Saturday, May 29, 2021 
Issue # 1.0.1 "The 2021 HWCI Euro 2020 Pool... or Something Like That"
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SANTA BARBARA, CA (smt)- After the pandemic postponed Euro 2020, UEFA's celebration across Europe kicks off June 11th in 2021 although the 24-team tournament will still be called Euro 2020.  Eleven cities (down from original 13) in 11 countries will host with 9 teams getting to host at least two group matches.  Thanks the UEFA Nations League, C4-North Macedonia (MKD) won a place in the tournament, its first (along with Finland).  Hosts were paired (if both qualified) in each group then drawn for order (1,2,3,4) so you'll see, for example, #37 Hungary leading Group F as F1.   Will playing at home, with fans mostly from their country (due to some inter-Europe travel restrictions), help elevate teams?  There is no overwhelming favorite so is this England's year (with a potential to play 6 of 7 matches in Wembley Stadium)?

B3-Belgium is the #1 team in the world while F3-France (#2), D1-England (#4), F2-Portugal (#5) (defending champs), E1-Spain (#6), A2-Italy (#7), and B1-Denmark (#10) are also in the top 10.  As you can infer, Group F is the group of death with France, Portugal, and Germany (have fallen to #12!).  Since there are just six groups, four of the six 3rd place teams will advance to the Knockout Stage so all three could make it but maybe #37 Hungary can surprise someone in that group.

So what has changed in our pool?  If all goes well, nothing.  Deadline is Noon PDT Friday, June 11th and UEFA won't change teams, although a match could be postponed 48 hours if a team does not have 13 players due to positive COVID-19 tests.  If a team can't compete, it's a win by forfeit (according to UEFA) and you'll still get the points (round robin or knockout round).  If the rare case both teams can't play, however UEFA decides to move a team to the next round gets the points (best mascot?).  If UEFA just vacates the position, no one gets points (e.g., for a Round Robin match, UEFA allocates zero points to both teams, then no one gets points (win/lose/tie)).

Remember, regardless how you pick the six matches in each group, you will pick the top 2 teams in Groups A-F plus the best four 3rd place teams you think will make it (no math needed!).  When you pick your four 3rd place teams, there will be only one way to place all four in the Round of 16 Bracket.  If you need help, let me know.

Our HWCI EURO Pool is our 3rd but its our 12th soccer pool (6 World Cup, 3 Euros, 2 Women's World Cup, and one MLS last year (which was free to enter)).   Last time (2016) we had 27 entries, off 2012's 39, but still a passionate group of people who love the high quality competition.  The entry fee is still $10 (and although we now accept Google Wallet & Venmo payments, we do not accept non-fungible tokents (NFTs), the latest trend).  Deadline is Noon PDT Friday (June 11th) before the first match.  Same point system.  Remember, you can either update your bracket (same nickname or add "update" to it) or email your change (easier to email one or two changes than resubmit a new entry).  So you can pick as early as NOW or wait until the last minute. 

For the fifth time, Eric's Foster's Fubtol (or Football) Brew commentary will be back.  Usually he is visiting the tournaments though not this year (I think).  Expect insight into not only the Euros but Copa America and the USMNT (if applicable) as well.  I love other people's views and it is always a great read.

We are now on Twitter (@HWCI_Pools) and Discord for discussion or questions.  Please follow!  I will post using #hwcincaa mini-updates during the day so you can follow without being on Twitter (and if you are, please use #hwcincaa).  Please join our Facebook HWCI Soccer Pool Group or post comments on our blog. 

You can mail your entry fee (email me for snail mail) or give your $10 (per entry) to someone who will give the money to David or Scott. We are accepting PayPal (check or PayPal funds only) to "hwci<at>hotmail.com" or credit card PayPal payments to "smt0222<at>yahoo.com" (but the entry fee is $10.61 (61 cents in PayPal fees... damn them!)).  Now, you can send money via your Smartphone and pay no fees!  Use Google Pay's Send Money function and send your $10 (per entry) to "smt0222<at>gmail.com" or Venmo (@smt0222)-- just make sure you put your NAME and NICKNAME in the notes section. And if you're having trouble getting your picks in, take a picture of your bracket with your phone and email it to ncaa<at>hwci.com.

Last time, Ford R won the pool and took home $120 as the only entry picking Portugal for their first major world title.  Last time we received 27 entries from 25 people. 

Enter online now! You can also fax your entry (DOC | PDF) to me at (720) 368-0816 or email us for a snail mail address (postmarked by Thursday AM). Make arrangements (such as PayPal, GPay, Venmo) to send in your $10 entry fee(s) by June 12th (you can also pay me directly at a future Galaxy match).  Complete rules and daily pool information can be found on the official site: http://www.HWCI.com/euro.

   Tids & Bits - there have been more than 33 million COVID-19 positive cases with over 593,000 related deaths in the U.S. (169 million cases and 3.5 million deaths worldwide); thanks to Operation Warp Speed, vaccine doses were ready to go much less than a year with over 1.8 billion doses already administered worldwide - but new variants have hit Brazil and India hard... 13 cities were initially chosen in 2014 (London for the Final Four and 2 per group splitting knockout stage matches) but the Eurostadium delay (and eventually cancellation) moved matches from Brussels (BEL) to London (ENG) (Group D matches and one Round of 16 match) in 2017 and with no guarantee of having fans, UEFA moved matches from Bilbao (ESP) to Seville (also ESP) and from Dublin (IRL) to St. Petersburg (RUS) (Group E) and London (one Round of 16 match which could feature ENG if they win Group D) in April... MKD is the worst-ranked team (#62) in the tourney while Serbia (#25) is the highest-ranked team that failed to qualify... all matches will either be 6 am, 9 am, or Noon PDT and all on ESPN/ESPN2/ABC (5 on network television for first time since Euro '08)... odds by PointsBet - ENG & FRA 5:1, BEL 6:1, GER & ESP 7.5:1, and POR 8:1; HUN and MKD are each 300:1... while MKD (well, didn't think I'd mention North Macedonia this much) won Path D, Hungary (ranked 31 of 55 in UEFA, upset #12 Iceland to win Path A), Slovakia (Path B), and Scotland (Path C) also won their Nations League playoffs to be the final 4 teams in the tournament... because HUN and SCO qualified later, ENG gets to host ENG-SCO and GER gets to host GER-HUN; however, there was a coin toss between DEN and RUS since both qualified in group play and DEN won the right to host RUS-DEN... hosts Baku, Azerbaijan (AZE) and Bucharest, Romania (ROU) didn't qualify (IRL also didn't qualify but lost their host duties in April anyway)... the Word or PDF form may state Apr 7th FIFA rankings but yesterday's rankings (May 27th) show the top 97 did not change... rosters should be finalized June 1... why no CONCACAF Gold Cup or CONMEBOL Copa Ámerica pool?  Several reasons, these usually overlap (this year, overlap with Euro as well and last year the Women's World Cup), nations or federations only sometimes take these tournaments seriously (e.g., USA has won 5 of the past 10 Cups but only once ('07) when it really mattered (e.g., spot in FIFA championships) and Copa America invites random teams such as USA, Qatar, or Japan for some reason), Gold Cup quality is typically low (go Montserrat or Saint Vincent & Grenadines!), and Copa is held randomly (Copa in USA in '16?  Copa in '15 and '16 then '19? this year maybe in USA - who knows what CONMEBOL is doing)... but our next "dead" soccer year is 2025 (no WC, WWC, or Euro) so if Copa or Gold Cup is a "real" and stable competition, maybe do a Special Edition pool then... An American will be an UEFA Champions League champion?  how awesome, watch it today (Saturday) at Noon PDT on CBS or Paramount+ with a 90-minute pregame show... let's not even talk about the still existing (according to three clubs) but failed 20-team Super League... or the record $2 million fine MLS levied against Inter Miami... or the Mexican chant that won't die.... happy thoughts, please...

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I only started watching the Euros thanks to this pool in 2012...
Scott