CERRITOS, CA (smt) -- As we head to the knockout stage, all the familiar faces are there except for the Netherlands and possibly Russia, with the only real party crasher being the Czech Republic.  Greece won the EURO 2004 tournament so I'd count them as familiar (not so in the World Cup) and the co-hosts once again failed to advance (expanding to 24 teams in 2016, that means UEFA can keep giving EURO tournaments to poor soccer nations and not feel as guilty about it).  The first three groups were great contests that seemed to flip teams who are in and out on every goal scored.  High drama and no scoreless draws highlighted the Group Stage with some incredible assists and some golazos that make you realize MLS is no where close to world-class soccer (we can hope and dream, though).  The refs seem to have turned it around from that first match misstep as no more PKs were called (although there was one unfortunate yellow for a dive that wasn't for Greece and now Giorgos Karagounis will miss the Quarterfinal match) and just one other red card was handed out (very late in the IRL-ITA match).  All in all, a very exciting tournament that included comebacks of sorts by stars such as England's Wayne Rooney, Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko, Spain's Fernando Torres, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, and Italy's Mario Balotelli.  Whew.  Thank goodness for a soccer-free Wednesday, and when I say that, I'm fully aware Chivas USA is playing that day.  Ouch.

In the crazy Group A, where all four teams could not only make the Quarterfinals but that all four teams could win the group, the permutations were numerous especially with the added wrinkle that head-to-head is the first tiebreaker, not goal differential.  Co-host Poland started off strong for the third straight match, but like the other two, failed to put away several great opportunities.  So Czech Republic struck first essentially eliminated Poland, but Poland could've played a spoiler with a tying goal and they nearly got it if not for a goal mouth block headed out by Tomas Sivok to keep CZE in the quarterfinals.  Russia was riding a 16-match unbeaten streak and needed just a tie to advance.  However, one misplay and Greece capitalized and held on for a 1-0 win and a ticket to the Quarters.  So Greece advances despite Russia having a +2 GD since head-to-head is the first tiebreaker.  Also, Russia trounced Czech Republic 4-1 but they are going home and CZE wins the group with a negative GD (-1).

The Group of Death wasn't kind to the "D" teams as Denmark and the Dutch go home.  The first half hour (of both games) saw the runner-up position go from Portugal to Denmark to Portugal to Denmark and back to Portugal.  It was that kind of crazy day.  In the end, Portugal scored which sealed their place in the quarters and sent Holland home but put Germany in jeopardy if Denmark would score the next goal for the win.  But Germany got their insurance goal and finished atop the group with three wins with a 2-1 win over Denmark and Portugal, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's two goals, beat the listless Dutch, 2-1.

In Group C, if Spain and Croatia played to a 2-2 tie, they'd both be in the Quarters.  But it was scoreless while Italy took a first-half 1-0 lead over Ireland putting both teams in jeopardy.  Spain could've settled for 2nd place with a tie but scored in the 88' to give the defending EURO and World Cup champs the group.  But, even after Mario Balotelli scored a half-bicycle kick in the 90' to make it 2-0, Croatia still could've advanced over Italy if they would've scored to tie Spain.  But it wasn't to be. 

Group D saw the familiar faces of England and France advance to the Quarters but they couldn't have done it in opposite ways.  The return of the suspended Wayne Rooney paid dividends as England held on to a 1-0 win over an aggressive Ukraine team.  Ukraine joined Poland as both co-hosts failed to advance (like in 2008).  Meanwhile, the French seemed content with 2nd place after England's early goal as they could lose as long as Ukraine didn't win (since head-to-head is the first tiebreaker, France could've lost 5-0 and they probably could have).  Sweden, already eliminated, played hard and shut out the French, 2-0, thanks to a golazo (or the EA Sports version) by Zlatan Ibrahimovic who leaped and volleyed a cross into the net.  Definitely not as much group drama as the previous three unless you were wondering if the French or English would win the group.

In the pool, Tuan and Flying Elvi (on a 6-game winning streak and picked up a high 44 of the 56 points in the past 4 days) share the lead with 58 points with Walleye close behind with 57.  Flying Elvi won 7 of 8 matches while four won just 2 of 8. V2 Divorce Court! (the one he missed though was his champ, NED) was the only one to get 7 of 8 Quarterfinal teams correct while EEChick1400 (picked up a low 23 of 56 points) and Thumper got just 3 of 8 (both 37th-Tied, 37 pts).  It's Blue Panther, though, that sits in last with 34 points.  Ilmigoire (34th-T, 40) (who was coming off a 5-game losing sreak), Soccer Guru (13th-T, 51), and XaviOvil (20th-T, 48) are on 5-game win streaks while SalsaKing (4th-T, 56) had his 5-game win streak snapped with Sweden's win.

In the Group Stage, Walleye picked 16 of 24 matches (75.0%) correctly while Blue Panther only got 7 of 24 (29.2%).  Someone picked the correct result in every match (seems tougher now that you have 3 choices vs 2 previous).  The longest winning streak is 6 (both mentioned in this issue) and the longest losing streak was 7 (V2 Wedding Bells!!! (27th-T, 45)).

Just over half the 39 entries (20) were eliminated from money contention.  But 19 can still win money and 9 can still take 1st.  Flying Elvi has the best chance with a 26.6% chance to win the pool and a 71.9% chance to win money (92 of 128 possible outcomes).  Tuan has the second best chance for 1st (22.7%) while he, SalsaKing, and Absolutely Clueless (4th-T, 56) (who had his 6-game win streak snapped with the CZE win) all have a greater than 39% chance for money.  Sisyphus sits tied for 27th (45) but can still win 1st (along with the top 8 in the standings) while V2 Divorce Court! is eliminated despite sitting tied for 10th (53) and getting 7 of 8 Quarterfinal teams correct.  No one who got 4 or less Quarterfinal teams correct are still alive.  If you want to know your individual possibilities, post your request with a comment on any blog post, on Twitter to #hwceuro or @HWCI_Pools, or on our Facebook page.  Here is my second entry SiemkoStrimkoPlinko! (27th-T, 45) (amazingly still alive) with its 16 possible winning outcomes.

Don't forget to read Albert Perez's column "A to the Z SPORTS!" and Eric Foster's "Foster's Football Brew".  So enjoy them and please +1/Like/Share/Tweet anything and everything on our blog or Facebook page.  You can join in discussions by commenting on any post on the blog or Facebook page. 

    SIDES 'N KICKS:  The last 11 matches had a winner as only 5 ties were recorded (we picked an average of 8.4 ties (201 total))... IRL could not produce the magic of 20 years ago when they stunned ITA in the World Cup opener... ESP is the only team to record two shutouts and UKR is the only team to be shut out twice... POR is just the second team to win after allowing the first goal... RUS outshot GRE 25-5... Bix Pix (20th-T, 48), V2 Wedding Bells!!!, and Wampa (16th-T, 49) picked up the max 14 points in Group A; Flying Elvi in Group B; 17 in Group C; Soccer Guru in Group D... 9 got zero points in Group A;.Bix Pix zero in Group B; Sisyphus just 5 pts in Group C; Mikenjo (32nd-T, 42), Blue Panther, and Russo (27th-T, 45) only 5 pts in Group D.. incredibly ESP has 39 shots on target and FRA 36; GRE has just 9 yet they are in the Quarters... NED had just 19 of 54 shots on target, a big reason they are out... ESP are the class controlling possession 62% of the time; SWE were just 17%... when scoring the first goal, teams are 17-2-5 (0 nil-nil draws)... SWE led after halftime in all 3 games, losing the first two... when leading at the half, teams are 10-0-3 (11 scoreless/tied at the half)... total goals: 60 (10 shutouts, zero 0-0 ties), 2.50 per match... IRL picked up a red card late in the ITA match for the first one since Poland and Greece each had one in the very first match of the tournament...  Blogs/Facebook/Twitter are the discussion points these days (if you don't do social media, comment on our Blog!)... being new to Twitter, I think this is the process for updates -- twitter for mini-updates which post to Hwci WorldCup's Facebook page and on twitter at #hwcieuro; the blog for notable updates through this rss feed; then this newsletter for twice-weekly updates...