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TOP TEAMS BRUISED AND BATTERED, BUT ALL FAVORITES ADVANCE
Kds911 is first while 13 can still win Pool

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA (smt) -- All 6 group winners plus 2F-Sweden and 2A-Norway won giving the Quarterfinals a near unanimous European feel.  1B-Germany and 1D-England each won 3-0 in physical matches while 1A-France (after extra time), 1F-United States, and 1E-Netherlands held on to 2-1 wins.  NOR routed 2C-Australia in the penalty shootout 4-1 after a 1-1 tie after extra time and 1C-Italy survived a suddenly offensive-minded 3B-China PR team 2-0 and SWE got lucky as 2E-Canada missed a game-tying PK to prevail 1-0.  Cup favorites were woman-handled as GER was fouled 15 times, ENG 11, FRA 23, and the Americans 17 times.  GER was the only one to fight back fouling 3A-Nigeria 16 times.  GER will have two extra days rest on opponent SWE though.

3E-Cameroon displayed an all new look of unsportswomanlike conduct delaying kickoffs in protest, pushing referees, spitting and elbowing players, and having a coach that tolerated the behavior.  2B-Spain were lucky not to get more yellow cards including a blatant chokehold on Megan Rapinoe.  But the fact these top teams survived proves their resiliency that hopefully will take them far.  GER and NOR seem to be on the upswing while ENG, FRA, and the USA (their last 2 matches) are still trying to find their footing.  ITA, who finished last in their group in the 2017 UEFA Women's EUROs, has been the biggest surprise and gets to play a NED team, although the 2017 UEFA Women's EURO champs, struggled in the second half against 2D-Japan and needed a 90' PK to prevail. 

VAR has once again been the spotlight, that although only used in 23 of 44 matches, the ones they have been used in have been click-baits, with four in the CMRvENG match.  Anywhere from soft fouls in the box to unintentional handballs being flagged for PK with the use of VAR.  About 11 non-calls were reversed by VAR to be a PK for a total of 23 normal time PKs thus far.  The problem is that we don't know how the refs would've called it since they are deferring to VAR too much instead of calling the match normally.  The funny part is that VAR decisions have been very consistent (if you're an inch offside, it will always be called offsides even if you're host FRA).  I think it would be worse if they called an offsides on CMR but didn't call an offsides on FRA.  Applied rightly or wrongly, it has been consistent. 

This WWC is becoming the pseudo-UEFA Women's EURO 2019 as UEFA (Europe) has 7 of the 8 teams (go USA!) in the QF.  Asia+Australia (AFC) didn't get a team in the QF for the first time.   As European nations pour money into the woman's game, the tide is turning from North America and Asia as the powerhouses.  UEFA is strong and in the real 2017 UEFA EUROs, 16 teams played and only one group stage match was a blowout, and that was Scotland losing 6-0 but SCO still qualified for the WWC this year.

Kds911, despite missing both teams on Tuesday, is in first with 96 pts while Soccerhorn is last (73).  24 are still alive and 13 can win the pool. Skoal1 (10th-T, 92) has best chance to win pool (17.2%) while Deutsche Mädchen (12th-T, 91) has best chance at money (35.9%).  BitchBttrHaveMy$$$ is 8th-T (93) but is eliminated while Orange Country is 37th-T (82) and can still win 2nd.  Spermicidal FC is 2nd-T but can't win the pool while Hereforethecommentary, Sacre le Bleu, and THE GAMBLER 1 are 22nd-T (89) and can still win the pool.  

Mauihammy II (2nd-T, 95) got 7 of 8 QF teams while 7 got 4 of 8.  Just 20 entries had NED, 19 SWE, 16 NOR, and just 6 ITA in their QF.  With AUS and CAN finishing 2nd instead of 1st in their group, many people had their QF teams playing each other, which meant you were guaranteed one team but not both.  Just part of the charm of this pool since 1998.  All 6 teams entries picked to win the Cup are still alive.  Five did have AUS, 3 CAN, 2 JPN, and 1 BRA in the final though.  Oops. 

I'll be doing daily gameday updates on our Blog and re-posted on Twitter.  These updates will be every few days or so and will be emailed out.  Everyone can view their pick and bracket by clicking the "Pick" link in the standings next to their nickname or the picks page.  If you want to know who everyone is, the Who's Who in the Pool is now available.

   Ins 'n Outs -  Goals (44 Matches): 126 (2.86/match) <Own: 8 [2-NGAvNOR 37', 13-FRAvNOR 54', 15-KORvNGA 29', 17-BRAvAUS 66' (GW), 32-SCOvARG 79', 34-CMRvNZL 80', 35-SWEvUSA 50', 36-THAvCHI 48'], Subs: 12 [4-ESP 89', 10-NED 90'+2 (GW), 11-USA 85', 11-USA 90'+2 {2}, 12-SWE 90'+4, 18-ITA 71', 18-ITA {2} 81', 20-SCO 88', 29-JAM 49', 32-ARG 74', 33-NED 75' | 43-ITA 49'], 90'+: 8 [5-ITA +5 (GW), 10-NED +2 (GW), 11-USA +2, 12-SWE +4, 24-THA +1, 24-SWE +6 {2} {pk}, 31-ARG +4 (GT) {pk}, 34-CMR +5 (GW)], Extra Time: 1 [40-FRA 107' (GW)]>... Scoring First: 37-3-2 [2 Nil-Nil ties (8-ARGvJPN, 28-CHNvESP); 4-RSA:ESP 1:3, 5-AUS:ITA 1:2, 17-BRA:AUS 2:3]... Leading at Half: 21-3-2 [18 ties; 4-RSA:ESP (1:0) 1:3, 5- AUS:ITA (1:0) 1:2, 17-BRA:AUS (2:1) 2:3]... Shutout: 28 (1-KOR, 2-NGA, 3-CHN, 6-JAM, 8-ARG, 8-JPN, 9-CMR, 10-NZL, 11-THA, 12-CHI, 14-ESP, 15-KOR {2}, 17-RSA, 18-JAM {2}, 19-ARG {2}, 21-NZL {2}, 23-CHI {2}, 27-RSA {2}, 28-CHN {2}, 28-ESP {2}, 25-NGA {2}, 30-ITA, 31-JPN {2}, 35-SWE | 38-NGA {3}, 39-CMR {2}, 42-CAN, 43-CHN {3})... PK: 18/23 [4-ESP 69', 4-ESP 82' {2}, 5-aus (s) 22', 6-bra (s) 38', 7-ENG 14', 13-FRA 72', 17-BRA 27' {2}, 18-ITA 12' (retake), 19-eng (s) {2} 28', 20-JPN 37', 23-usa (wl) 81', 24-SWE 96'+, 25-FRA 79' (retake) {2}, 26-NOR 4', 26-NOR 50' {2}, 30-BRA 74' {3}, 32-ARG 90'+4 (retake), 36-chi (xb) 86' | 38-GER 27', 41-USA 7' {2}, 41-USA 75' {3}, 42-can (s) 69', 44-NED 90']... PSO: 1 (5/7) [37-NOR:AUS 3.5 (4:1 {GGGG:rsG})]... Red Card (GF/GA): 3 (0/3) [4-RSA 81' {2Y} (0/2), 25-NGA 75' {2Y} (0/1) | 37-AUS 104' {R} (0/0)]... Multiples: 16 [Renard 2 (1-FRA), Hermoso 2 (4-ESP), Bonansea 2 (5-ITA), Cristiane 3 (6-BRA), Morgan 5 (11-USA), Mewis 2 (11-USA), Lavelle 2 (11-USA), Girelli 3 (18-ITA), Galli 2 (18-ITA), Miedema 2 (22-NED), Lloyd 2 (23-USA), Kerr 4 (29-AUS), White 2 (31-ENG), Nchout 2 (34-CMR) | Rapinoe 2 (40-USA), Martens 2 (44-NED)]... Zero SOG (Shots): 4 [21-NZL (2), 23-CHI (1), 25-NGA (2), 28-CHN (1)]... Goal Line Tech: 2 [6-BRA 64' G, 16-CHN 42' NG]... VAR (-Reversal(Taken Away), +Reversal(Added), =Confirmed, xNo Call): 38 [1-FRA xOff+{g-} 27', 4-ESP xPK= 66', 4-ESP xPK+ 81', 5-ITA Off={xg} 9', 5-ITA xPK= 67', 5-ITA Off={xg} 81', 6-BRA PK= 37', 7-ENG xPK+ 12', 13-FRA xPK+ 70', 14-NGA xHB={g} 29', 17-AUS xPK= 21', 17-AUS Off-{g+} 66', 18-JAM xGK+{retake PK} 11', 19-ENG xPK+ 27', 23-USA xPK+ 79', 24-SWE xPK+ 90'+3, 25-FRA xPK+ 73', 25-NGA xGK+{retake PK} 76', 32-ARG xPK+ 86', 32-SCO xGK+{retake PK} 90'+2, 33-CAN PK- 1', 35-USA xOff={g} 50', 36-CHI xPK+ 83' | 37-AUS PK- 42', 37-AUS xPK= 88', 37-AUS RC= 104', 38-GER xOff={g} 20', 38-GER xPK+ 25', 39-ENG Off-{g} 45'+4, 39-CMR xOff-{g-} 48', 39-ENG xPK= 76', 39-CMR RC-{Y} 90'+8, 40-FRA xF+{g-} 23', 40-BRA Off-{g} 63', 40-BRA Off={xg} 87', 41-USA PK= 71', 42-CAN xPK+ 66', 42-SWE Off-{PK-} 81')... 63%+ Poss: 11 [4-ESPvRSA (72) W, 9-CANvCMR (65) W, 10-NEDvNZL (69) W, 11-USAvTHA (75) W, 12-SWEvCHI (64) W, 19-ENGvARG (64) W, 21-CANvNZL (70) W, 23-USAvCHI (68), 24-SWEvTHA (66) W, 25-FRAvNGA (69) W | 39-ENGvCMR (63) W]... 20+ Shots (S/SOG/G): 16 [1-FRAvKOR (21/8/4) W, 4-ESPvRSA (25/12/3) W, 11-USAvTHA (39/21/13) W, 12-SWEvCHI (25/7/2) W, 21-CANvNZL (22/6/2) W, 23-USAvCHI (26/9/3) {2} W, 24-SWEvTHA (34/15/5) {2} W, 25-FRAvNGA (22/4/1) {2} W, 26-KORvNOR (23/7/1) L, 27-GERvRSA (23/12/4) W, 28-ESPvCHN (24/9/0) {2} D, 34-CMRvNZL (22/7/2) W, 36-CHIvTHA (29/7/1{1 og}) W | 37-NORvAUS (27/8/1) D, 37-AUSvNOR (20/4/1) D, 43-CHNvITA (20/5/0) L]... 7'+ Added Time (Clock): 6 [25-NGAvFRA 8' (99:58) {2H}, 35-SWEvUSA 7' (97:02) {2H}, 36-THAvCHI 7' (97:42) {2H} | 39-ENGvCMR 7' (99:47) {2H}, 41-ESPvUSA 7' (98:08) {2H}, 42-SWEvCAN 7' (98:51) {2H}]    Regions (Tot/R16/QF/SF/F/C): UEFA (9/8/7) 25-7-3, AFC (5/3/-) 4-11-3, CAF (3/2/-) 2-9-0, Concacaf (3/2/1) 6-5-0, CONMEBOL (3/1/-) 3-5-2, OCEANIA (1/-) 0-3-0... Breaks: 1 [12-SWEvCHI (Lightning) 72' {40 min}]...

   Standings (9-24) # W-L-D Pts (GD GF) [Fair Play]: 

A FRA 4 4-0-0 12 (  7  9) [ -3], A NOR 4 2-1-1  7 (  3  7) [ -4], B GER 4 4-0-0 12 (  9  9) [ -5], C ITA 4 3-1-0  9 (  7  9) [ -4], D ENG 4 4-0-0 12 (  7  8) [ -1], E NED 4 4-0-0 12 (  5  8) [ -2], F USA 4 4-0-0 12 ( 19 20) [ -4], F SWE 4 3-1-0  9 (  5  8) [ -4]
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 9 C AUS 4 2-1-1  7 (  3  9) [ -6]
10 C BRA 4 2-2-0  6 (  2  7) [-11]
11 E CAN 4 2-2-0  6 (  1  4) [ -3]
12 B ESP 4 1-2-1  4 (  0  4) [ -2]
13 D JPN 4 1-2-1  4 ( -1  3) [ -5]
14 B CHN 4 1-2-1  4 ( -1  1) [ -5]
15 E CMR 4 1-3-0  3 ( -5  3) [ -8]
16 A NGA 4 1-3-0  3 ( -5  2) [-11]
---
17 F CHI 3 1-2-0  3 ( -3  2) [ -5], 18 D ARG 3 0-1-2  2 ( -1  3) [ -3], 19 D SCO 3 0-2-1  1 ( -2  5) [ -6], 20 E NZL 3 0-3-0  0 ( -4  1) [ -1], 21 A KOR 3 0-3-0  0 ( -7  1) [ -7], 22 B RSA 3 0-3-0  0 ( -7  1) [ -9], 23 C JAM 3 0-3-0  0 (-11  1) [ -4], 24 F THA 3 0-3-0  0 (-19  1) [ -5]

   Bits 'n Bobs -  Was using old WC18 points system (5-7-9-14) instead of WWC19 system (4-6-8-12) after first 2 Qtrs, so had to rerun but no changes to result (just max points and possible highest placement)... None of the R16 matches have sold out but I'm sure the ESPvUSA and FRAvBRA matches will eventually... KFPM - Kicks from the Penalty Mark is I guess the new term for PKs in the Penalty Shootout... the IFAB approved a request from FIFA to temporarily suspend automatically issuing a yellow card if the GK comes off her line during a PK but only during the PSO (or KFPM), not during "normal time"; can you imagine a GK red-carded if she accidentally comes off her line twice when facing 5 KFPMs?; also, apparently this new rule (one foot on/above vs two and using VAR to enforce) only took effect June 1 (notified in March) so the WWC was unfortunately, a testing ground... GER has not allowed a 1st half goal in 21 straight WWC matches ('03 Final vSWE)... NGA was shutout for the 3rd time... GER has made Quarters all 8 times... GER has not allowed a goal yet (372 straight minutes overall in WWC)... GER and NGA combined for 31 fouls (16 GER, 15 NGA)... AUS's Alanna Kennedy's straight red card in 104' was the 1st of this tourney and just 3rd red card overall... AUS's Sam Kerr had a rough night, missing wide left on an open chance in the 1', was ready to take a PK but VAR reversed the call in the 42', was offsides on her goal in the 59', and missed badly high and wide right on her KFPM (the new PSO)... both teams (AUS 20, NOR 27) had 20+ shots, the first time in this tourney... Caroline Graham Hansen (NOR) had 11 shots with 5 on target...ENG have scored in 10 straight WWC matches... #3 ENG vs #46 CMR; half ended at 53:04 (initial 4' added), match ended at 99:47 (initial 7' added)... ENG is 6-for-6 in reaching Quarters... third time ENG scored in first 15'... ENG had just 7 shots and 3 on target were goals... CMR delayed the game with unsportswomanlike actions by delaying the kick after ENG's 2nd goal (49:40 to 52:13) (and spit on a player), and after VAR overruled a CMR goal (49:04 to 51:30) plus a last minute studs to ankle tackle in 76' and 90'+8 that were unnecessary and then having CMR players yelling near the hurt player was unprofessional... BRA had 23 fouls and 4 yellow cards... Christiane (BRA) had 4 shots (3 on target) before getting injured and taken off in the 96'... FRA has had 0 shots on goal in the first half the past two matches... FRA's 23' goal was called back for a rather intricate reason as it was allegedly deemed the ball was headed out of the GK's hand, even if GK didn't secure it yet... ESP out-fouled USA 17-5... ESP took 65 shots in first 3 matches but only 5 vUSA... USA only had 3 shots on goal and 2 were PKs (34 in first 3 matches)... USA has won a 9 straight WWC matches and 14 straight without a loss (trails GER's 15 '03-'11)... ESP is first to score against USA (broke 317 minutes overall WWC streak)... SWE makes its 4th QF... CAN defender scissor-swiped SWE player in the box (rather dangerous) in 81' for a PK but there was an offsides before that (VAR confirmed) <--this reason why obvious offsides (this wasn't, it was very close) should be flagged so that a further dangerous play doesn't happen... Alex Morgan (USA) was fouled 5 times... CHN had more shots on goal in this match (5) than in the previous three (4) after being first team to advance to R16 scoring just one goal... ITA makes its first QF since '91 (when first knockout round was QF) and NED makes its first ever QF... NED have scored 4 of their 8 goals in 75' or later... in 2015, there was just one PSO... television ratings have been excellent around the world... just 11 of 36 group stage matches were "sold out" but this is also the first WWC without double-headers (2 games-for-1) so a harder ask of casual fans... teams scoring first have won the last 26 matches (since AUS>BRA)... ESP had 3 days more rest than the USA (ESP last match 6/17, USA 6/20) and CHN had 3 more than NED (6/17, 6/20) but both lost... Group C will claim 3 teams in the top 10 as AUS finished 9th and BRA 10th (ITA TBD)...

On Saturday, 16 went 2-0 (16 NOR, 44 GER) while 28 went 1-1, on placement (13 had NOR as 2A in QF, all 44 had GER as 1B in QF), Kds911 in first with 80 pts while Soccerhorn is last (61), 5 lost AUS as their finalist, 36 are still alive and 30 can win pool, Skoal1 has best chance to win pool (18.4%) while UncleChimps has best chance at money (32.5%), BigRedMessi is 19th-Tied (74) but is eliminated while GoBigBlue is 41st-T (66) but can still finish 4th, BitchBttrHaveMy$$$ is 6th-T (77) but can't win pool but All North America is 37th-T (68) and can still win pool...oon Sunday, 39 went 2-0 (39 ENG, 44 FRA) while 5 went 1-1, on placement (38 had ENG as 1D in QF, 43 had FRA as 1A in QF), 15 have all 4 QF teams so far while 4 have 2 of 4, Kds911 in first with 88 pts while Soccerhorn is last (69), 3 lost BRA as semifinalist and Soccerhorn lost CMR in QF; 33 are still alive and 26 can win the pool, Skoal1 has best chance to win pool (18.8%) while Kona Coast Sliders 1 has best chance at money (35.9%), BigRedMessi is 18th-Tied (82) but is eliminated while All North America is 41st-T (72) and can still win pool, BitchBttrHaveMy$$$ is 6th-T (85) but can't win pool... on Monday, 19 went 2-0 (44 USA, 19 SWE) while 25 went 1-1, on placement (all 44 had USA as 1F in QF, all 19 had SWE as 2F in QF), 6 have all 6 QF teams so far while 3 have just 3, Kds911 in first with 96 pts while Soccerhorn is last (73), 13 lost CAN as semifinalist; 29 are still alive and 18 can win the pool, Pazzo Americano has best chance to win pool (20.5%) while Eleanor Abernathy and Kds911 has best chance at money (38.9%), GOOLUSA is 4th-Tied (91) but is eliminated while Orange Country is 39th-T (78) and can still win 2nd, Spermicidal FC is 2nd (95) but can't win the pool while Hereforethecommentary is 35th-T (81) and can still win the pool... on Tuesday, 3 went 2-0 (6 ITA, 20 NED) while 21 went 0-2, on placement (Mauihammy II (2nd-Tied, 95) had ITA as 1C in QF, 12 had NED as 1E in QF), Mauihammy II got 7 of 8 QF teams while 7 got 4 of 8, Kds911 in first with 96 pts while Soccerhorn is last (73), 14 lost JPN as semifinalist; 24 are still alive and 13 can win the pool, Skoal1 (10th-T, 92) has best chance to win pool (17.2%) while Deutsche Mädchen (12th-T, 91) has best chance at money (35.9%), BitchBttrHaveMy$$$ is 8th-T (93) but is eliminated while Orange Country is 37th-T (82) and can still win 2nd, Spermicidal FC is 2nd-T but can't win the pool while Hereforethecommentary, Sacre le Bleu, and THE GAMBLER 1 are 22nd-T (89) and can still win the pool... BENSANCHO (18th-T, 90) and BitchBttrHaveMy$$$ were eliminated with CHN's loss (German Engineering (30th-T, 86) and Fotografo il Migliore (26th-T, 88) can't win the pool) and then 3 more were eliminated with JPN's loss (3 more can't win the pool).

Watching FRA-BRA with 9-year old boy Cheyanne who wants to play for CAN in 2026...
Scott