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Day 12: Recap
Bookie’s Stats—
Spread: 9-23
Straight up: 13-14-5
They can't all be winners now can they gentlemen? Perhaps after the full-throttle passionate hysteria of yesterday, anything would have seemed milquetoast in comparison. We might have been in for a letdown of a day irrespective of what happened. Your friendly bookie still wishes the football was better.
There shall unquestionably be many more thrills in store tomorrow as the final two groups conclude, four more teams are eliminated, and the full slate of round-of-16 fixtures are revealed. We'll be back on the upswing soon enough, though one can't help but rue this dud of a day.
Without a doubt, the day belongs to Luca Modric.
What a ballsy finish this was! It's almost as the 35-year-old captain channeled all the negativity from nabobs like me who suggested that wasn't the same player without Rakitic. Jesus. Kick us all in the face with the outside of your boot! We've been slapstick smacked.
Interesting to see that Vatrenti supporters can celebrate without flares.
Strange scenes from Zagreb. It all seems so lighthearted and wholesome. We'll give them props for that.
S.S.S. Tactical Breakdown 
Not a great of praise to help upon the victors advancing out of Group D today. Neither Zlatko Dalic nor Gareth Southgate pulled off a tactical masterclass. It would be more accurate to say that both managers band-aided their personnel situations to the extent necessary to get the right result.
Modric's monster statement aside, the Croat identity crisis we've been tracking in detail continues. Today we saw yet another new look; the third novel attempt of the tournament.
Lineup—Croatia—Match Three (4-2-3-1) (6/22/2021)
Four changes this time. Off come Vrsaljko, Brekalo, Kramaric, and Rebiuc in favor of Juranovic, Brozovic, Vlasic, and Petkovic. Persic again swings over too the left. Modric moves back up front. At least we stay in the 4-2-3-1 for the second consecutive match.
Not to take too much away from the three-goal performance, but the Scottish defending was appallingly bad. Steve Clarke's men completely fell asleep on all the tallies. No one picked up Vlasic and Perisic on the in swingers. Everyone ball watched as Modric stepped up to fire.
Bookie remains wary of this team despite the scoreline. Dalic might have solved his problem on the right flank. On the other hand, he may have fresh issues in the left-fullback role after Gvardiol's injury. The lack of a set midfield tandem really shows as there were sloppy car crashes all over during this stagnant affair.
Okay. You're through with a some much-needed confidence. What you appear to be lacking is some much-needed flair. This defensively isn't the same crew we beheld three years ago. Not seeing them through to the quarters even if they do get a weak opponent.
We march on with the battle cry of St. George in our throat. Let's see what's going down with mother England! Over to Wembley Cathedral to see what's going on with the footballing royals.
Er.....which one is this guy again? Help me out. I forget. If memory serves, I think he's not the one who came over to the States looking for a job. Whatever. Football fanatics have different priorities, not to mention a different fake job.
No matter where in the world you're from, chances are pretty decent that you are currently employed as the "armchair" manager for the Three Lions Tournament squad. Gareth Southgate only "thinks" that he runs the team. Really, it's you who knows best. Everybody knows that.
Lineup—England—Match Three (4-3-3) (6/22/2021)
When the team-sheets were released and Jadon Sancho wasn't in the XI...I believe the world stopped turning. Sure, the bookie cops to being a bit disappointed too. I suggested it as well....as a Bundesliga lover of course. This isn't the Bundesliga. It's not Dortmund vs. Bielefeld.
Everyone got their wish with Grealish starting and Saka getting a well-deserved run out. That wasn't enough? People had to piss and moan about Southgate not trusting 17-year-old Jude Bellingham to run his midfield? Really? Give the keys to the car to a teenager when everything's on the line?
Oh well. It's all part of the fun, I suppose. The footballing life wouldn't be complete without the boisterous second-guessing of the fans. I'll be partaking myself tomorrow when reviewing the Vaterland. No matter what Löw does, it's already wrong. Know that.
I think this worked just fine. Sterling's fine work on the left justified his selection two minutes in with that cheeky little dink over that hit the post. Kane actually got some useful touches in working a slightly suppressed inverted pivot, though I'd stop short of calling him anything other than a very subtle false-nine.
In hindsight, Kane needed to be in there to get him into some kind of form. He did well in a deeper role early. Grealish really did well adding some creative triangulation on the top axis. Luke Shaw was great on both sides of the ball. Maguire got some great balls in over the top.
Saka more than earned the man-of-the-match honors. Rice and Philipps, forced to pair together axially because of Mount's quarantine, struggled. Jordan Henderson did better in relief of Rice. Important that he got some match action as well.
It was the right selection.
It was a boring match.
Ho hum. Time to go give the kitchen floor a grand clean!
S.S.S. Salute to Fallen Comrades
Scotland — "The Tartan Terriers
-3 games played
-2 goals scored
Previous Scotland Tactical Coverage:
Not wholly surprising to be writing this section so early. At least they scored today. It was a damn fine effort from McGregor too. The fans got something to cheer for and a fleeting moment of hope after the near-generation long absence from the major internationals.
We gave the Highlanders quite a bit of coverage this year. Of course we did. Nineteen years into the Syndicate, the men's team shockingly made their first appearance in this sports book. All the -Ms were enamored, as they should be.
To reiterate a point broached in one of the riffs' sections, the real reason the lads experienced a 23-year-long tournament drought concerns geopolitical trends in Eastern Europe. The break of up of the U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia, and a couple of other "velvet divorces" flooded UEFA with new countries.
One trend led to the dry spell. Others will ensure it doesn't happen again. The UEFA Nations League renders qualification seeding a bit easier and gets the big counties out of the way More importantly, we're on the fast-track for larger "super tournaments".
We already know that 48 countries will participate in the 2026 World Cup. In all likelihood, it'll be a 32-nation Euros in 2028. The Tartans shall be back. They're already in a good position to qualify for the 2022 WM next Christmas.
Lineup—Scotland—Match Three (5-2-1-2) (6/22/2021)
Could have used Billy Gilmour here. Also could have done without the relatively early injured to Hanley. Those two narrow misses by Adams in the opening ten minutes give you the proverbial "what if" scenario. You can add McGinn's collision with the keeper in the 59th--when the score was still level--to that if you like.
The team nevertheless deserves some criticism for allowing Vlasic's opening goal to deflate them. They lost valuable time with their heads down in the sand. As noted in the examination of the Croatian victory above, all three goals resulted from cringe-inducing defensive lapses.
Some fight, but not a consistently spirited effort today. Bookie expected more when tipping a draw in the latest lines section. It wasn't any fun to watch this team exit with what amounted to a whimper.
“Riffs of the Day”—Day Twelve
Reader: #SCOCRO?
Vicey: Look, if we're going to do this again 56-M, I'll have to combine two countries not playing in this tournament for a decent comedic hashtag.
Give me a second.....aha. WM 2018 Opening group stage match!
#GERMEX
Reader: I just asked Gareth Southgate if he planned on introducing Jadon Sancho. He said I'll think about it. I said okay. Then I left.
Vicey: For 11, 116, and 128, and 146-M. The original Boring James Milner riffers. Knew you guys would check in today.
Reader: Yawn. This match sucks. How about finding a picture of the scantily-clad crypto-currency streaker from the Holland match yesterday?
Vicey: This isn't a click-bait blog, 23-M!! I'm also not working for the Axel Springer AG!!
Honestly, SportBild? Do we have to have a story about Kathleen Krüger every single damned day?
Besides that, I'm a huge women's football fan....and I never recall seeing her play once. When the hell did she play? Certainly never for the national team.
Besides that, what the hell does she actually do at Bayern? I wouldn't know because I never clicked on one of the damned stories....but the "manager" at a German football club could be anyone from the front office chief executive to the person responsible for washing the jock straps.
I have the sneaking suspicion that you want my to click on your article because she's hot. I won't do it!! There are dozens of talented girls who have actually represented the country over the past twenty years and I can never seem to find articles about them.
Gruff. "Click-bait."
DAY THIRTEEN—PREVIEW
Slovakia vs. Spain
vs. 
No one wants to touch the Spaniards. Bookie isn't worried. Absolutely comfortable with this high line.
THE LINE: Spain +2 Goals (holding)
Sweden vs. Poland
vs. 
Lots of exciting things going on permutation-wise here. One wonders if we're in for anything interesting on the pitch. Probably not with Janne Andersson in charge.
THE LINE: Sweden +1 Goal (holding)
Portugal vs. France
vs. 
Some match here. What a shame that the bookie won't be watching a second of it live. There's more important business to attend to.
THE LINE: France +1 Goal (rolling down soft from France +2)
Deutschland vs. Hungary
vs. 
Good luck, gentlemen. Bookie has psychologically prepared to part with money and country
THE LINE: Germany +1 Goal (holding)
