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HEATWAVE ACROSS EUROPE AS USA MAKES 8TH SEMIFINAL
Tom J and UncleChimps are first and among 8 still alive in pool

HOME, CA (smt) [DAY 21] -- Temperatures reached 90 F across France for the quarterfinals but only the Saturday matches saw the utilization of water breaks in the 30' and 75' as those matches were played earlier in the day.  The "real final" saw host 1A-France and 1F-USA battle in sold-out Paris with temps in the high 80s despite being played at night.  No water breaks were needed and USA once again scored in the first 13 minutes netting a direct free kick that went though lots of players without being touched into the back of the net in the 5'.  USA's Megan Rapinoe added another, the first woman to score 2 or more goals in back-to-back matches as USA held off FRA, 2-1 for their 10th straight WWC win.  After the first goal, USA relented and let FRA have possession but they couldn't do anything with it and of their 20 shots, just five were on goal.  Meanwhile, 1D-England scored for the fourth time in the first 15 minutes and beat 2A-Norway 3-0 to meet the USA in the semifinal. 

In the hot and humid Saturday matches, 1E-Netherlands got a couple of header goals in the second half to beat 1C-Italy 2-0 and reach their first semifinal.  5 of 10 NED goals have been in the 75' or later.  This match featured 29 fouls and 4 cards (all on ITA) and players unabashedly arguing right in the ref's face showing no respect at all.  In the last semifinal, 1B-Germany scored early but 2F-Sweden soon countered, snapping GER's 21-match streak without allowing a first half goal.  But worse, SWE scored early in the second half and held off the #2 team in the world, 2-1, to advance to their 4th semifinal.  The bonus was SWE joined ENG and NED in qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics leaving FRA and GER out.  Both NED and SWE were not the top seed in their Groups. 

Although there was criticism of the USA "bunkering down" putting five defenders protecting their GK, losing the possession battle 60/40, and getting just 19 minutes of playing time (akin to the African nations or NZL),  the coach Jill Ellis has shown an ability to change mid-match depending on the flow of the match, and with the high temps and 35 of the 45K cheering for FRA, the USA has shown they could win in different ways.  It'll be interesting with USAvENG since both teams have been scoring early to set the pace (e.g., allowing the USA to fall back after going 1-0 vFRA) and ENG is the #3 team in the world and coming off back-to-back 3-0 wins in the Knockout Round. 

We are down to the Final Four.  There are 8 possible outcomes and four entries can win the pool with four more alive to finish in the top 4 prize spots.  Tom J and UncleChimps are tied for 1st with 112 points with the latter not being able to finish higher than 2nd.  Futbol Fabone Dix (moi) jumped to 3rd (111) but can't finish higher than 3rd.  I'll be wondering how I didn't chose ITA>JAM (I picked a TIE).  Kds911 (6th-T, 108) which had been tied or in the lead since June 20th (Day 14) was eliminated when GER lost.  Soccerhorn (73) clinched last when GER lost.  No one has SWE winning it all but 28 have USA, 3 ENG, and 2 NED. 

Pazzo Americano (4th-T, 109), thanks to his potential USAvSWE final, can win the pool with a SWE champ or a a SWEvUSA final.  From the Pubs! (4th-T) wins the pool with a USA>NED final while Tom J wins the pool if ENG wins the WWC and THE GAMBLER 1 (8th-T, 107) wins the pool if NED wins the WWC.  UncleChimps, GetAdaMyPool (12th-T, 106), Futbol Fabone Dix, and Kona Coast Sliders 2 (31st-T, 94) are also battling for the top 4.

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 (48 Matches): 137 (2.85/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: 40-4-2 [2 Nil-Nil ties (8-ARGvJPN, 28-CHNvESP); 4-RSA:ESP 1:3, 5-AUS:ITA 1:2, 17-BRA:AUS 2:3, 48-GER:SWE 1:2]... Leading at Half: 23-3-2 [20 ties; 4-RSA:ESP (1:0) 1:3, 5- AUS:ITA (1:0) 1:2, 17-BRA:AUS (2:1) 2:3]... Shutout: 31 (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}, 45-NOR, 46-FRA, 47-ITA {2})... PK: 18/24 [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) 28' {2}, 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', 45-eng (s) 83' {3}]... 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: 17 [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), 46-Rapinoe 2 (46-USA) {2}]... 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): 39 [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 xOff+{PK-} 81', 48-GER Off={xPK=} 82']... 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): 18 [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, 46-FRAvUSA (20/5/0) L, 47-ITAvNED (21/9/2) W]... 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 (9/8/7/3) 28-11-3, AFC (5/3/-) 4-11-3, CAF (3/2/-) 2-9-0, Concacaf (3/2/1/1) 7-5-0, CONMEBOL (3/1/-) 3-5-2, OCEANIA (1/-) 0-3-0... Breaks: 5 [12-SWEvCHI (Lightning) 72' {40 min}, 47-ITAvNED (Heat) 30' {3:30}, 47-ITAvNED (Heat) 75' {2:30}, 48-GERvSWE (Heat) 32' {2:45}, 48-GERvSWE (Heat) 75' {2:00}]...

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

D ENG 5 5-0-0 15 ( 10 11) [ -1], E NED 5 5-0-0 15 (  7 10) [ -2], F USA 5 5-0-0 15 ( 21 22) [ -4], F SWE 5 4-1-0 12 (  6 10) [ -5]
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 5 B GER 5 4-1-0 12 (  8 10) [ -5]
 6 A FRA 5 4-1-0 12 (  5  9) [ -5]
 7 C ITA 5 3-2-0  9 (  5  9) [ -8]
 8 A NOR 5 2-2-1  7 (  0  7) [ -5]
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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]
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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 -  Another small error in the probabilities where it was pitting the wrong semifinalists together, but after re-running it, the same 8 entries are still alive... ENG has not allowed a goal in 371 minutes... fourth time ENG scored in first 15 minutes, this time the fastest goal of this tourney (2:07) - the others were all in the 14'... ENG has missed 2 PKs in a row... 1st time in 3 matches FRA was not 0-0 at half and 4th straight time FRA was scoreless at the half... USA has not lost when scoring first in WWC history... Megan Rapinoe (USA) is first woman to score back-to-back braces... USA has won 10 straight WWC matches and 15 straight without a loss (ties GER's 15 '03-'11)... Jill Ellis won her 100th match as USA coach... FRA falls in QF for 5th straight time ('13 EURO, '15 WWC, '16 Olympics,'17 EURO) ... USA had an uncharacteristically low 19 min of actual playing time... USA scored within the first 13 minutes all five matches (12', 11', 3', 7', now 5')... NED started 2nd half outshooting ITA 16-0... ITAvNED had 29 fouls (13 ITA, 16 NED) with ITA picking up 4 cards... NED have scored 5 of their 10 goals in 75' or later... GER allowed a 1st half goal for the first time in 22 WWC matches (coincidentally also against SWE in '03 Final)... SWE's goal snapped GER's 394 straight minutes without allowing a goal in WWC... SWE in Semis for first time since '11 and snapped a 24-year losing streak in major tournaments to GER... in 2015, there was just one PSO... teams scoring first had won 29 straight matches  before GER's loss (since AUS>BRA)...  heatwave in France over weekend and water breaks (cooling period) were authorized for the 30' and 75' and was utilized in the ITAvNED match... the threshold for extreme heat has been set at 32 C (89.6 F) on the wet-bulb globe temperature index which is calculated using a combination of temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover... USAMNT plays CUW, huh, let me look it up, oh, Curacao, in the QF in the tournament no one cares about, the Concacaf Gold Cup on Sunday... UEFA uses the WWC for qualification for the Olympics and the 3 teams who qualified for 2020 Tokyo were semifinalists Netherlands, Sweden, and England (actually, Great Britain will the team)...

On Thursday, 32 got ENG, on placement (29 had ENG as 1D in SF), Kds911 still in first with 102 pts while Soccerhorn is last (73), Skoal1 (25th-Tied, 92) lost NOR as champ (1st champ to go out in pool) and was only person eliminated; 23 are still alive and 11 can win the pool, GetAdaMyPool (4th-T, 100) and Tom J (4th-T) have best chance to win pool (20.3%) while GetAdaMyPool and Deutsche Mädchen (11th-T, 97) have best chance at money (35.9%), BitchBttrHaveMy$$$ is 8th-T (99) but is eliminated while Orange Country is 40th-T (82) and can still win 3rd, Spermicidal FC is 2nd-T (101) but can't win the pool while Sacre le Bleu and THE GAMBLER 1 are 20th-T (95) and can still win the pool...

On Friday, 35 got USA, on placement (all 35 had USA as 1F in SF), Kds911 still in first with 108 pts while Soccerhorn is last (73), 7 lost FRA as their champ; 16 are still alive and 8 can win the pool, Pazzo Americano (11th-T, 103) and Tom J (4th-T, 106) have best chance to win pool (21.9%) while UncleChimps (4th-T) has best chance at money (56.3%), BitchBttrHaveMy$$$ is 8th-T (105) but is eliminated while Kona Coast Sliders 2 is 29th-T (94) and can still win 3rd, Spermicidal FC is 2nd-T (107) but can't win the pool while THE GAMBLER 1 is 18th-T (101) and can still win the pool; 26 have both SF, 3 have 0...

On Saturday,  13 went 1-1 and 31 went 0-2 (11 NED, 2 SWE), on placement (9 had NED as 1E in SF, 2 had SWE as 2F in SF),  3 lost GER as their champ and 21 others in their Final, 2 lost ITA in the final, Tom J and UncleChimps are now in first (112 pts) with Futbol Fabone Dix 3rd (111); 8 are still alive and 4 can win the pool, Pazzo Americano (4th-T, 109) has the best chance to win pool (37.5%) while Tom J and UncleChimps have best chance at money (75.0%), Eggman is 6th-T (108) but is eliminated while Kona Coast Sliders 2 is 31st-T (94) and can still win 4th, UncleChimps is 1st-T but can't win the pool while THE GAMBLER 1 is 8th-T (107) and can still win the pool; 8 got 3 SFs while two will go 0-for-the-Final-Four, ITA loss eliminated Eggman and Soccerbix (Kds911 can't win 1st)... GER loss eliminated 6 and 3 from winning the pool...

Switched jerseys and USA still won, so no superstition this time!...
Scott