Gianni Infantino at the 2018 World Cup held in Russia. Infantino was re-elected as FIFA president after running unopposed. He will serve until 2023. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Europe )
Infantino’s Re-Election Shows Little Has Changed With FIFA
On Wednesday, Gianni Infantino was re-elected as FIFA president for a second term. He won the bid with no opposition with the FIFA council opting to back him by acclamation. Infantino had this to say as leader of the organization:
…”a new FIFA, an organisation that is synonymous with credibility, confidence, integrity.”
– Infantino during his speech to FIFA’s 69th Congress on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.
Transparency and Voting
A link to FIFA’s key achievements between 2016 and 2019 can be found here. Outside of FIFA tooting their own horn, it is clear little has changed with FIFA from five years ago. Let’s start with this very election.
FIFA, claiming to be “more transparent”, did not even hold a vote for Infantino’s election. Sure, no one ran against him (why not?), but given recent events, holding a vote for this election would seem to be prudent to help build credibility. According to the New York Times (potential paywall), a statute was enacted just this week that allowed for the vote to be bypassed. Pretty convenient for a “transparent and credible” organization.
Speaking of votes, the Congress did test their voting and came up with this gem (per Rob Harris).
FIFA Congress voting test.
6 football associations don’t know Women’s World Cup is in France. It opens in Paris on Friday. And this FIFA Congress is in Paris pic.twitter.com/zsGLsIAxYM
Not only did the voting test work improperly for some members (210 members voted, yet only 177 votes were deemed valid), 6 did not even know that this year’s Women’s World Cup was taking place in France. It begins on Friday. One could surmise this is a step towards transparency by even showing this blunder, but it does not really make FIFA look any better.
Alternative Facts
Here is another quote from Infantino’s address to Congress:
“This organization went from being toxic, almost criminal to what it should be — an organization that develops football, an organization that cares about football,” Infantino said. “We have transformed it into a new FIFA — an organization which is synonymous with credibility, trust, integrity, equality, human rights.”
By “almost criminal” does he mean completely corrupt? Surely, he does. And doesn’t being corrupt mean being criminal? There’s no almost about it.
The part about being “an organization that cares about football” is true. Especially when it comes to money. According to FIFA’s own press release, the reserves increased to $2.745 billion while a new record in revenue was reached in 2018 with $6.421 billion as a result of the 2018 World Cup. If my assets increased by 50% over the previous cycle, I’d definitely care about the sport too.
The last part – the one about synonymity with credibility, trust, integrity, equality, and human rights – is a lot to unpack. FIFA hardly evokes positive thoughts and certainly none of the ones referenced by Infantino will be at the top of the list. One only needs to read through the Wikipedia entry on the 2015 Corruption Case to see how wrong that statement is.
We have now established that credibility, trust, and integrity are, in fact, not synonymous with FIFA. Let’s move onto equality and human rights.
Equality
What is FIFA’s definition of equality? The “unprecedented” 20% of FIFA committee members now being women? The requirement that there must be at least 1 woman per confederation on the FIFA Council? Or what about the five games being held in Paris, yet the advertisement shown below is from September 2018 for the men’s French national team?
Latest on the invisible Women’s World Cup in Paris. Metro – no @FIFAWWC signs/advertising spotted. But advertising for France men’s games in September pic.twitter.com/7xCdjc3y1e
The 2019 Women’s World Cup features $30 million in prize money distributed to the nations, which is double the amount paid in 2015. $400 million was distributed at the 2018 World Cup.
Hegerberg’s fight is just one of several around the world for equal pay between the men’s and women’s teams including the United States and Australia.
In fairness to FIFA, the revenues generated from the men’s World Cup far exceed the women’s World Cup, which leads to the observed disparity in prize money. It makes sense from an overall revenue standpoint that men would get paid more. Moreover, the relatively recent introduction of the women’s tournament plays a part in the smaller revenues (2019 will be only the 8th edition of the Women’s World Cup).
But…
Given the surging popularity and growth of the women’s game in the last decade, it would make sense for FIFA to provide more money. In fact, given FIFA’s strong desire to acquire money, they ought to grow the women’s game faster to reap higher revenues sooner.
Furthermore, increasing the prize pool to draw ought to bring more women into the sport with a higher wage. Higher prizes equals more competition, in turn leading to higher quality matches. This results in higher revenues/prize money and (hopefully) a virtuous cycle that leads to equality between the men’s and women’s games.
Human Rights
Finally, we reach the human rights aspect. Minky Worden has a Twitter thread linking articles detailing the failed attempt to expand the 2022 World Cup beyond Qatar’s borders.
Why on earth did FIFA want to expand the 2022 World Cup from 32 to 48 teams given the extensive human rights issues? One can probably figure out the billion$ of rea$on$ to ignore all the crimes.
Lionel Messi leads Argentina into the 2018 World Cup. How will the magician continue his majestic ways this summer? (Paul Gilham/Getty Images South America)
10 Predictions For The 2018 World Cup Group Stage
The FIFA World Cup begins on Thursday, June 14 when Russia takes on Saudi Arabia in Moscow to open the month long tournament. We will take a stab at some predictions for the tournament starting with the group stage.
Below, we will make a prediction for each of the eight groups (A to H) and then also make two general predictions for the group stage.
1. (Group A) Uruguay will win all three matches – The first group is a favorable draw for Uruguay against Russia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Uruguay is favored to win the group, but this calls for them to sweep their way to nine points. The biggest threats are Russia and Egypt who will presumably be battling for second.
For Uruguay, they will have to deal with combination of Mohamed Salah and the awesome story of EssamEl-Hadary, the 45 year old goalkeeper for Egypt. Salah is nursing an injury going into opening game for the Egyptians, which is against Uruguay. Even without Salah, the challenge is going to be difficult. Then there is Russia playing at home which will give them a boost. Still, Uruguay is in position to not only win Group A, but win all three matches.
2. (Group B) Spain defeats Portugal and wins Group B – Barring a 2014-like collapse, this group is down to Spain and Portugal. No offense to Morocco and Iran for not giving them a chance, but they were dealt a horrendous draw.
This game is on match day one, which means the winner of this game will have one foot in the knockout stage. This matchup between the two neighboring countries will go to Spain as they roll into the tournament looking to avenge the disastrous campaign four years ago.
3. (Group C) France does not win the group – This French team is getting a lot of hype to win the World Cup. They have the talent with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, and N’Golo Kante among many others.
What is worrying about France is their desire and ability to finish games. The Euro 2016 Final against Portugal is exhibit A while poor results against Colombia (lost 3-2 after holding a 2-0 lead) and the United States have not looked good. The latter was particularly striking as the French towered over a young squad and yet only came away with a 1-1 draw.
Les Bleus take on Australia, Peru, and Denmark in this group, which seems like it would be favorable to them winning the group. However, Denmark will be a tough test and the longer France lets Australia and Peru hang around, the more confidence the underdogs get.
France can surely quell the unease with statement wins against all three, but there is something about this team that lingers. We still think France reaches the knockout stages in the end (and probably makes a deep run), but we predict they do not win the group.
4. (Group D) Group D will feature the most entertaining matches – Lionel Messi and Argentina lead this group, but that is not the only reason for this prediction. Nigeria has an odd way of testing Argentina. The Super Eagles have split the last four games against them and all four games featured at least four goals including the 2014 World Cup match Argentina won 3-2.
Then there is Iceland. Iceland has given up at least two goals in their last four international friendlies. This team can also score goals to provide some more excitement including at the end of games (see Euro 2016 against Austria).
Croatia, who got hammered 3-1 against both Brazil and Mexico at the 2014 World Cup, has two players embroiled in a scandal going into the 2018 Finals. One of them is Luka Modric, a man heavily relied upon for the team. Will that negatively affect their play? We shall see, but overall, this group should be fun to watch each match day.
5. (Group E) Costa Rica will get back to the Knockout Stages – Now this would be a surprise. Then again, what they did in 2014 was also a surprise. The Ticos not only made the knockout stages four years ago, but they won Group D by defeating both Uruguay and Italy while drawing with England.
This year features a group of Brazil, Switzerland, and Serbia. Getting past Brazil will be tough, but the Ticos can get past the duo of Switzerland and Serbia. Keylor Navas will be in the net, but also returning are the four players who scored for Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup: Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell, Oscar Duarte, and Marcos Urena.
This group already knows how to defy the expectations placed upon them. They also know how to handle the pressure of being at the World Cup. We like Costa Rica to get past the group stage once again.
6. (Group F) Germany drops a point – The reigning World Cup winners tower over this group. Mexico, Sweden, and South Korea will be fighting for second. They key for all three is if they can steal a point (or more) from the Germans. On paper, this seems like a stretch. However, if we go back to 1998, only once has Germany won all three games in the group stage. That came in 2006 when they hosted the World Cup. Below is a look back at each game Germany has failed to win at the World Cup since 1998.
2014 – 2-2 draw vs Ghana
2010 – 0-1 loss vs Serbia
2006 – Won all three games; WC played in Germany
2002 – 1-1 draw vs Republic of Ireland
1998 – 2-2 draw vs Yugoslavia
Another reason for this prediction is the lackluster performances from Germany leading up to the World Cup. They survived 2-1 against Saudi Arabia, lost 2-1 to Austria, lost 1-0 to Brazil, and drew 1-1 with Spain. Germany has their weird way of turning it on once they hit the field, but not without a bump in the road. Expect one of those in Group F though the Germans will still cruise into the knockout stages.
7. (Group G) Belgium score at least 10 goals – We really find Belgium’s Group G matchups favorable, aside from the England game. Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, and Kevin De Bruyne should create plenty of chances against Tunisia and especially Panama.
This team looks ready to pour in the goals and they finish the group stage against England with the winner of the game most likely to take top billing. A couple goals against England could put this prediction over the top.
8. (Group H) Senegal Finishes Top Two – This group features Poland, Colombia, and Japan so the work is cut out for Senegal to advance. It is crucial they take points from Poland and Colombia (a win against either and a win against Japan should suffice). Sadio Mane will be the focus for them as the Liverpool man is coming of a 20 goal campaign.
Outside of Mane, they have the talent to compete and move past the group stage. Kalidou Koulibaly will be worth keeping on eye on as well. The last game is against Colombia is likely decide which team goes through and which team goes home.
9. (General Prediction) The group stage will see at least 125 goals scored – Let’s be honest: We want to see goals. And a lot of them. That does not mean a 0-0 contest is boring or not entertaining. They most certainly can be, but we are going based on what has historically happened.
Since the World Cup expanded in 1998, there has been an average of 122 goals scored in the group stage. Three have featured more than 125 goals and we look for the same. This is not guaranteed though. Back in 2010, only 101 goals were scored in the group stage thanks to an abnormally low 25 goals on match day one. 2014 saw that total nearly double to 49 for match day one. 2014 was also the highest scoring group stage at 136 since 1998. Let’s hope this continues at the 2018 World Cup.
10. (General Prediction) Asia and Africa have a 2014 repeat – Let’s clarify what we mean here. In 2014, Africa had two teams to make the knockout stages while Asian teams were shutout. In fact, no Asian team recorded a win in 2014. We are predicting that two teams from Africa will go to the Round of 16 while no Asian team will advance to that point.
Let’s start with Africa: We have already called for Senegal to make the knockout stages, but there are other opportunities for the continent. Egypt could slip through Group A with Salah; Morocco has a tough Group B draw; Nigeria might also sneak through if results against Iceland and Croatia break their way; Tunisia faces a daunting task against Belgium and England.
That gives Africa three plausible knockout choices in Egypt, Nigeria, and Senegal. The same cannot be said for Asia. Saudi Arabia is in group A, but considered a serious longshot. Iran is in Group B with Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. Australia has a chance though they need results against European sides France and Denmark. They also face Peru, which will not be easy.
South Korea is in Group F with Germany, Mexico, and Sweden. With the Germans, that realistically leaves one spot open and the Koreans will need results from the other two games. Japan faces a similar dilemma against Poland, Colombia, and Senegal. All five Asian sides are considered the longest shot in their respective group to win.
We expect a good fight from all five Asian countries. However, given their draws, this looks like another World Cup without an Asian side making the last 16.
That concludes our 10 predictions for the 2018 World Cup Group stage. Enjoy the start of the 2018 World Cup!
We are just two weeks away from the start of Euro 2016 and the group stage schedule is known along with the composition of the groups. Below are the groups as well as the schedule for each game in that group. Game times are Eastern Standard Time for the United States. The stadium and location of the stadia are also noted below.
Also provided are the daily schedules of the games that can be found near the bottom of this post. TV channels will be provided when they are known. Below the group standings and schedules are the daily schedules
Group A
Team
Played
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
France (A)
3
2
1
0
4
1
3
7
Switzerland (A)
3
1
2
0
2
1
1
5
Albania (Elim)
3
1
0
2
1
3
-2
3
Romania (Elim)
3
0
1
2
2
4
-2
1
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
10-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
France
2:1
Romania
ESPN2
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
11-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Albania
0:1
Switzerland
ESPN
Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Lens
15-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Romania
1:1
Switzerland
ESPN
Parc des Princes
Paris
15-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
France
2:0
Albania
ESPN
Stade Velodrome
Marseille
19-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Switzerland
0:0
France
ESPN
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Lille
19-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Romania
0:1
Albania
ESPN2
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon
Group B
Team
Played
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Wales (A)
3
2
0
1
6
3
3
6
England (A)
3
1
2
0
3
2
1
5
Slovakia (A)
3
1
1
1
3
3
0
4
Russia (Elim)
3
0
1
2
2
6
-4
1
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
11-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Wales
2:1
Slovakia
ESPN
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
11-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
England
1:1
Russia
ESPN
Stade Velodrome
Marseille
15-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Russia
1:2
Slovakia
ESPN
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Lille
16-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
England
2:1
Wales
ESPN
Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Lens
20-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Slovakia
0:0
England
ESPN
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Saint-Etienne
20-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Russia
0:3
Wales
ESPN2
Stade Municipal
Toulouse
Group C
Team
Played
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Germany (A)
3
2
1
0
3
0
3
7
Poland (A)
3
2
1
0
2
0
2
7
Northern
Ireland (A)
3
1
0
2
2
2
0
3
Ukraine (Elim)
3
0
0
3
0
5
-5
0
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
12-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Poland
1:0
N Ireland
ESPN
Allianz Riviera
Nice
12-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Germany
2:0
Ukraine
ESPN
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Lille
16-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Ukraine
0:2
N Ireland
ESPN
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon
16-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Germany
0:0
Poland
ESPN
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
21-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
N Ireland
0:1
Germany
ESPN
Parc des Princes
Paris
21-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Ukraine
0:1
Poland
ESPN2
Stade Velodrome
Marseille
Group D
Team
Played
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Croatia (A)
3
2
1
0
5
3
2
7
Spain (A)
3
2
0
1
5
2
3
6
Turkey (Elim)
3
1
0
2
2
4
-2
3
Czech Republic (Elim)
3
0
1
2
2
5
-3
1
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
12-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Turkey
0:1
Croatia
ESPN
Parc des Princes
Paris
13-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Spain
1:0
Czech Rep.
ESPN
Stade Municipal
Toulouse
17-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Czech Rep.
2:2
Croatia
ESPN
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Saint-Etienne
17-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Spain
3:0
Turkey
ESPN
Allianz Riviera
Nice
21-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Croatia
2:1
Spain
ESPN
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
21-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Czech Rep.
0:2
Turkey
ESPN2
Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Lens
Group E
Team
Played
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Italy (A)
3
2
0
1
3
1
2
6
Belgium (A)
3
2
0
1
4
2
2
6
Rep. of Ireland (A)
3
1
1
1
2
4
-2
4
Sweden (Elim)
3
0
1
2
1
3
-2
1
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
13-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Rep. Ireland
1:1
Sweden
ESPN
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
13-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Belgium
2:0
Italy
ESPN
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon
17-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Italy
1:0
Sweden
ESPN
Stadium Municipal
Toulouse
18-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Belgium
3:0
Rep. Ireland
ESPN
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
22-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Italy
0:1
Rep. Ireland
ESPN
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Lille
22-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Sweden
0:1
Belgium
ESPN2
Allianz Riviera
Nice
Group F
Team
Played
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Hungary (A)
3
1
2
0
6
4
2
5
Iceland (A)
3
1
2
0
4
3
1
5
Portugal (A)
3
0
3
0
4
4
0
3
Austria (Elim)
3
0
1
1
1
4
-3
1
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
14-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Austria
0:2
Hungary
ESPN
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
14-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Portugal
1:1
Iceland
ESPN
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Saint-Etienne
18-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Iceland
1:1
Hungary
ESPN
Stade Velodrome
Marseille
18-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Portugal
0:0
Austria
ESPN
Parc des Princes
Paris
22-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Hungary
3:3
Portugal
ESPN
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon
22-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Iceland
2:1
Austria
ESPN2
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
June 10 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
10-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
France
2:1
Romania
ESPN2
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
Group A
June 11 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
11-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Albania
0:1
Switzerland
ESPN
Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Lens
Group A
11-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Wales
2:1
Slovakia
ESPN
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Group B
11-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
England
1:1
Russia
ESPN
Stade Velodrome
Marseille
Group B
June 12 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
12-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Turkey
0:1
Croatia
ESPN
Parc des Princes
Paris
Group D
12-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Poland
1:0
N Ireland
ESPN
Allianz Riviera
Nice
Group C
12-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Germany
2:0
Ukraine
ESPN
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Lille
Group C
June 13 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
13-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Spain
1:0
Czech Rep.
ESPN
Stade Municipal
Toulouse
Group D
13-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Rep. Ireland
1:1
Sweden
ESPN
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
Group E
13-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Belgium
0:2
Italy
ESPN
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon
Group E
June 14 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
14-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Austria
0:2
Hungary
ESPN
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Group F
14-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Portugal
1:1
Iceland
ESPN
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Saint-Etienne
Group F
June 15 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
15-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Russia
1:2
Slovakia
ESPN
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Lille
Group B
15-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Romania
1:1
Switzerland
ESPN
Parc des Princes
Paris
Group A
15-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
France
2:0
Albania
ESPN
Stade Velodrome
Marseille
Group A
June 16 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
16-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
England
2:1
Wales
ESPN
Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Lens
Group B
16-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Ukraine
0:2
N Ireland
ESPN
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon
Group C
16-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Germany
0:0
Poland
ESPN
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
Group C
June 17 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
17-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Italy
1:0
Sweden
ESPN
Stadium Municipal
Toulouse
Group E
17-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Czech Rep.
2:2
Croatia
ESPN
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Saint-Etienne
Group D
17-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Spain
3:0
Turkey
ESPN
Allianz Riviera
Nice
Group D
June 18 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
18-Jun-2016
9:00 AM
Belgium
3:0
Rep. Ireland
ESPN
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Group E
18-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Iceland
1:1
Hungary
ESPN
Stade Velodrome
Marseille
Group F
18-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Portugal
0:0
Austria
ESPN
Parc des Princes
Paris
Group F
June 19 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
19-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Switzerland
0:0
France
ESPN
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Lille
Group A
19-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Romania
0:1
Albania
ESPN2
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon
Group A
June 20 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
20-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Slovakia
0:0
England
ESPN
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Saint-Etienne
Group B
20-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Russia
0:3
Wales
ESPN2
Stade Municipal
Toulouse
Group B
June 21 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
21-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
N Ireland
0:1
Germany
ESPN
Parc des Princes
Paris
Group C
21-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Ukraine
0:1
Poland
ESPN2
Stade Velodrome
Marseille
Group C
21-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Croatia
2:1
Spain
ESPN
Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Group D
21-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Czech Rep.
0:2
Turkey
ESPN2
Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Lens
Group D
June 22 Schedule
Date
Time (EST)
Team #1
Score
Team #2
TV
Stadium
Location
Group
22-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Hungary
3:3
Portugal
ESPN
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon
Group F
22-Jun-2016
12:00 PM
Iceland
2:1
Austria
ESPN2
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
Group F
22-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Italy
0:1
Rep. Ireland
ESPN
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Lille
Group E
22-Jun-2016
3:00 PM
Sweden
0:1
Belgium
ESPN2
Allianz Riviera
Nice
Group E
Knockout Stages
Below is the schedule for each of the knockout stages starting with the Round of 16 followed by the Quarter-finals, Semi-finals, and Final. The schedules will be updated as the participants are known.
The Remaining Schedules For Leicester City And Tottenham
The English Premier League is starting to come to end, but how much drama will there be between the two presumptive title chasers of Leicester City and Tottenham? We will find out, but let’s take a closer look at their respective schedules.
First, let’s see how the table shapes up as of the games completed on Sunday, March 20, 2016:
Leicester City has a five point lead with seven games to play while Arsenal sits 11 points off lead in third with an extra game in hand. For the purposes of this article, we will only focus on Leicester City and Tottenham. Below are the schedules for each team.
Leicester and Tottenham have pretty similar schedules left as they share common opponents of Southampton, Manchester United, and Chelsea. They both have to face a relegation positioned team away from home with Leicester taking on Sunderland and Tottenham facing Newcastle. The average current position of the teams remaining for the Foxes is 11th while Tottenham is 10th.
It is also worth mentioning that the Premier League will be the only focus as Leicester City did not qualify for Europe last season and Tottenham was knocked out of the Europa League in the Round of 16. Neither team remains in the FA Cup with the Spurs defeating Leicester City in the Third Round and Crystal Palace knocking off Tottenham in the Fifth Round.
Leicester City’s magic point total is 83 points as of right now, which assumes Tottenham wins their final seven games to reach 82 points and a finish on 82 points would be of no help to the Foxes as they have an inferior goal differential. Will Tottenham win all of their remaining seven games? It is hard to say, but probably not given the Premier League’s way of giving us twists and turns. (The same goes for Leicester City as well).
All Leicester, or any team winning a league, has to do is win the games in front of them and not worry about what they cannot control (Tottenham’s results). If the Foxes take care of their business, they will be lifting the Premier League trophy and go down as one of the greatest stories in Football history.
The artificial turf did not stop the US Women’s National Team from winning the 2015 Women’s World Cup. ( Ronald Martinez/Getty Images North America)
What Hurt the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
By most measures, the 2015 Women’s World Cup was an astounding success. Ratings were up for television and there was plenty of exciting action. Nearly every game in the knockout stage was competitive and had some kind of exciting finish whether it was a late goal or a close game throughout. Some teams crashed out earlier than expected (Canada) while others upset their way deep into the tournament (China and England).
However, despite all the positives there were several instances where the Women’s World Cup failed to live up to expectations or was downright ridiculous. Those examples will be listed below.
1. The Referees
For the most part, many people were enthralled by the product on the field between whichever two teams were playing (except this guy). There was one on-field part of the game that really took away from the excellent contests and that was the refereeing, or lack thereof.
Yours truly documented several cases of the referees not calling fouls, penalties given despite fouls occurring outside the box (USA vs Germany), and goal kicks given instead of corner kicks among many other issues. What is so striking about the referees is that these were determined to be the best in the world. (To be fair, there are plenty of gripes about the referees and officials in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, Premier League, etc.).
That is a scary thought, but the World Cup deserves better. Why not use men to referee during the World Cup? Yes, this is a Women’s tournament, but it does not mean that men could not handle the job if they are qualified. It can be a few sets of male referees and assistants while keeping the majority of referees on the field females as one idea for the future.
Or FIFA can provide better training to the female referees and assistants. Given what we have learned in the past few months, that does not appear likely to be anywhere on the radar of FIFA.
2. “The Turf”
One of the biggest gripes this author has about the 2015 Women’s World Cup is the turf. This is not focused on how the turf plays, but rather the incessant complaining from Fox’s commentators about the turf.
It was known in 2011 that Canada would host the Women’s World Cup and the bid included artificial turf at nearly all of the venues. As this author documented in this article, this was a lack of foresight from the players to wait until September 2014 to file a lawsuit.
To be fair, the talk regarding turf was not nearly noticed as much in the latter stages of the tournament as it was at the beginning. Still, the fact it came up nearly ever game in the group stage makes it hard to listen to the game at times.
In the end, the turf did not matter as noticed in the final with the US crushing Japan 5-2. Whatever you want to call this tournament on the turf (an experiment?), it is now over and ultimately had little effect on the outcome.
3. The Analysts
This reason is purely personal, but accuracy is important from commentators and analysts alike.
Despite Fox’s non-stop complaining about the turf (see above), there was another area that really hurt Fox’s coverage. That was the analysts and specifically the mistakes they made. There are a ton of examples that prove Fox needs to provide better analysts.
Another analyst made the comment that French midfielder Claire Lavogez was gassed against Germany in the quarterfinal match despite coming on in the 69th minute. It did not make any sense at the time given the context of the game to that point.
One host referred to the extra 30 minutes of soccer as “overtime” instead of extra time. When trying to grow a sport like soccer the terminology is important. Imagine telling a person with no knowledge of College Football that two teams are going to sudden death extra time. (FYI, college football does not have any timed downs and each team is given a chance to score).
Even the usually excellent JP Dellacamera had a lapse in the USA versus Germany game. When CeliaSasic was awarded a penalty in the 60th minute, Dellacamera said it was the decisive moment in the match despite another 30 minutes remaining. It was not decisive, as the US would go on to score twice to win the match 2-0.
In the final between the USA and Japan, Dellacamera said the sun might have played a part in Hope Solo not seeing a shot. However, there was no direct sunlight on Solo in the latter part of the second half when the comment was made.
Another announcing flub was the own goal by England’s Laura Bassett versus Japan. When she accidentally put the ball in her own net, the announcers were completely flabbergasted as to what happened and did not appear to know what even happened. It was not until the Japan players celebrated that they were able to fully comprehend what happened and even the graphics department did not put up Japan’s second goal until well after the ensuing kickoff. For people who are supposed to tell the audience what has happened, that was a massive mistake.
Also in the USA versus Germany game, one of the commentators, Tony DiCicco said, “That Carli Lloyd was having a massive game“. However, DiCicco brought up accolades from the games against China and Colombia, which did not fit the argument of only the Germany game.
4. FIFA
Not a lot of time will be spent on this because, well, it is FIFA after all. This article by Tim Booth sums up what FIFA did wrong.
5. Availability of Some Games
This was not a big problem for the games in the knockout stages, but the group stages did not have all the games available depending on the television providers. For example, if a game was shown on Fox Sports 2 and you did not have that channel via your provider, you could not watch the game on a mobile device or tablet.
This comes down to Fox and the providers, which undoubtedly makes both sides to blame. Only the group stage was affected, but imagine a major tournament in the future (Euro 2016 or the men’s World Cup in 2018) not showing all the games of the group stage.
It should not be that way for any major tournament, men’s or women’s.
Conclusion
The tournament was a huge success for the advancement of women’s soccer and its popularity. We will not have to worry about the 2019 tournament being played on turf, as it will be on grass in France (Yay! No more complaining about the turf). We will have to deal with Fox having the rights (No!), but within four years the availability of the Fox Sports channels across most providers should be settled (hopefully).
Branislav Ivanovic celebrates his goal against PSG in the UEFA Champions League. Will he and Chelsea be celebrating a Premier League title by season’s end? (AFP / Getty Images)
2015 European Football End Of Season Primer
As the calendar nears March, there are plenty of viewing options for American sports fanatics. March Madness will get underway on March 19 along with baseball spring training and the final push of the NBA and NHL regular seasons.
If you are like this author, you were consumed by college football and professional football from September through early February. Unfortunately, football season is over in the American sense, but there are still football options. To be clear, we are talking soccer.
Major League Soccer will also begin on March 6 in the United States, but we are going to focus on something the MLS will not give us: promotion and relegation battles. This is not the place to debate whether there is a place for promotion and relegation in the United States, but instead on what is happening over in Europe.
There will be a focus on the contenders, European playoff spots, as well as the relegation battle in each country. The countries looked at will be England, Spain, Germany, France, Netherlands, and Portugal. Two other leagues, while not in the top 10 of the UEFA Coefficients, but entertaining to this author will be Denmark and Switzerland.
* * * Note: All of the information below is as of Monday, February 23.
England – English Premier League
Contenders: The Premier League appears to be coming down to a battle between Chelsea and Manchester City. Chelsea sits on 60 points while Manchester City is at 55 points. Both teams have 12 games left to play to decide the winner.
European Prospects: Behind the top duo is a logjam of 5 teams within 4 points of each other. Arsenal (48 points), Manchester United (47), Southampton (46), Liverpool (45), and Tottenham (44) are gunning to be in one of the two final Champions League slots. Southampton has been a great story and it would be awesome to see a new team finish in the top four.
Relegation: Leicester City sits bottom of the table with 18 points, Aston Villa is 19th with 22 points, and Burnley is 18th with 22 points as well. Queens Park Rangers (22 points), Sunderland (25), HullCity (26), West Bromwich Albion (27), Crystal Palace (27), and Everton (28) could all fall into the relegation zone with a bad run of form.
Predictions: Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal will be the top three. The fourth team will be Manchester United while Southampton manage to finish fifth and get a Europa League spot.
In the relegation zone, Leicester City, Burnley, and QPR will drop to the Championship. Speaking of the Championship, the three teams promoted at the end of the season will be Derby County, Ipswich Town, and Norwich City. Millwall, Wigan Athletic, and Blackpool will be relegated to League One.
Spain – La Liga
Contenders: Real Madrid lead La Liga with 60 points, Barcelona is second with 56 points, AtleticoMadrid is third with 53 points, and Valencia sit fourth on 50 points. This race will come down to the top two and that favors Real Madrid to come away with another Spanish title.
European Prospects: Atletico Madrid are third currently and that does not figure to change by the end of the season. Valencia’s 50 points make them 5 clear of fifth place Sevilla and 6 clear of Villarreal. Malaga are seventh with 38 points, but will need one of the two teams ahead of them to slip up to make the Europa League for next season.
Relegation: It is a tight race for the bottom, but three teams have dug themselves in a small hole. Levante is 18th with 22 points, Granada is 19th with 19 points, and Cordoba is 20th with 18 points. Almeria and Elche are both one point clear of the relegation zone while 15th place Deportivo La Coruna has 24 points.
Predictions: The top four will remain the same as they currently are: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Valencia. Villarreal will finish fifth with Sevilla in sixth and Malaga in seventh.
The relegation battle will be tight, but the three teams going down will be Elche, Granada, and Cordoba. The three teams coming up from the Segunda Division will be Sporting de Gijon, Las Palmas, and Valladolid.
Germany – Bundesliga
Contenders: Bayern Munich is in complete control of the Bundesliga at 55 points, 8 more than Wolfsburg in second. Bayern has scored 59 goals while only giving up 9 thus far in the Bundesliga.
European Prospects: The top two are firmly secure for Champions League action next season, but the other spots are still up for grabs. Borussia Monchengladbach is third with 37 points, Schalke is fourth with 35 points, FC Augsburg is fifth with 35 points, and Bayer Leverkusen is sixth with 33 points. Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen sit with 30 points while Eintracht Frankfurt is 9th with 28 points. The battle for European football in Germany will be hotly contested and entertaining.
Relegation: Stuttgart is last in the Bundesliga with 18 points, Hertha is 17th with 21 points, and Freiburg is 16th with 22 points. There is not much room for the six teams in front of the relegation zone as that extends only to 26 points.
Predictions: Bayern Munich will win the Bundesliga again, but it is a matter of which match day they will do so on while Wolfsburg is locked into second at worst. Schalke will grab third and Borussia Monchengladbach will finish in fourth. Bayer Leverkusen will finish fifth with Werder Bremen securing a wild sixth place finish.
The relegation battle will see Hertha, Paderborn, and Hamburger fall to the next division (assuming Hamburger loses in the Relegation Playoffs). 2. Bundesliga will automatically promote Ingolstadt and Kaiserslautern to the Bundesliga while Karlsruher will beat Hamburger in the Promotion playoffs.
Italy – Serie A
Contenders: Juventus have lost only once in Serie A this year and have 57 points compared to 48 for Roma. It is Juve’s title to lose at this point.
European Prospects: While the top two look good, there is a battle for the third Italian Champions League slot. Napoli sits on 45 points, Lazio has 40 points, and Fiorentina has 39 points. Unless Internazionale, Genoa, and/or Sampdoria make an improbable run into third place (all on 35 points), one of the first three teams will be in the Champions League next year.
Relegation: One relegation spot is all but assured for Parma given their financial difficulties. There is even a chance Parma will not finish the season. Cesena is currently 19th with 16 points while Cagliari is 18th with 20 points. Sitting in 17th is Atalanta with 23 points, Chievo is 16th with 24 points, and Verona is 15th with 25 points.
Predictions: Juventus and Roma will finish one-two as expected. Third place will go to Napoli, Lazio will finish fourth, and Sampdoria grab fifth spot (and a Europa League place).
The relegation battle will be lost by Parma, Cesena, and Atalanta. Coming up from Serie B at the end of the season will be Carpi, Bologna, and Vicenza.
France – Ligue 1
Contenders: Lyon leads a tight race at the top with 54 points. PSG is second with 52 points and Marseille is third 50 points. The eventual winner of Ligue 1 will come from this trio of teams.
European Prospects: Outside the top three, four teams will be in contention for the single remaining Europa League spot. Monaco is fourth with 43 points, Saint-Etienne is fifth with 42 points, Bordeaux is sixth with 41 points, and Montpellier is seventh with 39 points. It will surely be a tight finish for the Europa League slot.
Relegation: As of this writing, Lens will be relegated at the end of the season regardless of where they finish due to irregularities when they were promoted from Ligue 2 at the end of the 2013-14 season. They currently sit 19th with 22 points. In 20th is Metz with 22 points and Evian is 18th with 26 points. Just above the drop zone are Lorient and Toulouse both with 28 points. The two teams above them are Caen and Reims on 31 points.
Predictions: In an exciting finish to the Ligue 1 season, Lyon will hang on for the title over PSG with Marseille back in third. Taking fourth place will be Saint-Etienne with Bordeaux fifth and Monaco sixth.
The relegation teams will be unchanged from the current bottom three meaning Evian, Lens, and Metz will spend next season in Ligue 2. Coming up from Ligue 2 will be Troyes, Brest, and Angers.
Netherlands – Eredivisie
Contenders: PSV currently holds a 14 point lead (64-50) over Ajax and are well on their way to reclaiming the Eredivisie title.
European Prospects: Feyenoord is third with 44 points, but right on their heels is AZ Alkmaar with 44 points as well. Zwolle is fifth with 39 points, Heerenveen is sixth with 38 points, Vitesse is seventh with 37 points, and Twente is eighth with 34 points.
Relegation: Dordrecht will need a miracle to stay in the Dutch top flight with only 12 points from 24 games. NAC Breda is 17th with 18 points and Heracles is 16th with 21 points. Just above the relegation zone sits Go Ahead Eagles with 23 points. Excelsior have a bit of breathing room with 26 points, but could afford to turn some of their draws into wins (Excelsior has a league high 11 draws).
Predictions: PSV cruises to the Eredivisie title with Ajax in second place. AZ manages to overtake Feyenoord for third place with Heerenveen in fifth, Zwolle in sixth, and Twente in seventh.
The one team automatically relegated to the Ereste Divisie will be Dordrecht with N.E.C. replacing them. NAC Breda and Go Ahead Eagles will be put into the relegation playoffs at season’s end.
Portugal – Primeira Liga
Contenders: The usual suspects are involved for the league crown once again. Benfica is at 56 points, Porto is at 52 points, and Sporting CP have 47 points. Barring a major collapse by Benfica and the other top two teams, one of these three will win.
European Prospects: Braga (43 points), Vitória de Guimaraes (37), and Belenenses (34) are in the best positions to take the two Europa League spots. Pacos de Ferreira (30), Rio Ave (29), Nacional (28), and Maritimo (27) would need to go on massive win streaks to have a chance to steal one of the Europa League places.
Relegation: There are only two relegation spots in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. Penafiel is last with 16 points while Gil Vicente is 17th with 17 points. The teams above the relegation zone should feel pretty warm given how close they are in points to the bottom two. Academica (18), Vitória de Setubal (19), Arouca (19), and Boavista (21) could easily find themselves in the bottom two by season’s end.
Predictions: Benfica will win the title while Porto holds off Sporting CP for the second place spot. Even with a third place finish, Sporting CP will still be in the Champions League next season. Braga finishes fourth with Vitoria de Guimaraes finishing fifth and Belenenses in sixth.
The relegation battle will see both teams currently in the drop zone escape to be replaced by Vitoria de Setubal and Arouca. Chaves and Tondela will be promoted from the Segunda Liga.
Switzerland – Super League
Contenders: Basel currently holds a 5 point lead (45-40) over Young Boys with 21 match days played out of 36. On February 22, Young Boys beat Basel 4-2 and they have one final game against each other the rest of the season. Zurich is third with 39 points and are not out of the running for the league title yet.
European Prospects: The top two teams will be going into the Champions League next season with the third and fourth place teams going into the Europa League. Thun is fourth with 34 points and St. Gallen is fifth with 30 points. It will come down to these five teams to determine the four European entrants for the 2015-16 season.
Relegation: The relegation battle is very tight with only one team going down to the Swiss Challenge League next season. Sion is last with 16 points, but have played 19 games compared to the three teams ahead of them. In 9th is Aarua with 17 points, Luzern is 8th with 18 points, and Grasshopper is 7th with 19 points. Even Liechtenstein based Vaduz is not out of the woods in 6th place with 22 points.
Predictions: Basel will win the Swiss Super League while Young Boys manages to hold on for second over Zurich. Thun will take fourth place as St. Gallen’s late season rally falls short of European football.
Sion will escape the basement at the expense of Aarau who will spend next season in the Challenge League. Lugano, who is currently third in the Swiss Challenge League by three points, will replace them in 2015-16.
Denmark – Superliga
Contenders: Through 18 of 33 match days, Midtjylland is first with 43 points over Copenhagen (35) and Randers (34). Given the fourth place team, Brondby, has only 27 points, it is safe to assume one of the top three teams will emerge with the title.
European Prospects: As mentioned above, Brondby is in fourth place with 27 points while the Superliga offers only three European spots. AaB (25), Nordsjaelland (25), Esbjerg (23), and SonderjyskE (23) need things to start going their way if they are to play in the Europa League.
Relegation: Two teams will be relegated at the end of the season and one of them is virtually assured to be Silkeborg. They have four points at this point in the season thanks to four draws. They also have the worst offense in the Superliga and are 15 points adrift of safety. In 11th place is Vestsjaelland with 15 points and are 4 points behind 10th place Odense. Hobro has 21 points while SonderjyskE has 23 points along with Esbjerg. It will come down to the trio of Hobro, Odense, and Vestsjaelland for the final relegation spot.
Predictions: Copenhagen will mount their usual late season rally to contend for the title, but Midtjylland will survive as the Champions. Copenhagen will be second with Randers third.
A close relegation battle will see Vestsjaelland drop down to the Danish First Division with Silkeborg for the 2015-16 season. Coming up from the First Division will be Lyngby and Viborg.
Please feel free to comment on what you think of the predictions above. Enjoy the football action from Europe as the season turns into the home stretch!
The 6th and final match day took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The teams for the Round of 16 are all set in the UEFA Champions League. Here is the Group-by-Group breakdown:
Group A
Manchester United squeaked out a 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to a Phil Jones goal in the 67th minute. The group’s other match between Real Sociedad and Bayer Leverkusen also ended 1-0. Omer Toprak scored in the 49th minute to ensure Leverkusen moved on in the Champions League.
Manchester United won the group with 14 points, Bayer Leverkusen finish 2nd with 10 points, Shakhtar Donetsk finished 3rd with 8 points, and Real Sociedad finished last with only 1 point. Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen will move on to the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Shakhtar will be placed in the Europa League Round of 32. Real Sociedad are eliminated from European competition.
Group B
Real Madrid went to Copenhagen and won 2-0. Luka Modric scored first in the 25th minute with a wonderful curling strike. Ronaldo scored the 2nd goal in the 48th minute adding to his already impressive total. Ronaldo has scored 9 goals in the Champions League Group Stage, the most ever in this famed competition. The game’s other match between Galatasaray and Juventus was halted in the 32nd minute for weather. After an unsuccessful attempt to restart the game, it was abandoned. The game resumed on Wednesday in the 32nd minute with the score at 0-0. Wesley Sneijder hit an 85th minute goal to give Galatasaray the 1-0 win and the spot in the Round of 16.
Real Madrid won the group with 16 points, Galatasaray finished 2nd with 7 points, Juventus finished 3rd with 6 points, and Copenhagen were last with 4 points. Real Madrid and Galatasaray move on in the UEFA Champions League. Juventus will go into the Round of 32 in the Europa League and Copenhagen are eliminated from European Competition
Group C
The battle for 2nd between Benfica and Olympiacos was in doubt until the last minutes. Benfica rallied from 1-0 down to beat PSG 2-1. Lima had a goal from the penalty spot in the 45th minute. In the 2nd half, Nicolas Gaitan put a goal in the back of the net to give Benfica the needed victory. Olympiacos was at home to Anderlecht and needed to win to make the Round of 16. Javier Saviola got on the score sheet for Olympiacos in the 33rd minute, but that was cancelled out by Sacha Kljestan’s 39th minute goal for Anderlecht. Saviola put Olympiacos ahead for good in the 58th minute, while Alejandro Dominguez put the game beyond doubt with a 95th minute stoppage time penalty goal.
PSG won the group with 13 points. Olympiacos and Benfica both finished level on 10 points, with Olympiacos having the better goal differential of +2 compared to 0 for Benfica. That means Olympiacos will play in the Round of 16 while Benfica will move to the Round of 32 in the Europa League. Anderlecht finished last with 1 point.
Group D
The stunner of the Tuesday games happened in Group D. Bayern Munich looked well on their way to victory after a 5th minute goal from Thomas Muller and a 12th minute goal from Mario Gotze. Manchester City did not give up as David Silva pulled a goal back in the 28th minute to make it 2-1 Bayern Munich. Aleksandar Kolarov hit one home from the penalty spot in the 59th minute, before James Milner made the comeback complete in the 62nd minute. The group’s other match saw Tomas Wagner hit a 90th minute goal from Viktoria Plzen to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1.
Despite the loss, Bayern Munich still won the group with 15 points. Manchester City also had 15 points (worse goal differential vs. Bayern Munich), Viktoria Plzen finish 3rd with 3 points, and CSKA Moscow finished last with 3 points as well. Viktoria gets the nod over CSKA Moscow because they had more away goals in the group stage. Bayern and City were confirmed for the Round of 16 in the Champions League already, but Viktoria Plzen have stolen the Europa League spot from under CSKA Moscow.
Group E
A 10th minute Demba Ba goal was all that separated Chelsea and Steaua Bucuresti in their match. The match between Schalke and Basel turned in the 31st minute when Basel’s Ivan Ivanov got a straight red card to leave his team with 10 men. Schalke took advantage of the extra man in the 2nd half with goals from Julian Draxler in the 51st minute and Joel Matip in the 57th minute. Schalke took all 3 points with a final scoreline of 2-0 over Basel.
Chelsea won the group with 12 point, Schalke finished 2nd with 10 points, Basel were 3rd with 8 points, and Steaua Bucuresti finished last with 3 points. Chelsea and Schalke will move onto the Round of 16 in the Champions League with Basel going to the Europa League and the Round of 32. Steaua are eliminated from European competition.
Group F
The “Group of Death” went down to the final minutes. Napoli got a goal from Gonzalo Higuain in the 73rd minute and then another goal in the 93rd minute from Jose Callejon to make it a final score of 2-0 over Arsenal. Borussia Dortmund were tied 1-1 and on their way out of the Champions League until Kevin Grobkreutz put the German side ahead 2-1. Borussia would not relinquish that lead.
Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, and Napoli all finished on 12 points. However, thanks to goal differential, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal will march on in the Champions League. Dortmund had a goal differential of +5, Arsenal had +3, and Napoli had +1. Napoli will have a slight consolation prize in the Europa League Round of 32. Marseille failed to register a point, but did make things very interesting on this last match day of the Champions League group stage.
Group G
Atletico Madrid already had this group in hand, but still made their case as a darkhorse contender in this Competition with a 2-0 victory over Porto. Atletico got goals from Raul Garcia in the 14th minute and Diego Costa in the 37th minute. Austria Wien got their only win of the group stage in a 4-1 thrashing of Zenit St Petersburg. Aleksandr Kerzhaov put Zenit ahead 1-0 in the 35th minute, but it was all Austria Wien after that. Philipp Hosiner had goals in the 44th and 51st minutes, Tomas Jun had one in the 48th, and Roman Kienast added the final for good measure in the 93rd minute.
Atletico Madrid had already won the group on Match day 4 and they finished with 16 points. Despite their crushing defeat, Zenit hung on for 2nd place with 6 points. Porto and Austria Wien both finished on 5 points, but Porto’s better goal differential of -3 compared to Wien’s -5 sees them finish 3rd. Atletico Madrid and Zenit march on in the Champions League with Porto dropping to the Europa League. Austria Wien will no longer take part in European Competition this season.
Group H
Barcelona completely dominated Celtic from the opening kick, winning by 5 goals, 6-1. Neymar had a hat trick within a 15 minute span and the route was on. The group’s other match between Milan and Ajax ended scoreless despite Milan playing with 10 men for almost 70 minutes. Ricardo Montolivo was sent off for an awful challenge in the 22nd minute.
Barcelona won the group with 13 points, Milan finished 2nd with 9 points, Ajax were 3rd with 8 points, and Celtic finished last with 3 points. Barcelona and Milan move to the UCL Round of 16 while Ajax will play in the Europa League Round of 32. Celtic are eliminated from European Competition.
Knockout Stages
The Round of 16 teams are set and here they are:
Seeded Teams
Unseeded Teams
Manchester United (England)
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Real Madrid (Spain)
Galatasaray (Turkey)
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
Olympiacos (Greece)
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Manchester City (England)
Chelsea (England)
Schalke 04 (Germany)
Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Arsenal (England)
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia)
Barcelona (Spain)
Milan (Italy)
The Round of 16 draw will take place on Monday, December 16, 2013. As a reminder, teams from the same association (such as England) cannot face each other in the Round of 16. Also, teams from the same Group (such as Group A which featured Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen) cannot be drawn together.
Be sure to check back when the Round of 16 Draw is complete for my analysis and picks!
This is the third post in a series leading up to the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil. The first post can be found here and the second post here.
In the first post of this series I posted the odds for each team to win the World Cup prior to the draw (odds were taken from 5Dimes). For a refresher, here is that table:
Team
Odds
Brazil
+300
Germany
+560
Argentina
+660
Spain
+680
Belgium
+1650
Netherlands
+2150
Colombia
+2350
Italy
+2450
England
+2550
Uruguay
+2850
France
+3250
Portugal
+3450
Chile
+4450
Russia
+10500
Switzerland
+14500
Ghana
+15000
Croatia
+16000
Mexico
+16500
Japan
+17000
USA
+18000
Ivory Coast
+21000
Bosnia and Herzegovina
+22500
Ecuador
+24000
Nigeria
+29000
Greece
+35000
South Korea
+50000
Cameroon
+70000
Australia
+70000
Costa Rica
+225000
Iran
+250000
Honduras
+250000
Algeria
+250000
As you can see, the top 4 favorites were Brazil (+300), Germany (+560), Argentina (+660), and Spain (+680). All other teams were at +1650 or higher. Now let’s see how the draw affected those odds (again odds from 5Dimes):
Brazil
+330
Argentina
+490
Germany
+610
Spain
+775
Belgium
+1550
Colombia
+2150
France
+2250
Netherlands
+2850
England
+2850
Italy
+2850
Uruguay
+2950
Portugal
+3700
Chile
+5350
Russia
+8875
Switzerland
+12500
Ecuador
+13500
Mexico
+15000
Ivory Coast
+16500
Japan
+18500
Bosnia and Herzegovina
+23500
USA
+25000
Ghana
+25000
Croatia
+26500
Nigeria
+28500
Greece
+34000
South Korea
+48500
Australia
+80500
Cameroon
+100000
Costa Rica
+250000
Iran
+250000
Honduras
+250000
Algeria
+250000
Brazil’s odds went up to +330 despite the opponents they drew in their group. The slight bump in odds has entirely to do with their possible Round of 16 opponent which will almost certainly be Netherlands, Spain, or Chile. Argentina, which was already a favorite to win, dropped from +660 to +490. This is for good reason too. They got drawn with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, and Nigeria.
Below is a table that shows each team’s odd before and after the draw. Also is a column for the odds change that occurred.
Team
Prior Draw Odds
Post Draw Odds
Odds Change
Brazil
+300
+330
+30
Germany
+560
+610
+50
Argentina
+660
+490
-170
Spain
+680
+775
+95
Belgium
+1650
+1550
-100
Netherlands
+2150
+2850
+700
Colombia
+2350
+2150
-200
Italy
+2450
+2850
+400
England
+2550
+2850
+300
Uruguay
+2850
+2950
+100
France
+3250
+2250
-1000
Portugal
+3450
+3700
+250
Chile
+4450
+5350
+900
Russia
+10500
+8875
-1625
Switzerland
+14500
+12500
-2000
Ghana
+15000
+25000
+10000
Croatia
+16000
+26500
+10500
Mexico
+16500
+15000
-1500
Japan
+17000
+18500
+1500
USA
+18000
+25000
+7000
Ivory Coast
+21000
+16500
-4500
Bosnia and Herzegovina
+22500
+23500
+1000
Ecuador
+24000
+13500
-10500
Nigeria
+29000
+28500
-500
Greece
+35000
+34000
-1000
South Korea
+50000
+48500
-1500
Cameroon
+70000
+100000
+30000
Australia
+70000
+80500
+10500
Costa Rica
+225000
+250000
+25000
Iran
+250000
+250000
0
Honduras
+250000
+250000
0
Algeria
+250000
+250000
0
Odds to Win Group
Here I will list each teams odds to win their respective group. As before, these odds are from 5Dimes.
Group A
Brazil
-350
Mexico
+650
Croatia
+875
Cameroon
+2150
Group B
Spain
-130
Netherlands
+200
Chile
+475
Australia
+2700
Group C
Colombia
-135
Japan
+350
Ivory Coast
+460
Greece
+700
Group D
Italy
+160
Uruguay
+195
England
+215
Costa Rica
+4000
Group E
France
-145
Switzerland
+310
Ecuador
+340
Honduras
+2800
Group F
Argentina
-430
Bosnia
+595
Nigeria
+830
Iran
+3000
Group G
Germany
-180
Portugal
+260
Ghana
+1050
USA
+1075
Group H
Belgium
-180
Russia
+230
South Korea
+750
Algeria
+2500
Super-Duper Early Predictions
I will pick the finish of each group as I see them right now. These are subject to change many times over until the start of the World Cup.
Group A
1st – Brazil
2nd – Croatia
3rd – Mexico
4th – Cameroon
Group B
1st – Spain
2nd – Chile
3rd – Netherlands
4th – Australia
Group C
1st – Colombia
2nd – Ivory Coast
3rd – Japan
4th – Greece
Group D
1st – Italy
2nd – Uruguay
3rd – England
4th – Costa Rica
Group E
1st – Colombia
2nd – Switzerland
3rd – France
4th – Honduras
Group F
1st – Argentina
2nd – Nigeria
3rd – Bosnia and Herzegovina
4th – Iran
Group G
1st – Germany
2nd – Ghana
3rd – Portugal
4th – United States
Group H
1st – Russia
2nd – Belgium
3rd – South Korea
4th – Algeria
I will skip to the Semi-final match ups where I have Brazil vs Germany in one and Italy vs Argentina in the other. I like Brazil and Italy to meet p in the final with Italy coming out on top. Again this is subject to change (and probably will as we learn more about each team’s squad).
Be sure to check back often for part 4 and other blog posts!
This is the second post in a series leading up to the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil. The first post can be found here.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup has been drawn and the groups are now set. I will take a look at each group and give a short analysis.
Group A
Group A is comprised of Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, and Cameroon. Undoubtedly, Brazil are the favorites to win Group A and the World Cup especially after the favorable draw. The battle for second place will be between the other three teams. I see any of the three teams being able to finish 2nd, but it will most likely come down to Croatia and Mexico.
Group B
Group B is mighty interesting considering the 2010 World Cup Final. Both Spain and the Netherlands are draw into this group and as fate would have it, will be playing the opening match of this group. Chile and Australia are also drawn in this group. The rank outsiders of this group are Australia as they have been poor in recent games. I cannot wait to see how Netherlands plays considering they did not win a game at Euro 2012.
Group C
This group contains Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, and Japan. Colombia are the favorites to win the group, but after that any of the three remaining teams can win. Greece are probably the 2nd favorites in this group while Ivory Coast have not gotten out of the group stage the last two World Cups. Japan played in the 2013 Confederations Cup, but went winless and showed issues with their back four.
Group D
Another tough group resides here in Group D between Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, and Italy. Uruguay and Italy are the favorites to go through, but expect England to have a say in whether or not that happens. This is a tough spot for Costa Rica to have hopes of making the last 16.
Group E
This group is headlined by the “easiest” seeded team in Switzerland. They will be joined by Ecuador, France, and Honduras. Ecuador look to be favored here with this World Cup taking place in South America. France has a great chance of making the Knockout stages despite a less than stellar qualifying run to get here. Honduras are considered outsiders to make the last 16.
Group F
This group is headlined by Argentina and includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, and Nigeria. Argentina will be heavily favored to win this group. Bosnia and Herzegovina along with Nigeria will battle for the 2nd spot in this group and Iran are considered long shots to make the last 16.
Group G
Arguably the toughest group (along with Group B) will be contested between Germany, Portugal, Ghana, and the United States. Germany are favorites to go through, but any of the remaining three teams can certainly make it through. Ghana has been to the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals in 2006 and 2010, respectively. Portugal have the immensely talented Cristiano Ronaldo and the US have been in good from during 2013. In my opinion, this group is by far the toughest to figure out and that means this should be an entertaining group from start to finish.
Group H
The last group contains the highly talked about dark-horse team in Belgium. They will play in this group along with Algeria, Russia, and South Korea. While Belgium will be favored to win, 2nd place looks like it belongs to Russia. Don’t sleep on South Korea as they made the Round of 16 in 2010 and finished 4th in 2002. Algeria are considered outsiders against this group.
This draw gave us a lot of intrigue to look forward to. There is the possibility of Spain and Brazil clashing in the Round of 16. In addition, we could see Spain or the Netherlands not make it out of the group stage. There is even the possibility of Germany struggling and not making it to the knockout rounds (It may be a small chance, but it is possible).
In Part 3 of my series I will look at the odds of each team making it to the Round of 16 as well as the odds of them winning the World Cup courtesy of 5Dimes. I will also give my super-duper early predictions (which are subject to change between then and the World Cup). Until then, enjoy the action and enjoy the World Cup draw banter!
This is the first post in a series leading up to the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil.
The pots for 2014 World Cup have now been confirmed by FIFA. This image from ESPN FC best illustrates the breakdown of each pot:
(Again, Thanks to ESPN FC for the picture and they own all the rights to it).
Pot 1 is the comprised of the top 8 seeds for the 2014 World Cup. Pot 2 belongs to the five African qualifiers and the remaining two South American qualifiers. Pot 3 is for North American and Asian qualifiers. Pot 4 is the other 9 European qualifiers. In order to have 4 pots of 8 teams, one team from Pot 4 will be randomly selected and placed in Pot 2 to obtain the eight teams.
Keep in mind that no more than two European teams will be matched up in a group. In addition, no more than 1 South American team will be matched up in group. Finally, Brazil will automatically be placed in Group A.
Watch out for the “Group of Death” which would have the strongest teams concentrated in a single group. Every team wants to avoid the so called “Group of Death” which would be headed by Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, or Uruguay. The idea of a Germany, Ghana, United States and France Group is tantalizing and would be entertaining every match.
Also watch out for what I will coin as the “Group of Ease”. Both Belgium and Switzerland are being perceived as the easiest of the seeded teams to overcome in 2014. I am not sure that there is such thing as any easy group in the World Cup, especially if the top seed is a European team. It could be the “Group of Ease” for either Belgium or Switzerland if the draw the shakes out correctly.
Below are the odds of every team in the 2014 World Cup as of this writing. The odds are from 5Dimes.
Team
Odds
Brazil
+300
Germany
+560
Argentina
+660
Spain
+680
Belgium
+1650
Netherlands
+2150
Colombia
+2350
Italy
+2450
England
+2550
Uruguay
+2850
France
+3250
Portugal
+3450
Chile
+4450
Russia
+10500
Switzerland
+14500
Ghana
+15000
Croatia
+16000
Mexico
+16500
Japan
+17000
USA
+18000
Ivory Coast
+21000
Bosnia and Herzegovina
+22500
Ecuador
+24000
Nigeria
+29000
Greece
+35000
South Korea
+50000
Cameroon
+70000
Australia
+70000
Costa Rica
+225000
Iran
+250000
Honduras
+250000
Algeria
+250000
I will be tweeting this event live on Friday and you can follow me here. Part 2 of this series will be posted on Friday evening after the Draw has concluded. I will analyze the draw and look at how it affected each teams odds to win the 2014 World Cup. Be sure to check back and enjoy the 2014 World Cup Draw!
