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WC - Sunday morning games (7 ET, ESPN)

Slovenia got a 1-0 win on a rather soft goal allowed by the Algerian keeper.

The refereeing has been very good so far in the tournament. I was impressed from game 1, with the guy from Uzbekistan, who issued a yellow for a defender standing over a free kick to delay the restart. They're issuing appropriate yellow cards, but not tossing them out for fouls that aren't preventing a scoring chance unless they're blatant.

I'm pleased to see them give out cards for blatant shirt-pulling and intentional handballs. A sub for Algeria got both of those in just a few minutes in the second half today, making the 'Desert Foxes' play a man down after the 73rd minute.
 
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OHSportsFan9;1716126; said:
Rooting for a 0-0 tie in the Algeria/Slovenia game.

I think Ghana beats Serbia, but I've also got them in a money pool with some friends. :wink2:

Anybody rooting for the USA should have been hoping for a 0-0 draw between Algeria & Slovenia.

They were hypothesizing since Slovenia were able to manage a goal and three points that the US could expect Slovenia to pack it in and play counterattacking soccer on Friday. I don't doubt that's what will happen, but in my opinion it would not be a wise move on their part. I don't think Slovenia will be able to earn at least a draw against both the US & England, and only winning by one goal against Algeria I don't think will be enough to make 4 points stand up.
 
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Wow. Serbia just spit the bit. Handball in the box, and Ghana puts away the penalty in the 84th min.

Why in the hell would you put your hands over your head in that position? Stupidity like that deserves to be punished harshly.

Serbia have failed to capitalize on plenty of chances over the last 20 mins, but it looks like they'll get a few more in hopes of an equalizer in the last minutes.
 
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Anybody rooting for the USA should have been hoping for a 0-0 draw between Algeria & Slovenia.

They were hypothesizing since Slovenia were able to manage a goal and three points that the US could expect Slovenia to pack it in and play counterattacking soccer on Friday. I don't doubt that's what will happen, but in my opinion it would not be a wise move on their part. I don't think Slovenia will be able to earn at least a draw against both the US & England, and only winning by one goal against Algeria I don't think will be enough to make 4 points stand up.
Assuming everyone beats Algeria and England wins out. A tie on Friday wouldn't be terrible.

England 7 pts (draw, win, win)
USA 5 pts (draw, draw, win)
Slovenia 4 pts (win, draw, loss)
Algeria 0 pts (loss, loss, loss)

Neither Slovenia nor Algeria (especially) scare me after today. USA can manage to get 3 out of both these matches, if they play with some grit and composure on their finishing. USA will be favored and need to play like the favorites.
 
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I agree about the relative strength of Slovenia & Algeria.

Ideally, the US would play to their potential and give themselves a shot to win the group by collecting three points in each of their the remaining matches - especially if England slips up somewhere. The second-place team in this group would likely face Germany in the Round of 16 rather than either Ghana, Serbia or Australia.

My biggest fear about the US's remaining matches is their tendency to play down to the level of their opposition.
 
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BigWoof31;1716353; said:
I wasn't that impressed with either Slovenia or Algeria. I like the Yanks to get 3 points in both of those matches.

Slovenia's 1-0 win gives them the group lead. There are 4 teams in each group - they all play each other. A team gets 3 points for a win and 1 for a draw. The top 2 teams advance.

For those unfamiliar with WC Group tiebreakers - in the event of a tie, the first tiebreaker is goal differential (each team's total goals scored in 3 games minus the total goals allowed). If that's the same, then the total goals scored is the next tiebreaker.

Since there's been a tie between USA and England, any team that gets 6 points in the group is guaranteed to advance. So if the USA wins their last 2 games, they definitely advance.

If the USA gets a draw and a win in the last 2 game, they should get through. A win, a draw and 2 goals vs. Algeria guarantees it. Here are the 18 scenarios:

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England beats them both:
7 - England
5 - USA
4 - Slovenia
0 - Algeria

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England does the same:
5 - England (goal differential vs Algeria/(then total goals) decides who wins the Group)
5 - USA (they need 2 goals against Algeria to clinch in this scenario)
5 - Slovenia (only beat Algeria 1-0, and will likely lose the tiebreakers)
0 - Algeria

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England draws with both:
5 - USA (goal differential vs Algeria/(then total goals) decides who wins the Group)
5 - Slovenia (only beat Algeria 1-0, and will likely lose the tiebreaker)
3 - England
0 - Algeria

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England draws with Algeria and beats Slovenia:
5 - USA (goal differential/(then total goals) decides who wins the Group)
5 - England
4 - Slovenia
1 - Algeria

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England beats Algeria and loses to Slovenia:
7 - Slovenia
5 - USA
4 - England
0 - Algeria

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England loses to Algeria and beats Slovenia:
5 - USA
4 - England (total goal differential applies, not head-to-head w/Slovenia)
4 - Slovenia
3 - Algeria

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England loses to both:
7 - Slovenia
5 - USA
3 - Algeria
1 - England

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England draws with Algeria and loses to Slovenia:
7 - Slovenia
5 - USA
2 - England
1 - Algeria

USA draws with Slovenia, beats Algeria, England loses to Algeria and draws with Slovenia:
5 - USA (scoring 2 goals against Algeria wins the tiebreaker)
5 - Slovenia
3 - Algeria
2 - England

-----------------------------

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England beats them both:
7 - England
5 - USA
3 - Slovenia
1 - Algeria

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England does the same:
5 - England (goal differential vs Slovenia/(then total goals) decides who wins the Group)
5 - USA
3 - Slovenia
2 - Algeria

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England draws with both:
5 - USA
4 - Slovenia
3 - England
2 - Algeria

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England draws with Algeria and beats Slovenia:
5 - USA (goal differential/(then total goals) decides who wins the Group)
5 - England
3 - Slovenia
2 - Algeria

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England beats Algeria and loses to Slovenia:
6 - Slovenia
5 - USA
4 - England
1 - Algeria

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England loses to Algeria and beats Slovenia:
5 - USA
4 - England (total goal differential applies, not head-to-head w/Algeria)
4 - Algeria
3 - Slovenia

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England loses to both:
6 - Slovenia
5 - USA
4 - Algeria
1 - England

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England draws with Algeria and loses to Slovenia:
6 - Slovenia
5 - USA
2 - Algeria
1 - England

USA beats Slovenia, draws with Algeria, England loses to Algeria and draws with Slovenia:
5 - USA
4 - Slovenia (goal differential decides 2nd place, not head-to-head)
4 - Algeria
2 - England
 
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