Your “Syndicate
Hangover” is proudly presented by “Heineken 0.0”
All of the calories
and none of the intoxication!
This dog don’t bite ;
)
Day 23: Recap
Record—
Spread: 24-39
Straight up: 34-22-6
Hot
Girl Standings
Country
|
Tally
|
Games Played
|
Russia
|
76
|
5 (finished)
|
Brazil
|
64
|
5 (finished)
|
Croatia
|
63
|
6
|
Sweden
|
51
|
5 (finished)
|
France
|
43
|
6
|
Belgium
|
41
|
6
|
Colombia
|
41
|
4 (finished)
|
Mexico
|
40
|
4 (finished)
|
England
|
39
|
6
|
Spain
|
34
|
4 (finished)
|
Argentina
|
34
|
4 (finished)
|
Poland
|
32
|
3 (finished)
|
Iceland
|
31
|
3 (finished)
|
Germany
|
31
|
3 (finished)
|
Switzerland
|
30
|
4 (finished)
|
Japan
|
30
|
4 (finished)
|
Portugal
|
29
|
4 (finished)
|
Denmark
|
29
|
4 (finished)
|
South Korea
|
28
|
3 (finished)
|
Uruguay
|
27
|
5 (finished)
|
Nigeria
|
24
|
3 (finished)
|
Senegal
|
23
|
3 (finished)
|
Iran
|
22
|
3 (finished)
|
Egypt
|
21
|
3 (finished)
|
Tunisia
|
20
|
3 (finished)
|
Australia
|
20
|
3 (finished)
|
Costa Rica
|
20
|
3 (finished)
|
Serbia
|
19
|
3 (finished)
|
Morocco
|
18
|
3 (finished)
|
Peru
|
18
|
3 (finished)
|
Panama
|
13
|
3 (finished)
|
Saudi Arabia
|
11
|
3 (finished)
|
A’int that something? The Vatrenti blaze their way to the
World Cup Final. The often despised flare-bearers now stand within one victory of
capturing the title. Not sure I’d be joining in on the celebrations in Zagreb
this evening.
Careful with those things, guys! The final won’t be as much
fun if you’re sitting with third-degree burns in the hospital.
A dominant a gutsy win from a surely exhausted side. Your
friendly bookie had them at 12-1 to win the championship in his Group D Preview
Section! Thankfully none of you took them.
Meet Dejan Lovren’s Son! He always knew the names of these
guys. Now the World does too.
Adorable ; )
S.S.S.
Tactical Breakdown 
Neither a scolding nor scathing tone shall be employed to describe
England’s performance. Much to applaud in their defeat. The Vatrenti had to
earn this one all the way. Perhaps the most significant tactic influencing the
outcome concerns Dalic’s heavy use of field switches later in the match. This
tired out the team purported to be fresher.
Other than that, dood old-fashioned hard-work mattered much
more than tactics on this particular day. Missed calls and controversies on
both sides, but it’s fair to say they were evenly balanced.
We’ll begin with the doggedly persistent Croats.
Lineup—Croatia—Match
Six (Projected) (4-2-3-1) (7/9/2018)
Mario Mandzukic
|
I. Perisic A. Kramaric I. Rakitic
|
L. Modric M.
Brozovic
|
Ivan Strinic Verdran Corluka
|
Somagoj
Vida Dejan Lovren
|
Daniel Subasic
|
Lineup—Croatia—Match
Six (Actual) (4-2-3-1) (7/11/2018)
Mario Mandzukic
|
I. Perisic L. Modric
A. Rebic
|
I. Rakitic M.
Brozovic
|
Ivan Strinic S. Vrsalijko
|
Somagoj
Vida Dejan Lovren
|
Daniel Subasic
|
Vrsalijko’s start was huge. Few expected to see him line up
with the others. A gallant decision on his part to risk further injury for the
opportunity of a lifetime. He made excellent use of it too, setting up Perisic
for that equalizer and clearing John Stone’s corner off the line. Heroes are
forged in such matches. He qualifies as one for a valorous and fearless match.
Wow. Your friendly bookie—somewhat burnt out with words at
this point—can’t put it much better. Fucking wow. That’s how one plows through
the pain on the way to glory. Extraordinary.
Persic and Strinic showed little signs of fatigue at all. It
was they who began furiously switching fields around the 50th
minute, picking apart and stretching England’s midfield. Rakitic and Rebic
traded places often too, though the former put in the bulk of the hard work on
the flanks to generate the best chances.
On the topic of the flanks, this independent oddsmaker
repeatedly undervalued the Blazers as it appeared the could never get that
aspect of their game into gear. On several occasions I wrote that they couldn’t
find the requisite speed to compete in that area. Doubts that they ever would
appeared air-tight given the brutal number of minutes their starters had
logged. Somehow they dug deep and made it happen. I’ll never fully understand
how.
If England fans have one legitimate gripe, it’s that Lovren’s
too dangerously aggressive fouls might have seen him sent off under a less
cautious referee’s aegis. The above-mentioned balance comes into play here
though, as Lovren himself was determinedly dragged down by Harry Maguire
shortly before the half in what was a clear penalty.
Thank goodness we don’t do in-depth forecasting or handicapping
for the Final in this Sportsbook. I’ve little clue how to assess their chances
against a French side that hasn’t really played attractive, dependable, or
worthy football throughout this tournament. I just might tip the Blazers for
the shock win.
Lineup—England—Match
Six (Projected) (3-1-4-2) (7/9/2018)
Harry Kane
Raheem Sterling
|
Ashley Young Kieran Trippier
|
Jesse Lingard Deli
Alli
|
Jordan Henderson
|
Kyle Walker John Stones Harry Maguire
|
Jordan
Pickford
|
Lineup—England—Match
Six (Actual) (3-1-4-2) (7/11/2018)
Harry Kane
Raheem Sterling
|
Ashley Young Kieran Trippier
|
Jesse Lingard Deli
Alli
|
Jordan Henderson
|
Kyle Walker John Stones Harry Maguire
|
Jordan
Pickford
|
Nothing really egregiously wrong with Gareth’s system, his
tactics, or his men. No one—not even Sterling—played particularly bad. Only
Lingard missed a wide-open opportunity, and one can’t truly hold that against
him as he and Deli Alli were getting pulled apart by those frantic midfield
swtiches.
Walker and Henderson had quite a lot to do as well. No way
the former could be faulted for failure to mark Perisic on the equalizer. He
went in bravely and nearly got his head lopped off. Walker also can’t be blamed
to for the failed clearance that eventually got blindly headed back to
Mandzukic. It was a decent effort to sweep out from an awkward position. Such
things happen. Henderson probably should have been pulled much earlier, but we
can’t honestly say it would have made much of a difference. The English eleven
were too preoccupied with weathering the storm on the wings to even think about
getting an attack going. Dier earlier wouldn’t have fixed it.
As we talked about all the way back after the first match,
this awkward wingback formation had its major weakness and Dalic’s men simply
turned on the jets to take advantage of it. Walker, Lingard, and Alli just got toasted.
To their credit they continued to play hard all the way up until the final
whistle. The strain showed, however, late-on as they couldn’t get their timing
together.
Can’t rightly say Pickford was to blame for either of the
goals. He’ll wish he had that one against Mandzukic back, but I think he was
ultimately helpless against such power at close range. There simply wasn’t any
way to know which way he was headed first time.
Tough luck, lads. See you on Saturday.
S.S.S.
Half-Assed Culture Minute
(Tournament
in Review—Part II)
For those just joining us at the tail-end of the campaign,
you might be interested to know that me and the boys have been doing more than
just betting, phoning riffing, and obsessing over tactics.
We’ve also been exchanging views on some of our favorite
football-related books and programs from both past and present. Our journey
comes to a close in a few short days. Upon your return to the “Real World”
consider taking some of these great reference materials with you. It’s a great
way to keep some of your tournament memories alive ; )
Here’s the other half of what we’ve covered.
(Day
Nine Recap—“Icelandia Documentaria”)
Good that we’ve established that all the people of the
bizarre Atlantic Micro-State do is make documentaries about themselves. They’re
essentially the Golgafrinchans. Oh well. As it so happens, they make worthwhile
documentaries. I’ll bet they make fine
hairdressers, marketing executives, and telephone sanitizers as well.
(Day
Ten Recap—“‘Nossa Chape’ and ‘United’”)
When dealing with stories of death and resilience, sometimes
one feels like a raw and real documentary. Other times a fictionalized account
is more inspiring. We’ve got two great options for you here.
You also get a chance to hear Vicey admit that he’s a
hopeless idiot on six separate self-effacing occasions.
(Day
Eleven Recap—“‘The Two Escobars’”)
You just have to do it. If it’s Jeffery Zimbalist you have
to do it. It’s like Star Wars, Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln”, or the State of
the Union. If you’re an American, you simply have to do it.
(Day
Twenty Recap—“FIFA’s One to Eleven”)
The time is nigh. Whoever lifts the trophy on Sunday will be
the undisputed footballing champion of the universe; a moment never to be
missed under any circumstances. Catch up on all the celebrations from 1974
(considered the beginning of the modern era) onwards. Hail to the Champions.
(Day
Twenty One Recap—“Russia’s Journey”)
Credit to the Ruskies for putting on a great tournament. The
World unites one last time Sunday in Moscow. Then it’s back to our enemy
encampments ; (
Don’t forget that there’s always sixteen years of memories
over twenty-five chapters available for your perusal in this tiny corner of
cyberspace. Your friendly neighborhood Syndicate and your friendly bookie
remain open to you at all times ; )
“Riffs
of the Day”—Day Twenty-Three
Reader:
Will you be re-posting your famous anti-Croat tirade from the past?
Vicey:
Errrrrmmm…I suppose someone could find it if they wanted to. I should warn you
that sifting through copious amounts of green text can make you go blind. At
least that’s what grandma said.
Reader:
Kyle Walker. Taking a ball-shot for the team.
Vicey:
….and still getting up to head the ball away! I nominate him for the “Golden
Testicles Award”.
Reader:
I don’t understand a word Gus Hiddink is talking about.
Vicey:
I know. He makes Lothar Matthäus sound like Peter O’Toole. Speaking of which,
why has no one figured out why Matthäus wasn’t a part of this year’s commentary
team? It’s as if they knew this would be a Kraut-less WM.
Reader:
A Croatia vs. Uruguay Final. What might have been.
Vicey:
Bwahaha. Perfect, 83-M.
“Six
million people worldwide are on the edge of their seats”!
Reader:
Passed out drunk on the keyboard, yet?
Vicey:
Hey! That happened ONE time in SIXTEEN years, 11-M! You and Gustav Svensson are
now officially on my “Kill List”.
Reader:
Why haven’t you responded to my “Faux Fortnite” video yet?
Vicey:
Apologies, 67-M. I honestly didn’t know what the hell “Fortnite” was.
Now
I get it…sort of.
One last chance to bet coming up, gentlemen. As usual, we
won’t bet on the Final. Football analysis and Dailies conclude with the Third
Place Match. Goodbyes and the Championship Pick to follow.
What a great match and an amazing day.
The "pitch invading" Croat kids bid you farewell until we make the last calls!
