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Portugal going down to penalty kicks against a fiercely determined Poland was a surprise.
Wales 3- Belgium 1: Belgium ranked 2nd in the World opened as Radja Nainggolan 13’fired a rocket from 25 yards to put the Red Devils up 1-0. Meanwhile Wales accumulated three yellows whilst Hazard was spared a card. At the quarter mark Neil Taylor for Wales sent a strong shot at 26’ which Courtois saved. Finally at 30’ Ashley Williams got a header off a set piece to even the score. Romelu Lukaku opened the second half with a header that went awry (48’). De Bruyne and Hazard next sent shots wide as Belgium continued to press forward. Alas, Wales got possession at 55’ and Hal Robson-Kanu converted a left-footer for the lead, 2-1. Belgium’s next opportunity came at 64’ as De Bruyne sent a soft free kick into the goalie’s arms. At 74’ a Fellaini header goes wide as Belgium continues to be frustrated by the Welsh defense. More troublesome for Belgium were two infractions missed by the referee which could have resulted in better chances. At 86’ Wales put the game away as Sam Vokes delivers a stunning header past Courtois for the 3-1 lead.
Germany 1- Italy 1: A slow start was interrupted with a substitution as Germany’s Sami Khedira aggravated a thigh injury and was replaced by Bastian Schweinsteiger. At 27’ Schweinsteiger shoves a defender and heads in a ball returned to the pitch given the blatant foul. By 30’ Germany led in fouls 6-2 and at 42’ they had their first shot on goal. A minute later the Italians had numerous opportunities to no avail. And so the first half ended with only two shots on goal between the two 4x World Champions.
In the second half Müller made his first appearance at 54’ with a shot deflected in time. Meanwhile Italy accumulated 3 yellows in three minutes before a lame attempt at goal. With Gomez plodding toward the goal he got a pass off to Hector who centered the ball for Mesut Özil and the first goal of the game at 65’. Moments later Gomez one-on-one with Buffon resulted in a corner. Italy’s next chance came at 74’ and once again was off target. Jérôme Boateng is called for an obvious hand ball in the box at 77’ which Leonardo Bonucci converted for the leveler at 78’. With renewed energy the Italians made a run only to have the Alemans push back with tense moments through 93’. The overtime period saw some German action at 100’ come to naught. At 113’Lorenzo Insigne got a shot on goal which Neuer easily saved. And thus it was time for penalty kicks.
Insigne opened the penalty phase with net followed by Kroos. Next was Simone Zaza who missed completely leaving Müller with the opportunity to forge ahead only to tap an easily saved shot for Buffon. Italy converted the next shot and Özil then hit the post. Continuing the farce, Pelle’ taps a shot far left for the second Italian miss. Draxler ties for Germany and Bonucci’s shot is saved. With the match in Schweinsteiger’s boot he skied the ball over the net. Giaccherini scored the Italians 3rd and Hummels kept the match alive. Parolo is on as is Kimmich. De Sciglio skimmed in off the crossbar and Boateng was true 5-5. Neuer finally stops the streak saving Darmian’s shot. Buffon is left to stop Hector but though his fingers touch the ball it is not enough to stop the final destination and Germany moves on.
France 5- Iceland 2: Each team had early shots on goal, Iceland in white and France in blue, playing on a slick rain weathered pitch. At 12’ Giroud breaks through the defense off a nice goal over the top to place the first score pass the goalie. Les Bleus strike again off a corner to Pogba who drills a header to the back of the net (20’). Iceland got a second chance at 25’ deftly defended by France in front of the net. Most impressive was France’s maintaining possession and keeping pressure on Iceland. Payet 43’ gets a short pass at the top of the box and sends a skimmer from left to right which finds the back of the net. Minutes later Griezmann joins the act getting past the defense and chipping over the attacking goalie to tally the 4th goal at 45’.
France continued possession in the second half resulting in two errant strikes. At 56’ Gylfi Sigurdsson gets a pass into Kolbeinn Sigthorsson who toes in to end the clean sheet. Remarkably this marked the first open goal scored against France in the tournament as the previous two were penalties. Giroud recovered the deficit at 59’ heading in off a free kick from Payet ~ 5-1. At 63’ Hugo Lloris saved a point-blank header from Sverrir Ingason as Iceland continued to show life. The second Icelandic goal came at 84’ as Birkir Bjarnason leveled in a header. A few more touches by Iceland fell short and so the fairy tale was ended by the home team who move on to meet Germany.
****************************************
Best quote of the game today: "I think Ronaldo would only swap jerseys with himself if he could."
This was the final, in my mind.
Portugal 2- Wales 0: Early forays by Portugal include a questionable take down of Ronaldo in the box that the referee ignored. At 16’Portugal’s Mario got a shot crossing wide of the net. Wales’ Bale got his first shot at 19’ off a corner which went wide left. Bale shoots again at 21’ to the keeper as the momentum has switched to Wales. At 23’ Bale takes his third shot off a counter. After a 20 minute lull Ronaldo gets another slight touch headed over the net. The second half opens with Portugal getting a free kick and then a corner which Ronaldo heads directly into goal for the match’s first score (50’). At 53’ Nani redirects a Ronaldo strike to up the deficit to 2-0. Ronaldo next placed a free kick just above the crossbar at 63’ as Portugal continued to control the match. At 65’ a Nani shot deflects off the keeper which Mario sends wide. Wales shows a modicum of life at 76’ as Bale kicks the ball into the goalkeeper’s arms. Portugal soon responds with a close shot on goal saved by the keeper. With the clock waning Wales increased the pressure but the Portuguese defense held and the Fairy Tale was put to bed.
France 2- Germany 0: France began the match with much home crowd energy. Antoine Griezmann gets the first shot on goal at 7’ after dribbling through the box. Germany’s Thomas Müller got a look at 13’ which he sent wide left. A minute later Emre Can took a shot which French goalie Hugo Lloris struggled to save. Müller then takes a second shot easily covered by Lloris. Dimitri Payet gets a 30 meter free kick at 25’ which Neuer easily covers. With the change of possession Schweinsteiger shoots and Lloris tips it over the bar. The majority of the first half is German possession (72%) as France can’t get any support on counters. The first yellow came at 6’ as Can takes down Griezmann. Paul Pogba’s free kick goes straight to Neuer. An errant pass leads to a Müller shot of little consequence. France gets two opportunities with a Griezmann shot into the left side of the net and a Giroud run that in the end is defended before a shot is taken. A late corner by the French results in a hand ball by Schweinsteiger in the box and a penalty kick which Antoine Griezmann converts (47’) for the half time 1-0 lead.
The second half opened with some lively play by both sides. Draxler tallies Germany’s 4th yellow at 50’ (Schweinsteiger and Özil booked on the hand ball) as emotions begin to run high. At 60’ Jérôme Boateng is off due to injury and replaced with Shkodran Mustafi. After Götze replaces Can, Payet sends a weak shot at 67’ off a counter. At 71’ Özil sends a free kick which is headed awry. Bad defense by Germany gave Pogba the ball in the box who then centers it and Griezmann gets Neuer’s fisted ball into the net for his double (73’). Draxler tries to rally with a hard shot that Lloris defends. Draxler’s next shot off a free kick misses right. The German desperation continues as Mustafi sends it away and the clock strikes 80’. Opportunities by both teams in the final minutes, including a great save by Lloris at 93’ to keep a clean sheet, kept the match exciting but the damage was complete. Thus the World Champions are defeated by a rejuvenated host ready to meet Portugal in the final.
Portugal 1- France 0: After a frantic beginning Antoine Griezmann gets the first shot on goal at 10’ with a header Rui Patricio tips over the crossbar. At the 8’ mark Ronaldo and Dimitri Payet collide with Ronaldo grasping his left knee in pain. At the 18’ mark Ronaldo goes down again and Portugal shutters at the thought of playing without him. A Moussa Sissoko shot at 22’ is saved by Patricio as is the resulting corner. Ronaldo is then carted off the field to be replaced by Ricardo Quaresma at 25’. With France dominating possession Sissoko again gets a shot that Patricio saves at 34’. Portugal’s first corner kick at 39’ is headed over the bar. Nevertheless, Portugal begins to control the ball more in the final 10 minutes.
The second half opens with Nani beginning to limp and Pepe playing theatrics. At 58’ with neither team seeing any real opportunity Payet is substituted with Kingsley Coman. Shortly after Griezmann took an easily saved shot. With Ronaldo out Portugal is seemingly playing stouter defense making France look flat. France had their best chance at 66’ as Coman crossed to Griezmann whose header missed the target. At 75’ Coman finds Olivier Giroud who turns and fires but is denied by Patricio. At 78’ Quaresma gets Portugal’s first shot on goal directly at Hugo Lloris. Sissoko blasts a shot at 84’ for another French opportunity. At 92’ André-Pierre Gignac, who had replaced Giroud, received the ball at the far post turned and hit the post thus frustrating France’s opportunity to win in regulation.
Extra time began with Portugal getting a free kick at 95’ which showed potential. At 101’ France had a series of corners which came up short. A Portuguese corner at 104’ results in an Éder header which Lloris saves in time. At 107’ Laurent Koscielny gets a yellow card for a hand ball that replay showed was Éder’s. The resulting free kick by Raphael Guerreiro hit the crossbar. At 109’ Éder’s direct shot finds the back of the net for Portugal’s breakthrough goal. From my vantage point Rui Patricio with 7 saves was the man of the match.
According to my factbook, "Naginii successfully hosted the Ile de France Olympics."
We were quite shocked to learn this, as we weren't aware that the IDF ever hosted an Olympics. However, it would explain the billions or so recently noticed to have gone missing from the treasury and all the disused infrastructure, vacant housing, crumbling sports venues and programmable fountains we've been tripping over lately.
The Highlander 1 and Corsisco
ESPN: The absence of Barcelona players from the finalists for UEFA's Best Player in Europe Award is "scandalous," the club's vice president Jordi Mestre says.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were not included when the finalists were announced on Friday, with the honours instead going to Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale and Atletico's Antoine Grizemann.
"It doesn't seem the right decision to me at all," Mestre told TV3. "I don't know what criteria UEFA applied, with all respect to the chosen winners, but I disagree.
"That our players aren't there, such as Suarez or Messi, is scandalous.
"The club are very disappointed and angry."
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar did not make the final cut for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.
Barcelona won La Liga last season, with Suarez scoring a remarkable 59 goals in all competition, while Messi -- who has won the award twice before -- added 41.
Ronaldo scored 51 goals in all competitions as Real Madrid edged Atletico for the Champions League crown.
All three finalists also reached the semifinals of Euro 2016, with Ronaldo's Portugal the victors, while Barcelona's three stars are all from South America.
Journalists from each of UEFA's 55 member associations provided an initial list of their five best players, with the 10 gaining the most points advancing to a second vote to determine the final three.
The winner of the award will be voted for at the Champions League group stage draw on Aug. 25.
Feyenoord 1 Man U 0 (Europa)
Watford 3 Man U 1
It keeps getting better
Will DEN come back if its condemnation is repealed?
It's a banned regional name. They've salted the earth...nothing can grow under that name again.
Hello everyone!
I am the new Minister of Foreign Affairs for The West Pacific. I just wanted to take a minute and introduce myself to everyone here and express my wishes to a continued great relationship with Ile de France.
In addition TWP IS HAVING A PARTY NEXT WEEKEND! And you are all invited!
The Delegate and Guardians of The West Pacific
Request the honor of your presence at a Weekend-Long Celebration, given in thanks for the many nations and regions that have supported TWP.
The festivities begin on the RMB, our forum and our Discord server on Friday, October 14th. Join us first thing in the morning for our Friday Karaoke tradition. The official celebration begins at 19:00 (USA EDT) with formal introductions, and will continue throughout Friday into Sunday. There will be games, music, an open chat party, amusing stories about The West Pacific and a panel discussion on the history of TWP. A highlight of the celebration will be a State of the Region address offered by Big Bad Badger at 20:00 (USA EDT) on Saturday. TWP will also hold joint military operations in recognition of the event. All nations or regions that would like to participate should contact our new Commander of TWPAF Yuno owl.
Feel free to join us for any or all of the celebration, as your schedule permits. Whenever you arrive, you may describe your entrance and announce yourself, if you wish.
Residents of TWP and others are encouraged to change their flags to the one at the top of this invitation for this event.
No RSVP requested.
Should you have any questions about the party, please contact Neenee
Hanging out in Social Liberal Union until the Liberation resolution is defeated.
WA Nations feel free to come by
We may be back in business, RAIDERS
*is jolted awake from nap in hammock strung between the explosive-truncated statues of the Founders, to hear someone ringing the "RAID" bell*
....checks retired status, yawns....
*goes back to sleep*
Chelsea Hammered
Chelsea recovered.
Memo: Zombie Situation
IDF residents — Border Control has been instituted, and we have thus closed IDF to all traffic. IF YOU LEAVE, YOU CAN'T GET BACK IN FOR THE DURATION. Given the level of chaos in the streets of IDF and the surrounding gamemap, not to mention the legions of undead roaming the countryside as well as Old Trafford, the Security Directorate has decided it probably best we stop admitting just anyone into the region. It's all fun and games until someone gets bitten in the head...
At first we were unsure if this were an actual "Zombie event" or just legions of Cubs and/or Man U fans wandering around aimlessly. It wasn't until we noticed hordes of undead gnawing on a lampost that we decided this was probably a widespread zombie-like contagion event, and took the necessary steps to secure the region. A bit late in the day, admittedly.
Having said that, while Corsisco works-out a cure, we're currently awash in the undead. We urge the 16 million survivors to head to the bunkers under the Mazama Memorial Chatzy (the old chat room) to wait this out. We've got about 20 years worth of Rio's wine collection and crates of old cheese stocked-up to survive on.
BY the way — if you do have dead laying about your property, current protocol is to dig a large trench and burn the corpses.
Given this is year four of the Z event, it should be a well understood practice by now. Please, for the sake of the region, don't just drag them out to the curb and expect them to be collected by the IDF Corpse Removal Squads. They're a bit behind schedule, and probably won't make it to your neighborhood in time before the corpses reanimate and start gnawing on your head.
Alas, 29 million survivors vs. 71 million dead
I was employed as a mercenary elsewhere
But all is back where it began
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