmaguid would step up with a chance to send Egypt to the Round of 16. He would send Matthew Ryan the wrong way as he slotted the ball to the left. Australia begin the long journey home. Egypt roll on to play the winner of Argentina and Cape Verde.

  

 

 

How to Ndoye your Round of 32

85/104ths of the World Cup

 

Switzerland have not progressed beyond the Round of 16, or first stage of elimination playoffs, since 1954. They have failed to qualify for 9 tournaments in that time. In their 6th straight World Cup, they look to pick up their first playoff win in that time. Algeria have only ever made it out of the group once in 2014 where they lost in the Round of 16 to Germany in Extra Time. That was their last appearance in a World Cup. Though Algeria would move the ball well, with some beautiful passes, this evening would fall to Switzerland. In the 10th minute Breel Embolo would strike to open the scoring at 1-0. Dan Ndoye would score a second for Switzerland at the jump of the 2nd half in the 46th minute. That would be the story line of the match as Algeria go home still wanting for a playoff victory in the World Cup. Switzerland advance to the Round of 16 to face the winner of Colombia and Ghana.

 

 

The day ended with our 6th lead change of the tournament.  Today's performance of the day saw 2 match-ups picked correctly of Spain vs Australia, Portugal vs Croatia, as well as guessing the correct scores. Jumping back into 1st from 3rd, with a 122 points on the day, congratulations to Scriptor!

 The Round of 32 finishes on Friday with the final 3 matches. Australia and Egypt kick off at 2:00 pm from Dallas, Texas. Argentina and Cape Verde are scheduled for 6:00 pm from Miami, Florida. Colombia and Ghana will finish the night with a match from Kansas City, Missouri. Good luck to all!

 

Portugal have Goncalo to the Round of 16 thanks to Ramos

21/26ths of the World Cup

 

 

Portugal's success at the World Cup in the 21st Century was a 4th place finish in 2006. In 2022 they were upset by Morocco in the Quarterfinals. The 12th match of the Round of 32 saw Croatia standing in Portugal's way. Croatia finished 2nd and 3rd consecutively in the last two World Cups. Both were hungry to win a first World Championship, especially for their aging stars. Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric are most likely competing in their final World Cup tournaments. Unfortunately for the world watching, one of them would have to go. Croatia would come out in the 2nd half and take the lead in the 53rd minute thanks to Ivan Persic. They would hold onto that lead and frustrate Portugal until the 68th minute. A corner kick for Portugal resulted in Nikola Vlasic illegally tackling Renato Veiga in the box. Cristiano Ronaldo would step up and try his best a penalty kick. Ronaldo would shoot the ball to the left of Croatia's goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic who fell to his right. The match would go back and forth when Goncalo Ramos put Portugal ahead in the 4th minute of 2nd half stoppage time. Croatia would draw level by a goal from Joskvo Gvardiol at what appeared to be the end of the match. VAR would deem the goal not to count due to an offside player. Wildly, Mario Pasalic was onside when the ball was initially played to him in the box. A slight touch, confirmed by the chip in the official ball of the 2026 Trionda, showed that the ball grazed the hair of Igor Matanovic before falling to Mario. His pass to Gvardiol would not count, nullifying the goal. Unfortunately for Croatia and Luka Modric, Croatia is heading home the earliest in a World Cup since 2014 where they never made it out of the group. Portugal move on to the Round of 16 for an Iberian Derby against Spain.

 

 

 

 

Somebody Pass Mikel the Oyarzabal

83/104ths of the World Cup

 

 

Spain have not won a World Cup Playoff match since 2010 when they became Champions. Austria have not won a World Cup Playoff match since 1954 when they finished 3rd. The 11th match of the Round of 32 hoped to end one of those streaks. To do so, one team would have to win in the regulation 90 minutes. Spain would make the first move through Mike Oyarzabal's goal in the 36th minute. Pedro Porro would double the lead in the 66th minute. Mikel Oyarzabal would score his second goal and seal Austria's elimination with a goal in the 89th minute. The last time Spain won a Playoff match at the World Cup, they left as World Champions. Is history repeating itself? As for Austria, they continue to hope for a better run at the World Cup. They can hold their heads high for making it thus far. Spain will play the winner of Portugal and Croatia in the Round of 16.