France Sweetened by Sweden's Goal

39/52nds of the World Cup

 

 

France have finished 1st and 2nd in consecutive World Cups. They are looking to be the 2nd team to ever make 3 straight World Cup Championship matches, the first since Germany from 1982 to 1990. Sweden are hoping to make it back to the Quarterfinals as they did in 2018 after missing out on the World Cup in 2022, even though they arguably should have missed out on this edition. France more than game to show that Sweden were out of their league on the day. Though Sweden stood toe to toe for 45 minutes, there was only going to be one winner after Kylian Mbapped scored to give France the lead before the half. After the break, Bradley Barcola would only need 8 minutes to double France's lead. Kylian Mbappe would put the match out of reach with his second goal in the 74th minute. Vive la France! They move on to face Paraguay in the Round of 16.

 

 

 

Norway's Haaland Goal Lands them in the Round of 16

 77/104ths of the World Cup

  

 

The 5th match of the Round of 32 saw two teams looking for new territory. Cote d'Ivoire have never been beyond the Group Stage of a World Cup. Norway have once reached the Round of 16, at a time where the playoffs began with 16 teams, not 32. Antonio Nusa would finally find a goal in the 39th minute to give Norway the 1-0 lead. In the second half, Cote d'Ivoire fought back to draw level through Amad Diallo. It seemed like the Ivorians might have a chance to force extra time, or even snag a winner in regulation. They would be beaten to the punch by Erling Haaland who scored the match winner in the 86th minute. Cote d'Ivoire go home with their heads held high. Norway move onto to the furthest point they've ever been in a World Cup tournament to face Brazil.

 

 

Morocco Issa Partying!

 19/26ths of the World Cup

 

 

 

The Netherlands seldom lose in the World Cup as matches that go into extra time or penalty shootouts count as draws in the record books. They have never won a World Cup, but have finished Runners-up 3 times, and were eliminated in the Quarterfinals in 2022. For Morocco, they hoped to repeat their run in World Cup 2022 where they ran out of steam to finish 4th. Enter the 4th match of the Round of 32 where Morocco would force the Netherlands to play a tight match only finding a 1-0 lead through Cody Gakpo's 72nd minute strike. Morocco would stress their way through the remainder of the match when Issa Diop would tie the game in the 1st minute of 2nd half stoppage time. The extra time periods would be nervy as Morocco looked to score a goal, and Netherlands seemed more inclined to go to penalty kicks. 

Teun Koopmeiners would take the first attempt for Netherlands shooting to the bottom right corner past Yassine Bounou's outstretched arms. Neil El Aynaoui would try to meet Teun's attempt for Morocco. His shot would carom off the bar. Netherlands leads 1-0.

 Justin Kleivert was up next for Netherlands. His shot would hit the left post and out. Soufiane Rahimi would try to level the period for Morocco. He fired to the lower left of the goal where Bart Verbruggen would dive, knock the ball out, and see it roll backwards off his foot and in. Shootout even at 1-1.

 Wout Weghorst would attempt to get Netherlands back on track. He would strike with power to the upper left of the goal. Chemsdine Talbi would go next for Morocco trying to keep pace with Netherlands. He would fire to Bart Verbruggen's right, where the ball would sail past his outstretched hands. 2-2.

Quinten Timber stepped forward looking to put Netherlands back on top. He would fire wide left not even hitting frame. Achraf Hakimi would try to give Morocco their first lead of the night. He would fire to left of goal and see the ball bounce of the post. 2-2.

Cyrsencio Summerville looked to convert his moment of glory. As he fired to the upper left of the goal, Yassine Bounou would stand up straight, step to his right, and swat the ball away from goal. That left Ismael Saibari with his attempt at glory. He aimed for the bottom left of the goal and beat Bart Verbruggen who dove the opposite direction. Morocco advance to face Canada in the Round of 16. Netherlands are going home once again, this time at the soonest point of a World Cup Tournament in their history.

 

 

There were no perfect picks on the day. One player was the sole contestant to pick Brazil, Paraguay, and Morocco to advance to the Round of 16. With 92 points, moving from 7th to 6th, for the second day in a row the top performer is Fortuious.

Three more teams advance tomorrow. Three more teams go home. Another 75 points from picking the right teams to move on available. Get some rest, and duct tape for your brackets.

 

 

Don't Change your Canale, Paraguay are through!

75/104ths of the World Cup

  

 

 

Germany are one of the favorites to win the World Cup, an achievement that would be their 5th title and tie them with Brazil for most of all time. Standing in their way were Paraguay who are more than familiar with Brazil for other reasons. Paraguay would strike surprisingly first through Julio Enciso in the 42nd minute. Germany would have a nervy 15 minutes of halftime before coming back out to try and sway momentum to their side. Kai Havertz would be the hero tying the match at 1 goal in the 54th minute. Try as both teams might, there was no break to the deadlock. 30 minutes of extra time could not separate the two sides, and so we saw the tournament's first elimination on penalty kicks. 

Germany would have the privilege of shooting first. Enter Kai Havertz, the hero who scored the goal to tie the match. His shot would go just to the left of Paraguayan keeper Orlando Gil, who would swat the ball way with his right hand. Mauricio would go first for Paraguay, and place the ball perfectly just out of reach of Manuel Neuer diving to his left.

Joshua Kimmich would step up for Germany trailing 0-1. He would send Orland Gil to his left and place the ball to opposite corner. Gustavo Gomez would step forward for Paraguay to keep the pressure on. Gomez would shoot to the bottom right corner of the goal as Manuel Neuer dove the wrong way.

Jamal Musiala would shoot next hoping to keep Germany in the shootout trailing 1-2. Jamal's shot to the lower left corner of the goal would slip past the diving hand of Orlando Gil. Matias Galarza would come forward to try and match Musiala's goal. He would gently put the ball to the lower left corner of the goal as Manuel Neuer again dove the wrong way.

Nick Woltemade took his attempt at beating Orlando Gil in an attempt to draw level after trailing 2-3. He would also try to beat Gil to the keeper's left, but put the shot too close to the middle of goal. The falling Orlando would save his second shot. Antonio Sanabria would step up with the chance to seal the win for Paraguay. His shot would sail wide left and give Germany life.

Nadiem Amiri was next for Germany in a must score position to give his side life. He would bury his shot to the right as Orlando Gil would dive the wrong direction. Tied at 3, Germany needed a Manuel Neuer save. Fabian Balbuena would step up with a chance to finish the shootout. Balbuena would shoot right, but find Manuel Neuer making the save.

With momentum on Germany's side at 3-3, Jonathan Tah would step up trying to give Germany their first lead in the shootout in the first sudden death round. He would sky the ball up and to the left of the goal failing to get on target. That put Jose Canale in the opportunity of his lifetime. His shot would fire to the upper right corner of the goal. Manuel Neuer would dive the goal's left. Jose Canale and Paraguay live to fight another day. They await the winner of France and Sweden.

 

  

Brazil Pops Bottles of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider in Honor of Japan

37/52nds of the World Cup

  

 

The last time Brazil competed in a World Cup on United States soil, they won the tournament. In 2026, they walked through the Group Stage to face Japan in the 2nd match of the Round of 32. Japan were confident as they had a recent victory over Brazil in an October 2025 friendly they won 3-2. For Brazil, this was a chance at redemption in more ways than one. Kaishu Sano opened the scoring in the match for Japan in the 29th minute. The Samurai Blue would hold the lead into halftime. That's where Carlo Ancelotti worked his magic. Just 9 minutes into half number 2, Casemiro would even up the score and give Brazil the life they were missing in the first 45 minutes. The match would go back and forth with both teams searching for the go ahead goal. Just when it seemed we were headed to our first elimination match with extra time, Gabriel Martinelli would score in the 5th minute of 2nd half injury time. That would be enough to send Brazil through to the Round of 16 to face the winner of Cote d'Ivoire and Norway.

  

 

Goal Can - a - da!

73/104ths of the World Cup

  

 

The 2026 World Cup has arguably been a broken one when it comes the logic. Canada as a co-host made it out of the Group Stage of a World Cup for the first time in their history. They became the first hosting nation to play a World Cup match outside of its borders. They had the honor of facing South Africa who also made their first appearance beyond the Group Stage of a World Cup. While South Africa had the edge in possession of the ball, Canada had the edge in attempts on goal. It was Stephen Eustaquio who in the 2nd minute of stoppage time in the 2nd half who would break the tie. The late stage goal would be enough to see Canada advance to the Round of 16. They await the winner of Netherlands and Morocco.

 

 

One contestant picked South Africa and Canada to face off in this match. No one correctly picked a final scoreline of 0-1. With a total of 40 points on the day, and jumping from 8th place to 7th, today's Player of the Day is Fortuitous.

 

Tomorrow 3 more matches will be played. 3 teams will advance. 3 teams will go home. That's 75 possible points if you predicted all 3 of tomorrow's winners. Good Luck to all.

 

 

 

 

It could be a Points Bonanza!

  

Scoring System for the Round of 32

You may be concerned because your playoff bracket is looking busted. Have no fear. The majority of points moving forward will be based on the teams you picked to advance. Previous years have been based solely on who you picked to be World Champion. This year you will receive points for the top 4 teams you have picked. A 4th place finisher will earn you 25 points, a third place finisher will earn you 50 points, a runner-up will earn you 75 points, and a World Cup Champion will earn you 125 points.

The individual matches still count for something. As previously, if you have picked a correct match-up in the Round of 32, you will receive 5 extra points.  A new rule this year allows you to earn points even if you do not have the correct match-up. Take for instance the first match of the Round of 32 between South Africa and Canada. If you picked this match-up, you earn 5 points. If you didn't, you can still earn points based on who wins.  

 

Let us suppose that Canada wins by the score of 1-0. If the team who you picked that qualified in Canada's spot wins, you earn the 5 points for that victory. You deserve something for seeing a little bit into the future. If you pick the team in South Africa's spot to advance, and South Africa advances, you get 5 points. Let's say you only got half the match-up correct. You have Mexico vs Canada, and not South Africa. If you picked South Africa to advance, and Mexico does, that's 5 points for you. If you pick Canada to win, and Canada does, that's also 5 points.

 As before, you still earn Oracle Points regardless of who plays in the match. That's another 2 points for getting one team's score right, and 5 points for getting both teams. And if the match goes to extra time, you get 2 points and 5 points for getting those scores right if you predicted the match would go that far. What about if a match goes to penalties? Your prediction for spot kicks will also earn you 2 or 5 points if you guessed those correctly. 

As a bonus, if you have a correct match-up, as in this case South Africa and Canada, and you pick the correct team to advance, then you will earn 10 points and not 5. 

Hopefully this all makes sense. Good luck to all as the teams drop quickly, and your picks advancing become more crucial.

 

 

Argentina Win a Lautaro Matches, or How to Eliminate Iran

 9/13ths of the World Cup

  

 

Argentina prepared to face Jordan having already advanced to the Round of 32. Jordan knew they were eliminated, but hoped to have an all-time showing against the defending champions. Giovani Lo Celso opened up scoring in the 19th minute to give Argentina the lead. Nizar Al-Rashdan would try to clear the ball from the box with a high boot that struck Marcos Senesi in the head. Lautaro Martinez would convert the penalty kick to the right of Yazeed Abulaila to give Argentina a 2-0 lead. In the second half Mousa Altamari would score to bring Jordan within 1 goal of tying. Second half super-sub Lionel Messi would enter the match to put Jordan to bed by scoring a 3rd Argentinian goal in the 80th minute. Argentina move on perfectly to face Cape Verde. Jordan go home with memories of their first ever World Cup.

 

  

 

The final Group Stage match to be completed was Algeria and Austria. What a match it was. Both teams entered on 3 points with Austria in 2nd place on Goal Differential. Both teams would advance with a draw or a win. If either team lost, Iran would qualify as the last 3rd place team to advance. The scoring would begin in the 28th minute where Marko Arnautovic would give Austria a 1-0 lead. Rafik Belghali would tie the match in the 45th minute. The second half would only need 10 minutes to pick up the action. Marcel Sabitzer would give Austria their second lead with a 55th minute goal. Just 5 minutes later, Riyad Mahrez would score to draw Algeria level for the second time. As the match approached it's final moments, both sides seemed resolved to kick the ball around and waste time. That's when Algeria caught Austria sleeping in the 3rd minute of 2nd half stoppage time and Riyad Mahrez scored his second goal to give his side the lead. For the moment, Algeria sat in 2nd place dropping Austria to 3rd and helping Iran advance. From kick off Austria attacked and were able to score a header from Sasa Kalajdzic as time expired to tie the game and put Austria in 2nd place. Algeria would finish 3rd, but with a better performance over 3 matches to eliminate Iran. Austria will face off with Spain. Algeria will meet Switzerland. What a Group Stage it was!

 

 

There were 3 perfect picks today. Yet, none of them had the best performance of the day. Picking up 4 points to sit in 2nd place by only 12 points, congratulations to Musicus! What a way to finish off the Group Stage!

   

Tomorrow begins the Round of 32. Canada and South Africa will lock horns in a winner take all matchup at 3pm. Can Canada move on as Co-hosts? Can South Africa right the wrongs of their tournament in 2010? How many points can you pick up? Stay tuned for an update on playoff scoring to come in the morning.