Today was Group C and Group D's last round of games in the group stage.
In Group C, there wasn't a lot of drama compared to the frantic qualification frenzy of Spain and Portugal yesterday. France had already qualified and Australia had an outside chance of getting through, but in the end it was Denmark that made it out of the group thanks to a 0 - 0 draw against France. Peru who had been unlucky to find themselves eliminated after two games showed their quality by beating Australia.
In the BISERGS the scoreless draw did little to help Krista, since she had both teams, but she is happy to get Denmark through. Despite not being in the top 10, Krista now has three teams into the next round. Gray also has Denmark and has his knockout round qualifier count is up to 3. The French owners have been high flyers in the BISERGS so far, but they should be unconcerned by their teams lackluster performance today. Several key players were rested since France's progression had already been secured. Peru owners have been extremely unlucky to have received nothing after two strong performances, so they will be happy to get four points out of today's game.
In Group D there was a lot to play for. Croatia had already qualified but Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland all had a chance to make it out of the group. Nigeria was in poll position and would have advanced with a draw against Argentina. The Africans lost that advantage quickly though when Lionel Messi struck early in the first half. He nearly doubled their lead, a few minutes later when his free kick struck the post. At half time it was Argentina that held the second place in the group and was going through, but a goal by Iceland or Nigeria in the second half would have them eliminated. Nigeria jumped back into the drivers seat when they scored on a penalty kick in the 51st minute. In the other match, Iceland's brave attack was thwarted again and again and Croatia broke through first to make the Icelandic task even more daunting. After the Nigeria goal, Argentina looked like they had absolutely no idea how to score the goal they so desperately needed. Every Argentina player simply passed the ball to Messi and prayed he would do something special. Nigeria were definitely the more threatening side throughout the second half and should have taken advantage to secure their place in the round of 16. The cynic in me thinks that FIFA really wanted Messi to continue in the tournament as a ratings boost since a few harsh decisions went against the Nigerians. In the meantime, Iceland came back to equalize and if they had scored again, they would take second place and move on. Very late in the match, Marcos Rojo (who could have been given a card to match his name earlier in the game) scored on a very well taken volley to send Argentina into second place. They were still vulnerable, since an Iceland goal would have put them out, but it was Croatia who struck again in the other match. Argentina prevented a last gasp goal from Nigeria and the Super Eagles were sent home along with Iceland, who were poised to be the darlings of the tournament this summer but ultimately failed to make an impression.
In Group C, there wasn't a lot of drama compared to the frantic qualification frenzy of Spain and Portugal yesterday. France had already qualified and Australia had an outside chance of getting through, but in the end it was Denmark that made it out of the group thanks to a 0 - 0 draw against France. Peru who had been unlucky to find themselves eliminated after two games showed their quality by beating Australia.
In the BISERGS the scoreless draw did little to help Krista, since she had both teams, but she is happy to get Denmark through. Despite not being in the top 10, Krista now has three teams into the next round. Gray also has Denmark and has his knockout round qualifier count is up to 3. The French owners have been high flyers in the BISERGS so far, but they should be unconcerned by their teams lackluster performance today. Several key players were rested since France's progression had already been secured. Peru owners have been extremely unlucky to have received nothing after two strong performances, so they will be happy to get four points out of today's game.
In Group D there was a lot to play for. Croatia had already qualified but Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland all had a chance to make it out of the group. Nigeria was in poll position and would have advanced with a draw against Argentina. The Africans lost that advantage quickly though when Lionel Messi struck early in the first half. He nearly doubled their lead, a few minutes later when his free kick struck the post. At half time it was Argentina that held the second place in the group and was going through, but a goal by Iceland or Nigeria in the second half would have them eliminated. Nigeria jumped back into the drivers seat when they scored on a penalty kick in the 51st minute. In the other match, Iceland's brave attack was thwarted again and again and Croatia broke through first to make the Icelandic task even more daunting. After the Nigeria goal, Argentina looked like they had absolutely no idea how to score the goal they so desperately needed. Every Argentina player simply passed the ball to Messi and prayed he would do something special. Nigeria were definitely the more threatening side throughout the second half and should have taken advantage to secure their place in the round of 16. The cynic in me thinks that FIFA really wanted Messi to continue in the tournament as a ratings boost since a few harsh decisions went against the Nigerians. In the meantime, Iceland came back to equalize and if they had scored again, they would take second place and move on. Very late in the match, Marcos Rojo (who could have been given a card to match his name earlier in the game) scored on a very well taken volley to send Argentina into second place. They were still vulnerable, since an Iceland goal would have put them out, but it was Croatia who struck again in the other match. Argentina prevented a last gasp goal from Nigeria and the Super Eagles were sent home along with Iceland, who were poised to be the darlings of the tournament this summer but ultimately failed to make an impression.
In the BISERGS world, Kelley had both teams in the Iceland vs Croatia game, but she probably wasn't a neutral observer. She would have preferred for Iceland to win in order to slow down her rivals Rachel, Rick, Levi and Lisa. Croatia seems to be the key to BISERGS success so far. An amazing five of the BISERGS current top six have Croatia in their portfolio. Emilie, Brian, Derek, Greg and Axel all used their first picks in the draft to get Argentina and were relieved to see them make it through to the next round. They shouldn't be too optimistic though since the way Argentina has played so far has been completely unconvincing. Argentina's lack of team play and complete reliance on Messi makes a victory over France in the next round almost unimaginable. The BISERGS world was happy to see Brian pick up two victories in a single day as he has definitely been the unluckiest participant so far. Iceland's exit means that Rachel, Rick and Gray are the only BISERGSers that have not had a team eliminated from the World Cup yet, however none of them have had a fourth team qualify yet. The scoreboard page now shows teams remaining in the fifth column, so you can see which players have the most hope going forward.
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