And Then There Were Two

Thomas Muller celebrates one of Germany's seven goals
in front of the stunned Brazil.

The absolute demolition of Brazil at the hands of the ruthless Germans coupled with Argentina's penalty kick victory over the Netherlands means that only Rodrigo or Krista can claim the BISERGS crown.  Krista can boast that she is the only one with both finalists, but even with that honor, the odds of are very much in Rodrigo's favor at this point.  He holds an 8.25 point lead over Krista and also has the Netherlands playing in the third place game.  If the Dutch can defeat the demoralized Brazilians, Krista's Argentines may have to win by several goals to make up the difference.  The other complication for Krista is that every goal scored by Argentina counts as a goal not only against Rodrigo, but agains herself, since they both have the Germans.  The final is worth triple points and the third place match is worth the same as the group stage matches were.

Argentina advances to the final after defeating
the Netherlands in a penalty kick shootout. 

The record breaking victory by Germany was worth 12.5 BISERGS points and not only did it lift Rodrigo, Krista and Gray into a nearly guaranteed top three finish, it also vaulted Brian G and Evan into the top 10 from the 16th and 17th places respectively.  Brian M also entered the top 10 for the first time with Argentina's victory and could climb much higher than his current 9th place if Argentina wins it all.  Doug sits in 4th place and has Argentina in the final, but he is nearly 12 points behind Gray.  All of Brazil's owners slipped backward with the minus 2.5 point result in the semifinal round.  The Netherlands lost on penalties, but still earned their owners 2 points because they finished 120 minutes on equal footing and the semifinal was worth double points.

The Brazilians would probably rather not have to play in the 3rd place game after being humiliated in front of their home fans in the semifinal, but Holland are also exhausted after back to back 120 minute matches decided by penalties.  It may not be a game worth watching, but the results will affect the final BISERGS standings.

The final is a classic matchup between Europe and South America.  Germany is a complete team that seems to be able to score at any moment, while rarely conceding a goal. Thomas Muller can take home the Golden Boot and the World Cup if he is able to score twice in a German victory.  Currently, Colombia's James Rodriguez is the Golden Book leader with 6 goals in this years World Cup, Muller has 5 goals and Messi has 4.  Lionel Messi has a chance to put his name in the conversation as the best player ever.  A hat trick in the final would give him 7 goals, the Golden Boot and the World Cup and would probably put him ahead of Pele and Diego Maradona in most peoples rankings when added to his other accomplishments with Barcelona over the years.  He wasn't able to assert himself on yesterday's match, but he did have two clever passes in overtime that could have lead to goals if his teammates were able to finish their golden opportunities.  

3rd Place Match

World Cup Final

The Final Four

 The World Cup restarts for the semifinal round today with a huge match between Brazil and Germany.  Tomorrow the Netherlands will take on Argentina with the winners advancing to the final on July 13th.  The games are worth double points for the BISERGS and with the final match being worth triple, there is still a chance for four of the top five to win the BISERGS depending on the results.  Gray can't win because he has the same teams remaining as Rodrigo and is currently behind him in the standings.  Doug is definitely a long shot but with negative points being doubled or tripled in the next two matches, there is still a possibility he can win.  16 BISERGSers still have at least one of the four remaining teams.  Rodrigo, Gray and Krista are the only remaining players with 2 teams left and they all share Germany.  There is a lot at stake for bragging rights and positioning in the all important (ok, we all know they are actually meaningless) BISERGS world rankings.  The losers in the semifinals will play one another in the third place match, which is worth the value of a group stage game in the BISERGS and could have an effect on the standings.

Before the tournament started many experts thought a final featuring South American giants Brazil and Argentina was a real possibility.  Germany was also a real favorite before things began, but not many expected the Netherlands to make it this far.  Neymar suffered a horrible injury, so for Brazil to succeed at home will require some other players to step up against Germany.  Messi is the biggest star remaining in the tournament and would love to add a World Cup title to his long list of achievements.

I made a mistake in the calculations of the scores following the quarterfinals.  I had accidentally given Spain the points for the Netherlands victory.  The error has been corrected and the biggest changes at the top are that Gray is currently ahead of Krista in the nephew/niece category and Rodrigo's lead is larger than previously reported.

Eight Nations Left Standing

The round of 16 ended with America bowing out to Belgium in extra time.  Argentina also moved on in the last day, sending Switzerland back home in a match that required an extra 30 minutes to determine a winner.  That leaves eight countries standing and three rounds to go until the World Cup is awarded on July 13th.  In the BISERGS Brian Markwood had the biggest day, as the owner of both Belgium and Argentina.  He jumped up to 12th place with 7.25 points on the day and looks ready to move into the top ten in the next round.  Krista and Rachel reentered the top 10 forcing both Sharleen and Annika off the list.  Doug jumped from 8th into a tie for 3rd with Rick, the exact place they ended the group stages.  With the loss of Switzerland and the USA, the BISERGS must say goodbye to James, Colinsboys and Josh.  

Greg's 11 points were the most scored by anyone in the round of 16, followed by Rodrigo who was just 1/4 point behind for the 8 matches.  Matt S. and Krista each scored 8.5 points in their attempt to keep pace with the leaders.  Only Greg and Rodrigo have 3 teams remaining, while 10 BISERGSers have 2 teams left.

Tomorrow the World Cup restarts again with two quarterfinal matches.  The first is an all European clash between France and Germany, which is followed by a South American battle between Brazil and Colombia.  In the BISERGS, the matches are now worth 50% more than the previous rounds, so a win will earn 4.5 points and a goal .75 points.  The points will increase further in the next two rounds, meaning there is still going to be plenty of movement on the BISERGS leader board.  Greg and Rodrigo meet head to head in both matches, so it is a big day for the BISERGS.  The following day will feature Argentina against Belgium and The Netherlands vs. Costa Rica.

France and Germay Prevail

Germany finally broke through in added time to set up a
quarterfinal clash with France.

Africa is out of the World Cup as Nigeria and Algeria couldn't overcome their European rivals.  Nigeria and Algeria had plenty of the attack in the early going of their matches and each saw goals called back due to offsides calls.  In the first match, a tactical switch halfway through the second half turned France into the dominant side.  Still, their attacks were turned away by brilliant goal keeping and the woodwork until their goalie misplayed a corner kick and Paul Pogba easily headed home the first goal.  France scored a second to seal the victory as their continued pressure force Nigeria into an unfortunate own goal.  Algeria gave Germany a scare from the outset and both goal keepers were called into action again and again.  Germany took firm control of the match in the second half, but were unable to score and at the end of regulation time the score was 0 - 0.  Early in the overtime Germany broke through as Andre Schurrle brilliantly dragged low cross into the net using his trailing foot.  As Algeria committed numbers forward to rescue their World Cup dreams, Germany struck again.  Algeria managed a very late consolation goal, but the Germans ended up 2 - 1 winners.  The result sets up another thrilling World Cup quarterfinal between France and Germany the day after Brazil and Colombia square off.

The prevailing wisdom throughout the tournament has been that the European teams would struggle in the heat and humidity of Brazil, especially late in matches.  The Netherlands, Germany and France have all proven that wrong in the round of 16, scoring either in the extra time or late in regulation to knock out Mexico, Algeria and Nigeria.  Even Greece managed to score in the 90th minute to force the extra period against Costa Rica, although Costa Rica went on to win the match.  Currently two South American teams, one Central American team and three European teams have spots in the quarterfinals with the final two round of 16 matchups still to come.

The German victory puts Rodrigo firmly in control of the BISERGS with a five point lead over second place Greg.  He has three teams into the next round (Germany, the Netherlands and Costa Rica).  France's victory lifted Annika back into the top 10.  The Nigeria loss adds Derek to the list of BISERGSers who have had their third team eliminated.  Sorry Derek for not getting your name on the Nigeria flag graphic this summer.  I just noticed that now. 

Costa Rican Joy and Lágrimas Mexicanas

Arjen Robben is awarded a late penalty for tripping
on something, most likely a blade of grass.

Costa Rica was a perfect 5 for 5 in a penalty shootout victory over Greece and have advanced to the quarterfinals.  Mexico was a few minutes away from beating the Netherlands but were unable to hold on to their lead and gave up two heartbreaking goals in the last 5 minutes.  It is the fifth consecutive World Cup that Mexico has lost in the round of 16.

El Tri dominated the first half but were unable to score before the break.  They changed that with a goal just after the restart and were holding on through more heroics from their goalie Memo Ochoa when the Netherlands scored through a blistering strike by Wesley Sneijder.  Then a controversial penalty was awarded and Mexico was sent home from the round of 16 once again.  Costa Rica were reduced to 10 men when defender Oscar Duarte was sent off for getting his second yellow card early in the second half.  They were leading 1-0 at the time and held on to their lead until the 90th minute when Greece finally broke through.  In extra time, no one was able to score and the game went to penalties where the exhausted Costa Ricans were perfect.

The results sent Rodrigo back to first place and Rick into second.  Carol Barrera entered the top ten again based on the Netherlands result, although she and Rodrigo would have preferred to see Mexico continue.  Sadly, the losses for Mexico and Greece mean that Dawn, Dan and Emilie have now had all of their teams eliminated.

Colombia Thrill Again and Brazil Squeaks Through

Colombia celebrate a goal on their way to victory.

Brazil advanced to the next round by the skin of their teeth, but their opponent in the next round, Colombia stole the show and continues to steal the hearts of World Cup viewers around the world.  Colombia's first goal by James Rodriguez was a nominee for best goal of the tournament.  He now has five goals for the tournament and is the leader in the race for the "Golden Boot".  When his wonder-strike went off the bottom of the crossbar and into the goal, Uruguay's strategy of defending and waiting for one opportunity to strike went up in smoke.  Chile hit the bottom of the crossbar at the very end of the second extra period, but their shot caromed out.  A few minutes later, their final penalty kick also hit the post and Brazil slipped into the next round.  The Brazil - Columbia match up should be as exciting a quarterfinal as the World Cup has ever seen.

Those results put Greg into the lead for the first time this summer.  Rodrigo dropped to 5th, but with both favorites in today's matches belonging to him, he will likely be on top again by the end of the second match.  Ivan and Matt S. made big moves today into 2nd and 4th respectively as the owners of both Colombia and Brazil.  Rick is still in third place after the shuffle, but is now just 1/2 point from the top.  In fact, just 1.75 points separate the top 5 BISERGSers in what is the closest BISERGS ever at this point.

BISERGS Leaderboard Tightens up as Group Stage Completes

Ronaldo finally scored a World Cup goal, but his
Portuguese team couldn't do enough to oust team USA. 

Doug completed a stunning 16.25 round yesterday that saw him rise all the way to third place in the BISERGS.  Rodrigo maintained the first position with 36.75 points, but he is being pressed by Greg who is only 1.5 points behind.  Greg's brothers Rick and Doug are both very close behind with 34 points overall.  Annika and Rachel managed to get four team through to the next round and everyone else in the top 10, except Sharleen have three teams remaining.  Gray, Ivan and Matt are the other members of the current top 10.  Defending BISERGS winner Carol B is in 11 place and could still repeat as champion.  Allison looks to bounce back from a very difficult round three that saw her slip from 2nd place down to 12th.  Sadly, the BISERGS is over for Katelynn and Hudson since they have had all four teams eliminated, but there is still plenty of excitement left in the World Cup for them to enjoy.

The USA advanced even though they were beaten by Germany 1-0.  Portugal beat Ghana in the other group game, but not by enough goals to take away the American's superior goal differential.  The result means the USA will play Belgium in the next round (at the exact time we will be checking into the airport, so I'll probably miss the match.)  The Germans won the group and will play Algeria who finished 2nd to Belgium in group H. Algeria sealed the final spot with a 1-1 draw against Russia.  The Russians jumped out to an early lead, but the Algerians made the most of a corner kick in the second half to equalize and kept the Russians out the rest of the way.  Belgium looked underwhelming in a 1-0 win over South Korea.  The Americans should like their chances against the Belgians who are full of super stars, but haven't gelled as a team at all.

Messi Stikes Twice

Messi puts a free kick over the wall and into the net for his
second goal of the day.

Ecuador, Honduras and Iran were all dumped from the World Cup today as Switzerland, Argentina and Bosnia & Herzegovina won their matches and France coasted through to a 0 - 0 draw against Ecuador.  Ecuador needed a win and became the only South American team to not make it out of the group stage of the competition.  Nigeria became the first African team to advance to the next round, even though they lost to Argentina .  Bosnia looked impressive as they ended Iran's unlikely dream and would have advanced themselves except for a bad offsides call that cost them a goal and a point in their previous game.  Switzerland recovered from their humiliating loss to France last week by blasting Honduras 3-0.

The most exciting game of the day was Argentina vs. Nigeria which finished 3-2 with two goals for Messi which were matched by a brace from Nigeria's Ahmed Musa.  Two goals had already been scored after 4 minutes and the game kept up the end to end pace for most of the 90 minutes.  The results set up two more round of 16 matchups where Nigeria will take on France and Argentina will battle Switzerland.

The results catapulted Rachel into 3rd place with all four of her teams still in the competition.  Doug rose from 25th all the way to 5th with a BISERGS record 12.75 point day.  He had all three of today's winning teams (Bosnia, Argentina and Switzerland) and still has Belgium to play this round.  Rachel, Rick, Annika, Krista and Dawn all have four teams remaining with only four matches left in the group stage. 

Uruguay Redefines Winning Ugly

Diego Godin scores the goal, but appears to be run away from Luis Suarez
(number 9) rather than celebrate with him for fear of being bitten.

The day's biggest game was a very ugly affair.  In a game that featured Mario Balotelli and Luis Suarez it could have been a clasic.  Both players are capable of magic and both have a history of losing it on the field.  This match featured Mario getting a yellow card for an amazing ninja kick to the back of an Uruguayan defender's head and Luis Suarez getting away with biting an Italian late in the game.  Italy only needed a draw to advance and they were playing for the 0-0 result.  The Italians had a player sent off for a red card which looked mild relative to the rest of the action.  In the end, the Uruguayos scored on a corner kick but deserve to be the most hated team to continue in this years World Cup (and the 2010 World Cup, too).

Balotelli's violence was much more athletic and actually
involved him trying to win the ball.

Greece advanced ahead of the star studded Ivory Coast team thanks to a late penalty.  The Greeks actually played some attacking soccer and nearly scored many other times while doing the defensive work needed to stop the great Ivorian goal scorers.  Colombia continued with style in a 4-1 win over Japan who had to press for a victory to have any hope of advancing and left themselves vulnerable to the exciting South Americans.  In the meaningless match between Costa Rica and England both teams played like it was meaningless.  0-0 was the final score, England leave on a whimper and Costa Rica top the group.

The results set up a battle of South American rivals, Colombia and Uruguay in the next round.  Colombia is the tournament darling so far with plenty of attacking flair and a well choreographed goal celebration that you can't help but love.  They take on the villains, Uruguay, who will probably be toothless without Suarez as they were without him in their opening loss to Costa Rica.  The other knock-out match will be between Greece and Costa Rica in a matchup that will guarantee that an underdog advances to the final eight.

For the BISERGS, I'm very happy to report that Emilie was the big winner on the day.  Greece and Uruguay earned her 7 points which doubles her score for the entire BISERGs so far.  Ivan moved to within 1.5 points of Rodrigo thanks to Colombia and fellow Colombia owners Matt S. and Rick made significant advances, too.  Annika has risen to her highest place yet (4th) and with her highflying French side set to play tonight, she could soon top the table.  Nine BISERGSers still have the potential of seeing all four teams advance.  Rachel, Dawn, Emmett, Nate, Krista and Evan aren't in the top 10 today, but with the possibility of four teams advancing, they could be serious contenders before it is over.

Mexico is Through and Carol Makes Her Move

Mexico's coach, Miguel Herrera is overcome with joy.

Mexico and Croatia had been involved in a tense match for 70 minutes when Mexico suddenly struck for two goal in just three minutes.  They ended up 3-1 winners and everyone had to love watching the joyous reactions of their coach Miguel Herrera.  Just a few months ago, Mexico were about to miss playing in the World Cup all

together, but now they are through to the second round and look like they can go even further.  They will match up against Holland in the next phase, since Holland used two late goals to overcome Chile 2-0 and clinch the top spot in group B.  That means Chile has to face Brazil who crushed Cameroon 4-1, sending Cameroon home as the worst team in this years world cup with 0 wins, one awful red card and nine goals allowed.  Brazil had moments where they turned on the samba style that their country has been craving and could be hitting their stride at just the right time.  A further indication that the stars may be alining in Brazil's favor is that Neymar scored the 100th goal of this World Cup in what the 100th World Cup game in Brazil's history.  Spain got a bit of redemption with a 3-0 win over Australia, but it was little consolation after their first two losses.

The Spain result was good news for those who picked Spain in the BISERGS as they finally produced some points.  Spain's victory coupled with Hollands win shot Carol Barrera from 15th place to 4th with an 8.5 point day.  If her remaining teams the Netherlands and France meet in the finals, she could still win the BISERGS in spite of the huge Spain and England let down.  Croatia's owners had hoped to see their team make it to the next round, but were left disappointed.  

Dramatic Finish to Round Two

The USA were seconds away from advancing when Portugal scored the equalizer

Two complete rounds are in the BISERGS books, and Rodrigo continues to set the pace.  For the World Cup teams, the round came to a close in dramatic fashion as Portugal scored an equalizer five minutes into stoppage time to keep their slim hopes alive.  The US had come from behind to take a 2-1 lead and seemed set to advance out of the group of death, but a last gasp goal means they still have a lot of work to do against a very difficult German team in their final group match.  In America's Group G, every team still has a chance to qualify and no one has been sent home yet.  In the two group H matches yesterday, the group favorite Belgium looked uninspiring once again, but managed to steal a 1-0 win over Russia at the end.  With the victory, Belgium advance to the next round.  The Algerians continued Africa's second round resurgence 4-2 win over South Korea.  Rachel and Bill will be happy with their fourth round pick, Algeria, who brought them 5 BISERGS points on the day.

Rodrigo scored more points (12.75) than anyone else in round two, just as he did in round one.  He now has a total of 27.25 points and continues to lead.  Allison is in second place after two rounds behind her impressive 12 points in round two.  Rachel also scored 12 points in the second round and has made up for her slow start and is now tied for 9th place overall. Fewer points were scored in round two than round one, but in addition to Allie and Rachel, Max, Carol S., James, Bill, Evan, Brian G., Emmett, Nate, Matt R., Dawn, Derek, Emilie and Hudson enjoyed more points in round two than in round one.  France has yielded more points for its owners (9.5) than any other team so far.  The Netherlands have also produced over 9 points in their first two games.  Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Brazil and USA round out the top 10.

Of course scores are important at this point, but having teams continue into the next round is an even more important indicator of future BISERGS success.  Allison, Brian M., Doug, Matt S., Renee, Rick, Rodrigo and Sharleen already have two teams qualified for the next round.  Andrew, Carol B., and Renee are the only participants to have two teams eliminated.  There is still all to play for in the final four days of group play as teams not only try to qualify, but ensure the best route to the World Cup final by winning their groups.

Surprises and Near Surprises

Iran nearly pulled off the upset of the tournament yesterday, but Argentina were able to escape through a very late goal by Lionel Messi.  Germany were lucky to escape a match against Ghana with a tie and Nigeria beat Bosnia thanks to a goal being disallowed for an unfair offsides call.  The crazy results just keep coming and the USA is hopeful that tonight they can be on the positive end of a surprise result against a Portuguese team was badly beaten by Germany a few days ago.  If the USA wins, they will be the first team to advance from the group of death and will send Christiano Ronaldo home early.  Belgium will take on Russia in a game that could book their place in the round of 16 and the South Korea versus Algeria match features two teams fighting for survival.  Yesterday's results sent Argentina to the next round and ensured that Bosnia will only get three matches in their first ever World Cup.  Germany being held to a draw also kept Rodrigo from dramatically extending his lead in the BISERGS.  Krista had 5 points on the day to move her from 26th place all the way up to 14th, but a better result from Germany could have given her so much more.  The members of the top 10 was not changed for the first time in the BISERGS, but Ivan did make a big jump within the top ten from ninth up to second.  There are only 2.25 points separating second and eight place.

Los Ticos Continue to Stun the World

Brian Ruiz celebrates his decisive goal.

Costa Rica followed up their amazing first round victory over Uruguay by an even more impressive victory over Italy in a match that they fully deserved to win.  They should have been awarded a penalty kick a minute before the goal and many other questionable calls went against them, but rather than putting their heads down, they marched into the second round.  The result sends England home and guarantees that either Uruguay or Italy won't make it out of the group either.  The second match of the day saw France strike for 5 goals against Switzerland and all but secure their place in the second round.  Ecuador overcame a one goal deficit agains Honduras to win 2-1.  

The big winners on the day for the BISERGS were Emmett and Rodrigo who both share Costa Rica and Ecuador.  They each scored 7.5 points for the day.  That tally put Rodrigo over 5 points clear at the top of the table and his number one pick, Germany hasn't even played in the second round yet.  France owners all picked up 5 points for the dominate performance.  

Currently four teams have booked their place in the round of 16 and three have been eliminated.  Rodrigo may be in first place, but Matt Snyder leads the all important race of getting teams into the next round with an amazing three teams qualified.  Rodrigo has two already advancing.  Renee and Rick should also be feeling confident with two teams into the next round, although Renee has one team on their way home.  Carol Barrera will have a hard time defending her BISERGS crown as she and Andrew are the only two BISERGSers to have already lost two teams.  If you want to know which teams have secured their place in the second round and which teams have been eliminated, check the BISERGS teams and groups page.  Teams are color coded Green, Red or Blue to indicate their current status in the tournament.

England on the Brink

Joe Hart couldn't keep Suarez from scoring in Uruguay's victory

Uruguay and England played a very entertaining do or die match yesterday which saw Luis Suarez back in action after he missed his team's opening match.  His return had a huge impact as he scored both goals that sunk England.  That result gave some life to all the Uruguay owners in the BISERGS, but were a second consecutive setback to Carol Barrera's BISERGS title defence hopes.  She lost Spain two days ago and could see England eliminated as soon as today if Italy don't beat Costa Rica.  A few days ago, Italy were the enemy, now they are England's only hope.

In yesterday's early match, Colombia beat Ivory Coast 2-1 to make Matt Snyder the second BISERGSer to pass the 20 point mark and put him back in first place.  It is the first time Colombia has ever won two games in a row in the World Cup and they became the third team to secure a spot in the second round with the victory (the Netherlands and Chile have also qualified).  It took over an hour for the first goal to be scored and Colombia doubled their lead a few minutes later, but the Ivory Coast responded with an even faster goal that set up a nervous finish for the South Americans.

In the day's final match, a red card to the Greek captain in the first half gave Japan a huge advantage, but they were disappointed and unable to score in a game that ended 0 - 0.  That result didn't do much to help Greece or Japan's hopes of advancing, but both cling to the slimmest of hopes with one point each after two games.

Adios España

Spain will not repeat as World Cup Champions.

A young and energetic Chilean team has sent the Spaniards packing and guaranteed that there will be a new World Cup champion on July 13th.  Chile threatened early and put so much pressure on Spain that the champions were never able to find their rhythm.  The match followed a 3-2 victory for Holland over a very brave Australia team.  In the last match of the group phase, Chile and the Netherlands will be playing for first place in the group and the chance to avoid facing off against Brasil in the next round, while Spain and Australia in a match that is meaningless for the World Cup, but still counts for the BISERGS.  In the final match of the night, Croatia dominated Cameroon 4-0 setting up a dramatic final round match against Mexico to see who will advance from Group A.

Max Snyder had the biggest single day result of anyone so far in the 2014 BISERGS with 9.25 points through Holland and Croatia.  Those results lifted him from 25th place all the way to 6th overall.  Sharleen is the first one to cross the 20 point mark after picking up two victories through Chile and the Netherlands and is once again in poll position.  Dan Rutz also returned to the top ten yesterday thanks to Croatia.  Spain owners, Derek, Renee, Bill, Carol B and Josh, have all seen their BISERGS hopes dealt a heavy blow with the Spanish departure.  Carol Barrera still sits in 12th place overall and I'm sure she won't give up her BISERGS crown as easily as the Spanish have lost theirs.

First Round Wrap Up

Mexico's goal keeper making one of many brilliant saves.

Belgium came from behind to beat Algeria 2-1 on day 6 of the World Cup while Brazil, Mexico, Russia and South Korea finished the day with draws.  The Algeria result was a common theme in the first round.  Usually scoring first is a very good thing, but Algeria joined Croatia, Spain, Japan, Uruguay and Ecuador as teams that couldn't hold their leads and went on to loose a World Cup match that they were leading.  Belgium has an impressive team, with their bench full of big name players that would be the stars of most other teams in the World Cup.  Despite Belgium's vast riches of talent, the Algerians nearly pulled off the upset, but two second half substitutes came on and made the difference.  South Korea and Russia played to a scoreless draw in the last game of the first round and Brazil and Mexico played an exciting match that featured many great chances but ended up without a goal.  That result ensures they will both stay on top of group A, but neither one has secured a place in the next round yet.

With the first round complete, every BISERGSer has now had four teams play.  Removing the results from the Brazil vs. Mexico game (because that was a second round match) it is now possible to take a good look at how everyone stacks up.  Rodrigo ended the first round in first place with 14.5 points.  He has both the Netherlands and Germany who came up with the first rounds biggest wins and Costa Rica who pulled off the biggest upset.  If Ecuador had held off the Swiss comeback, he would be even further into the lead.  Gray finished the round a half a point behind behind thanks to the same Germany, Netherlands combination.  He also was on the other side of the Switzerland win, but saw England go down to Italy.  Ivan, Matt, Greg and Irma/Byron, the next four teams, all shared Brazil's success in the first round.  Ivan and Matt also share Colombia while Greg and Irma/Byron can thank France for high ranking.  The top ten was rounded out by Sharleen, Alison and Rick.  Allie proved that leaving things to chance may not be a bad idea as all four of her teams (Ivory Coast, Belgium, Costa Rica and Croatia) were assigned randomly during the draft.  

In the first round it was the Netherlands (5.25 points), Germany (5 points), Colombia (4.5 points) and France (4.5 points) that produced the most points in the BISERGS scoring system.  Their opponents in the first round, Portugal, Spain, Honduras and Greece, were obviously the worst performers.  Spain and Portugal were first round picks for many this year and if they turn it around, the leader board could look very different by the end of round two.

Germany Dominate and USA Survive as Rodrigo Moves to the Top

Dramatic goal from a late corner kick rescues the USA

Germany started the day by thrashing the undisciplined Portuguese squad 4-0.  An early red card and a lot infighting by the Portuguese were a huge contrast to Germany's calm, organized approach which seemed able to dismantle their opponents at will.  In a tournament that has seen the stars living up to expectations, it was Thomas Muller who scored the hat-trick and left Christiano Ronaldo completely frustrated.

The huge win for Germany pushed Rodrigo and Gray to the top two spots in the BISERGS and Portugal's loss dropped Sharleen down to 6th.  Annika and Cookie both broke into the top ten because of America's thrilling victory.  The current top 10 includes every participant (four) who lives or has lived in Guatemala.  Coincidence?  The BISERGS has never been won by someone who hasn't lived in Guatemala.

The USA had a dream start as Clint Dempsey (of the Seattle Sounders by the way) snuck through the opposition to score in the very first minute.  There were a few costly injuries to key US players that could have a huge impact on future games and the game was dominated by Ghana for the entire second half.  Through their constant attack, it seemed inevitable that Ghana would eventually score and when they finally did in the 82nd, they seemed to be the much more likely side to go on to claim all three points.  Then, seemingly out of no where, the unheralded Jonathan Brooks, who was only in the game because of an injury to his teammate, headed home a corner kick and the USA escaped with a dramatic victory.

It was the first match that I've been able to see so far and I am glad I got up in the middle of the night to watch it.  I watched with about 30 other people including four friends from work.  The local government has set up a beautiful viewing area that was mostly empty for the late match, but the atmosphere was improved by a group of very friendly, enthusiastic but ultimately disappointed Ghanaians.

There was another match between Nigeria and Iran that ended in this year's first scoreless draw.  From what I've read, the 0-0 score says it all.

Today we will wrap up the first round of the BISERGS with Group H action.  Brazil and Mexico will also face off in the first match of the second round.

The USA finally takes the field

Today is the day the USA will take the field in an incredibly important match against Ghana.  All of the talk about tactics and formations could be meaningless of the rain doesn’t stop in Natal.  Before that happens, Germany and Portugal will face off and Iran will take on Nigeria.  For the BISERGS, that is a lot of first picks in action.  Dawn and Rick picked Portugal first and Evan, Rodrigo, Brian Glenney and Krista all used their first picks on Germany.  Annika was patriotic when she selected the USA and Katee got Ghana in the first. 

Clint Dempsey against Ghana in 2010 heartbreaker.

Argentina picked up some points for their owners yesterday, but they failed to really impress even though Messi scored a goal.  France produced the biggest result with a 3-0 win over the Honduras wrestling team.  Switzerland scored a late goal in a dramatic finish against Ecuador to win the match.  

Yesterday’s results didn’t dislodge Sharleen or Matt from the top two spots of the leaderboard, but Ivan was joined in a third place tie by Irma/Byron and Rick.  Carol, Gray, Greg and Andrew all broke into the top ten yesterday with Andrew finding himself in a tie for tenth. 

I’m going out at 2 am local time to watch the USA play at the du Forum in Abu Dhabi.  I hope all of you get a chance to enjoy the match.