Croatia and France Move on

Croatia got a well deserved victory over Argentina and that leaves Lionel Messi goalless and on the brink of elimination after just two games.  Croatia were found it very easy to attack down the left side and should have scored in the first half.  They were unlucky to go into half with a goalless tie.  Their luck turned around in the second half when Croatia's pressure forced Argentina goal keeper Willy Caballero to miskick a clearance that fell to Ante Rebić.  He was still left with a tricky finish but he made no mistake with a beautifully taken goal.  Argentina felt the pressure but they were not able to respond. In the 80th minute a very composed Luca Modric did what Messi and his teammates were unable to do.  He was given time to change direction twice before lashing a beautiful right footed strike from outside the area just inside Caballero's post.  From that point on, there was never a question of whether Argentina could come back, but there were questions about if any (or all) of their players would pick up red cards in their total frustration.  In the end, there were no red cards but there was one more Croatia goal.  Argentina are not out of this tournament, but for them to go through, they will need a lot of help from results in other games.  If advancing comes down to a tie breaker, the way they gave up in frustration in the final 10 minutes of yesterday's game will come back to haunt them.

France was the other team to advance into the next round as they beat Peru 1 - 0.  Peru put together some fantastic attacking play but weren't able to get the needed break through.  France's goal came after a spell of French pressure and their breakthrough came after a well worked play saw a deflected shot fall to Mbape in front of the net late in the first half.  Peru responded much better than their South American counterparts did, and had they scored it would have been well deserved.  With their second consecutive loss, the Peruvians join a growing list of teams that have been mathematically eliminated.

Australia faced the same fate at the start of yesterday's action and when they fell behind to Denmark early it looked like they were on their way out.  They responded well, however, and equalized and then managed to keep Denmark under pressure until the end.  The one - one tie means Australian have one point and Denmark have 4.  If Australia can beat Peru and France beat Denmark in the final games of the group, they will end up on equal points and it will come down to goal difference.  So both teams still have a lot to play for next time out.

Croatia's success has had a big impact on the BISERGS score board.  Rachel, Kelley and Rick all have Croatia and they find themselves in the top 4.  Lisa jumped into 10th place thanks to Croatia as well.  Rachel has France too and was the first BISERGSer to cross 20 points as she leads.  Rachel was joined by fellow France owners Dawn, Sharleen and Krista in the top 10 with yesterday's action.  James remained in the top 10 and his chances were boosted by Australia's ability to avoid elimination.  Gray and Evan were not in action yesterday, but they remain in the top 10.

BISERGS and World Cup favorites Brazil take the field again today.  They disappointed in their first match against Switzerland and hope to avoid the danger Argentina now faces, but Costa Rica have other ideas as they face a difficult must win game after their opening loss to Serbia.  Serbia and Switzerland meet in the late game today.  Serbia has a chance to confirm its place in the final round, but they'll have to get past a very strong Swiss side first.  In the second game Nigeria takes on Iceland.  This game will have a big impact on Argentina's chances to continue in the tournament.  Nigeria lost its first game badly to Croatia and Iceland survived its first round match against Argentina with a draw.  Lisa is in 10th place and still has 3 teams to play this round.  She can continue her excellent run if Switzerland prevail over Serbia (and Lisa's husband Brian).  Of all the Brazil owners that were disappointed in the first round, Annika has kept her self closest to the top 10 and she can move into the thick of things if Brazil and Switzerland get results for her today.  Kelley could overtake Rachel with an Iceland victory, but if Serbia win her time at the top could be very short as Rick is very close behind.  The drama in the BISERGS is certainly matching the drama in Russia.