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Well, that match did not make me feel good about my choice of a champion. However, the last time the Netherlands won the Euros, they also lost their first game of group play - they just weren't in the group of death that time, I don't think. :\

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

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I had the Ireland - Croatia match spot on until the 48th minute.

Quote (Cefca @ 10th June 2012 20:54)

I had the Ireland - Croatia match spot on until the 48th minute.

I had it good bar the first scorer and then they got another one. Ah well, six games, six points, even if I dropped one with the Spain-Italy result earlier.

Not long now to the tournament really begins... when Sweden start the ball rolling for Ukraine to get "highest number of goals conceded" in Euro history!

Oh, and England and France, two of the teams hotly tipped to screw it up in the semis via penalties against Germany, they play as well.

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

I love your prediction for Sweden/Ukraine, Del.

I looked up the winner's predictions today, since they've been locked down for five days already. Interesting breakdown!

Netherlands - 5
Spain - 2
Germany - 2
Italy - 2
Greece - 1
Ireland - 1

Right now, I would say that if you DIDN'T take Netherlands, you might have a shot of jumping a good number of places at the end. That could change based on today's game, though, for sure.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I am having a lot of fun with this! I've been following pretty much every match and really getting into it. We're also talking about it a lot in chat - some people watching live, others like me following through gamecasts and chat updates - so if you're following the games and want people to talk to, come on and join us.

http://www.cavesofnarshe.com/chat/

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And hey, put the laptop down for a while
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Ten matches in and we finally got our first perfect five scores, as both Dragon_Fire and Del S managed to correctly get Netherlands 1 - 2 Germany and Mario Gomez as first scorer. In retrospect, that seems like a really predictable result, and we should all be sad that we didn't all get fives on that match!

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

The Sweden-England game IMO was one damn good match. Sure, the outcome may be a little bit of a "not sure if want" scenario to a point , but if we can see a few more matches like that in the last few before this tournament gets to knockout I'd be pleased.

England's main worries right now seem to be in defence and possession - they seem to be losing the ball quite easily and failing to take the chance to shut down the opposition attacks. If they can overcome that they might last a little longer but right now, virtually every other team they stand a chance of encountering might just get the edge over them as a result of those weaknesses.

It'll be interesting to see what effect Rooney will have when he's eligible to play again though. It's possible the co-hosts will be thinking they've got something to prove after the France loss, and they might just decide to go hell for leather in proving it against England. On the other hand, Welbeck and Carroll seem to be the part of the England squad that works best together right now, and splitting that combination up may be foolhardy. It's bound to be giving Hodgson a bit of a dilemma.

This post has been edited by Del S on 15th June 2012 23:13

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

The quarterfinal matches start on Thursday, and all the points should now double. There's one match per day, don't forget to get your new picks in, as all four matches are available!

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

How does the knockout stage work when it comes to ties? I'm guessing it goes to PKs - if I expect a match to be 1-1 at the end of regulation, would I pick that, and then pick the eventual winner of the PKs?

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

There will be extra time too.

Here you go, Neal:

Quote

Predictions change a little bit once the tournament reaches the knockout stages. Draws are not possible, so there must always be a winner. However, the score can be tied throughout regular and extra time, and these are the scores that you should predict. For instance, if Spain and Germany tie 2-2 and then proceed to a shootout, in which Spain wins, the correct prediction would be Spain 2 - 2 Germany with Spain as the winner.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Thanks much. Is extra time sudden death?

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

Nope. Some tournaments in the past have had the golden/silver goal rules (sudden and not-quite-sudden death, respectively), but no recent major tournaments have used it. If there's a draw at the end of regulation, thirty extra minutes are guaranteed, split into two fifteen-minute halves each with their own stoppage time. If there's a leader after thirty, we have a winner; if there's not, we go to kicks.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Think they got rid of silver and golden goal for good. At least with FIFA/UEFA tournaments.

So, I guess we all only got points for predicting a German win, then? I imagine we all saw it coming but not quite as badly as that. Even with the two goals they scored, Greece just weren't all there. They were lucky to even get to the game in the first place and frankly Russia must be even more annoyed they lost to a team that collapsed in such a shameful manner.

Still, if they'd managed to survive this game that would be another Euro the Greeks would have ruined...

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

Yeah, every single person who made a pick got 2 yesterday, ha.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Final match is now available, it's Sunday, don't forget.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Worst final ever

Quote (Gigantuar @ 1st July 2012 23:13)

Worst final ever

I'll agree with that TBH, even though I went for a Spanish win. Not an entertaining game for non-Spaniards by any stretch and I imagine a few Spaniards would be disappointed it was all so easy.

Italy may have deservedly lost, and proved my belief they'd choke in the final 100% right, but look on the bright side - You won the important tournament!

Congrats on that BTW

IMO this was a Euro tournament that had two teams, Greece and Italy, get further than they should have and the subsequent entertainment value of it all suffered for it. Sure, it made for good games at the time, but when we look at the fact both teams walked into a slaughterhouse when they defied the odds. Germany must be twice as annoyed they lost to such a shambolic Italian side.

The lesson here folks, is that Greeks and Italians ruin ALL of the Euros.

Using all their subs up only for the last sub to ping his hamstring four minutes later sure didn't help but Italy seemed really asleep in the game overall, IMO a far cry from the side that won the World Cup just six years ago.

This post has been edited by Del S on 2nd July 2012 13:01

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

Whoa, I won? I thought getting zero points in the final would drag me down a lot Then I still have reason to be happy despite the final

And while I always root for Italy I have to agree they generally perform bad in euro tournaments. At least we can always beat the Germans And a silver was a lot more then I expected after the 2010 disaster!

Quote (Gigantuar @ 2nd July 2012 07:19)

Whoa, I won? I thought getting zero points in the final would drag me down a lot Then I still have reason to be happy despite the final

And while I always root for Italy I have to agree they generally perform bad in euro tournaments. At least we can always beat the Germans And a silver was a lot more then I expected after the 2010 disaster!

Haha, yeah, the third and fourth superfluous goals by Spain really hurt a lot of people who had a 2-goal prediction for Spain. I myself picked a 2-0 game, but unfortunately, I said 2-0 Italy and continued on my brilliant streak of zeroes. I'll be better at this next time since I actually like soc^H^H^Hfootball now!

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

Quote (Del S @ 2nd July 2012 08:53)

IMO this was a Euro tournament that had two teams, Greece and Italy, get further than they should have and the subsequent entertainment value of it all suffered for it. Sure, it made for good games at the time, but when we look at the fact both teams walked into a slaughterhouse when they defied the odds. Germany must be twice as annoyed they lost to such a shambolic Italian side.

The lesson here folks, is that Greeks and Italians ruin ALL of the Euros.

Using all their subs up only for the last sub to ping his hamstring four minutes later sure didn't help but Italy seemed really asleep in the game overall, IMO a far cry from the side that won the World Cup just six years ago.

We're both a bit biased in the opposite extremes when it comes to this, but you sound silly. Yes, the game was an outright massacre and absolutely, Italy choked. But their team was half and half of players of an age usually retired by now and players who are younger than what you normally expect to see on a national squad. Despite that, they made it to the finals. They may not have had the quality to defeat Spain, but aside from those who just hate the italian side, I very much doubt anyone suffered to see their games or their advances through the tournament.

Anyway. If I had just picked a result for every game and not missed one of the first matches, I would've had the points to win! It was a really good tournament for me, overall. I think I hit on two perfect calls and a few close-to-perfects. 'Grats, Gigantaur. You beat me out by a single point! If the actual Euro finals would've been as close as our leader board score line, I would've been a much happier italian.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

Quote (Dragon_Fire @ 2nd July 2012 18:58)

'Grats, Gigantaur. You beat me out by a single point! If the actual Euro finals would've been as close as our leader board score line, I would've been a much happier italian.

And I would've been a much happier half-Italian Thanks!

Quote (Dragon_Fire @ 2nd July 2012 18:58)

We're both a bit biased in the opposite extremes when it comes to this, but you sound silly. Yes, the game was an outright massacre and absolutely, Italy choked. But their team was half and half of players of an age usually retired by now and players who are younger than what you normally expect to see on a national squad. Despite that, they made it to the finals. They may not have had the quality to defeat Spain, but aside from those who just hate the italian side, I very much doubt anyone suffered to see their games or their advances through the tournament.

It may seem a bit silly to you but that's how I see it. Italy's win against the Germans looks even more of a fluke now, and that as a final was a real disappointment. It was a disappointing conclusion, and that's why I think it would have been better overall for the Germans to have faced Spain.

But that's football. It's always ifs and buts, and everyone has their own view on everything.

Except hating Man United. Everyone hates Man United, deep down. Especially Man United fans.

It will be interesting though to compare and contrast England and Italy from this point on. IMO both have very similar situations: Older players that should probably be hanging up their boots, younger players lacking the international experience they need, both have a clear belief they can win any tournament they enter. Which one of them will learn their lessons of this tournament best for the upcoming WC qualifiers?

I'm pretty sure England and Italy might as well have been interchangeable and things would have looked the same overall this tournament.

This post has been edited by Del S on 2nd July 2012 20:07

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

Will I finally get one of those fancy award icons now?

Yep, all three of the top three finishers have their awards now.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I think it's safe to say I know nothing about soccer/football. I did enjoy watching most of the games, though!

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