Angelique; 2024 Euro Archon

 

Euro 2024: Spain beats England 2-1 and wins record fourth European Championship title

It was as unstoppable as Yumal's semi-final rocket against France, as irresistible as Spain's performances through these finals. But unlike Spain, the momentum began in the Round of 16, and oh, just how it began indeed. From the 15 games played during the knock-out stage, she nailed an incredible 11, raining in our previous leader Michael A and outscoring him by 16 points, to pass and finally conquer Euro 2024. 

Just like Spain, she came to the party and produced perhaps the most memorable run of predictions in this competition's history. 

We salute you

 ANGELIQUE 

2024 EURO ARCHON

Your name now joins the immortal honours list of Archons (hit view web version below this entry)

In the end, the tally shows a margin of only 1 point, but a breakdown of our Mates performances during the knock phase presents a dominating picture. 

Angelique 43

Harry 37

Aramis 35

Michael A 27

	Mates	G	B	P	T
1	Angelique	80	13	2	95
2	Michael A	78	16	-	94
3	Nestor	72	12	2	86
4	Alexander	72	12	-	84
5	Aramis	66	12	4	82
6	Harry M	62	15	-	77
7	Andrew J	69	8	-	77
8	Nico	66	10	-	76
9	Si Webb	63	10	-	73
10	John A	57	6	-	63
11	Yianni	54	4	-	58
12	Michael P	51	6	-	57

Michael A, you gave the competition a good shake, and perhaps that costly semi-final tip maybe would have presented a different conclusion. To you and all our Mates who participated in this tournament, we hope you have enjoyed the competition, and if the football gods allow it, we will be back and ready to do this again very soon. 

With Angelique winning the competition, we are long overdue in including a woman's major tournament, hence let's aim for

Women's Euro 2025 . 

 

Step up Ollie Watkins, arise Angelique.

Ollie Watkins stuns Dutch (2:1) with late winner for England as Southgate subs pay off to reach Euro Final.

In defeating France (2:1), the Spanish team will meet England in the Final.

What an unexpected turn of events in Euro 2024. Just a couple of weeks ago, Gareth Southgate was under fire from his nation's media, including ex-players turned pundits. Michael A. was on the brink of the Archonship. The Honour Roll was getting ready to include him on the esteemed list. 

Today, England, Gareth's Lions, have made it to back-to-back Euro Finals, and Angelique, like a stealth bomber, has come through to take the lead from our leader. While Michael A has been excellent throughout this month of football, Angelique's rise during the knock-out stages has been exceptional.  Hence, it is only fitting that these two Mates will be taking the competition to the last game in Germany. 

And now, we're heading into this thrilling Final: Spain v England,  Angelique v Michael A. On paper and form, Spain seems to have the upper hand, but the momentum has shifted: England! The team that's been stumbling and fighting their way through every game with unwavering determination and an incredible team spirit. 

Ollie Watkins, we salute you, son; that goal was a beauty. This might be the first time we've praised an English player in three decades of Football4Mates. But we're not stopping there, Gareth Southgate; we commend you for your composure and for keeping the morale high within your camp despite the barrage of criticism from the British media. 

This will be tough for our two Football4Mates leaders, who also have the frightening possibility of being overtaken by a Mate whose wait of claiming the Archonship has been compared to the men's English football winning a major tournament, for Nestor is only four points behind Angelique. This could indeed be a very ironic morning of football for the veteran. 

Which way will these top three Mates go?

Spain, England, or Draw with a Penalty Bonus?

Hence, with so much at stake, Angelique, Michael and Nestor will be sending their tips to our current Euro Archon, Yianni, who will release the predictions once all three Mates have submitted their predictions. Will Spain make it 7 wins from seven? Will individual brilliance once again get England over the line? Or will it go down to penalties again? 

For our Mates who will be looking at this final with a bit of envy, wishing it was their country there, or perhaps their name was up higher on the ladder, so they had something to play for. We hope that you enjoyed the tournament and the competition. At the very least, we hope that we gave you something more than simply being a neutral ⚽️ lover who wished for the best team to win. Having said this, Si Webb's average campaign is again relieved by his nation's presence in the final. The Webb household will once again be heaving with excitement and anxiety. 2020 Euro Archon Yianni (58) has finally lifted himself from the bottom and will now fight Michael P (57) to avoid the humiliation of finishing in the basement. The family rivalry is alive and well between Harry, who is a point behind veteran and World Cup Archon Nico. For debutants Andrew and John, the former who temporarily reached the summit, their first campaign perhaps has not gone according to plan, but there were flashes of what could have been and what may happen in future tournaments. 

Monday 15th July 2024 at 5.00 am 

A new European Champion will emerge, as will a Euro Archon 

Round 16 MD3. Hope and Belief.

 

My word! Costa Heroics See Portugal Advance Despite Brave Slovenian Display; 

Portugal 0-0 Slovenia (3-0 on pens) 

What an evening of matches. Along with all the emotions of having to predict an outcome that includes taking into account Extra Time and the option of playing for a Penalty Shoot-out bonus, we have to ask ourselves the question; 

Why do we love football? 

It is because football makes us feel emotions. And one of those strongest emotion is that of 'hope'. The ancient Greeks knew a thing or two about the importance of this fundamental human emotion, for hope was the sole remaining emotion which Pandora contained in her box. 

We made our tips this morning with hope. Hope that we could get something out of these games this morning, for hope evolves into that other human thing, belief. A belief that we can pull back this incredible lead that Michael A has created.  

And how have these emotions all come to life. Angelique has been on fire during this Round of 16 matches. She has predicted 6 out of 7 Outcomes, including one scoreline. This morning, she nailed a Max in her predictions with Portugal. This result rockets her through into third. The heroics of Portugal's goalkeeper, plus France's deflected goal swung some much needed results for Nestor, who, for at least one day, closes the gap on Michael to 5 points. 

Two more games before we step into the Quarter Finals. 

	Mates	G	B	Total
1	Michael A	69	12	81
2	Nestor	66	8	76
3	Angelique	63	8	73
4	Andrew J	63	6	69
5	Alexander	54	10	64
6	Aramis	54	8	64
7	Si Webb	54	10	64
8	Nico	51	8	59
9	Harry M	48	6	54
10	John A	51	2	53
11	Michael P	45	6	51
12	Yianni	42	2	44

Michael tops the Group phase as we move into knock-out football and Penalty Bonus

Morning Mates. We have now moved to the serious end of the competition whereby conservative tipping will need to be put to the side if you are hoping to turn your tournament around. For Michael A, our winner of the Group Matches, will it be a case of hanging on, or will he surge towards the title? 

Congratulations, Michael! However, we don't have an honours roll for Group winners 😉. 

We have to say that the tipping performance by all our Mates was pretty ordinary in the final round of matches; Nestor accumulated the highest tally with a meagre 16 points. We can argue that the tipping resulted from some inexplicable performances by teams including Belgium, England, France and Portugal. 

So what happens now?

When making your predictions, you'll need to consider Extra Time and Penalties. Remember that if a game goes into Extra Time, your prediction at 90 minutes of regular time will come to  nothing if the scoreline changes. 

Penalty Bonus; predict the Winner

This brilliant feature is active ONLY if you have predicted a draw, which is at the end of Extra Time. Hence, if you are going for the draw, HIGHLIGHT your penalty shoot-out winner on your sheets. Get this correct, and you will receive TWO BONUS points. Therefore, the maximum points a Mate can earn from now on is NINE points. Penalty Bonus will either send you into raptures of delight or have you thumping your fits on the ground as your nearest and dearest look at you with a WTF expression. 

Think wisely, and enjoy the knock-out phase. 

	Mates	G	B	Total
1	Michael A	57	10	67
2	Nestor	54	6	60
3	Alexander	45	10	55
4	Andrew J	51	4	55
5	Si Webb	45	8	53
6	Angelique	48	4	52
7	Aramis	39	8	47
8	Nico	39	8	47
9	John A	42	2	44
10	Michael P	36	6	42
11	Harry M	36	4	40
12	Yianni	33	2	35

Stop picking on Gareth.

Gareth Southgate makes some bizarre selections, but which ex-English player can do better?

Alright mates; is it the elephant in the room that the English press, including its illustrious list of failed internationals, chooses to ignore?  I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts on our chat. But do we agree that the level of criticism being dished out at Gareth is a tad over the top? If ex-English players are so knowledgeable to give a brutal assessment of England's performances, I have a solution: 

Step right up boys, and let's see what you've got. 

For decades, this national team has come into a tournament with hype and expectation. However, this time around, the hype seems a little tense; the 'best squad' tag is becoming an issue.

Even the sophisticated, insightfully witty and deeply analytical Guardian and Athletic journalists are failing to address the elephant in the room. 

Perhaps England's consistent failure has nothing to do with its players or Gareth. Maybe the media should focus on their nation's severe inability to produce technically capable managers/coaches who can compete with their international contemporaries. Perhaps it's the ex-players who must take a very long, hard look at themselves.

For example, what happens after Southgate? Who is the next English potential that can take over? Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, Potter, who? In fact, where are England's managers? 

How is it that a team whose Press have for nearly six decades been labelled as potential European or World Champions failed to produce English managers once players from these teams hang up their boots? Since the creation of the Premier League thirty years ago, how many ex-Englishmen who have played in a league that is supposedly ‘the best in the world’ have been able to make a successful transition into football management? 

Manchester United dominated the game for two decades. Where are their ex-players? Most of them sit on panels bitching how bad their club is, revelling in their past glory days. Between United's dominance, there were periods of Arsenal and Chelsea under Wenger and Mourinho.  Where are any of these English players? The English press must get off players' backs and stop hacking into its current manager. Instead, look inside your game and ask, WHY? Where are your ex-players who played under fantastic managers? It's a very stimulating question, and this overhyped nation of football fanatics needs to address this if they are ever to see their men's football team claim the game's most converted international tournaments.  Lastly, maybe it's the ex-players who achieved nothing at international level who need to remember that, unlike any of us, they can step into the role and show the rest how it's done. 

MD 11: The gap closes at the top as the Azzurri push into the last 16

Croatia 1 Italy 1: Zaccagni's goal puts Italy through into the last 16

Del Piero goal against Germany; 2006 World Cup Semi-Final

The Modric marvel is undone, by the zest of the Azzurri. It's as heartbreaking as it gets if you are Croatian or are Mates who have gone for a Croatian victory. For Nestor, it doesn't get any better than this; watching a centre-back (Ricardo Calafiori) in a blue shirt steaming forward in the ninetieth eight minute of the match to lay off a pass to a right-footed Zaccangi to curl the ball into the top left corner of the Croatian net was utterly spectacular- it was the perfect strike, giving no chance to Livakovic. It brought back memories of one Del Piero at the 2006 World Cup Semi-Final against Germany. Five points to the veteran and, better still, Italy march on to face Switzerland in the Round of Sixteen. 

Football and Football4Mates; taking human beings to places they had not imagined. Drama and trauma in equal measure.

Nestor closes the gap on Michael who leads by his excellent Bonus record. Andrew is still in the mix as Alexander begins to slip. Si Webb has fifth, and World Cup Archon Nico sits in sixth position.

	Mates	G	B	Total
1	Michael A	51	10	61
2	Nestor	51	6	57
3	Andrew J	48	4	52
4	Alexander	42	8	50
5	Si Webb	42	6	48
6	Nico	39	8	47
7	Angelique	39	4	43
8	Aramis	36	6	42
9	Harry M	36	4	40
10	Michael P	33	6	39
11	John A	36	2	38
12	Yianni	30	2	32

MD 9: Ronaldo breaks record for most assists, and Michael A takes Round 2

Against Turkey, Ronaldo set another record as Bernardo Silva, Fernandes seal top spot.

Congratulations Michael A, who, with the completion of matches this morning, sits top of the table at the end of Round 2. The last two days have been a struggle for our Mates, but Michael has battled through the thickets of tight results. 

Alexander sitting in second, has relied on the two-point bonus, while Andrew and Nestor need to start converting their outcomes into bonus points if they are going to catch our leader.