Football4Mates: Day 15: Round 3 complete, and congratulations Luke.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Day 15: Round 3 complete, and congratulations Luke.

Algeria celebrate after a 1-1 draw during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group H match between Algeria
and Russia at Arena da Baixada on June 26. Algeria into the Round of 16 for the first time.
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

German players celebrates their first goal while the United States players dejected during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group G match between USA (0) and The Robots (1) at Arena Pernambuco on June 26, 2014.
(Photo by Lars Baron - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal looks dejected after the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group G match
between Portugal (2) and Ghana (1), which sent the Portuguese out.
And that haircut is ridiculous CR.
(Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)

The group games are finished, perfect timing with the completion of my exams (can you tell?). Luke has swept back into contention with his prediction of the Algeria v Russia score which, has left Benjamin, Cochineas, and Yanni temporarily stunned. Therefore;

Congratulations Luke,
Winner of the Group Stage.

Your prize is that your name will sit permanently on this page.

The competition moves into the more challenging segment of the tournament with the likely prospect that we will have a new Archon by the end of it, unless Rayment or Jason pull out a Hellas 2004. At the moment we've got the players who have been the most consistent from the beginning sitting at the top, and history shows that its usually one of these mates that will eventually pull away. However, it is extremely close this time around.

By this stage of the tournament in 2010 Rayment had massed 81 points (54 outcome and 27 bonuses). That link is for you Rayment to reminisce.

We are now heading into the knockout phase, and this is what you need to remember.

You must pick the outcome along with the score as usual, however you must consider the following;
If after 90 minutes the game is a DRAW, we continue to PLAY until the END of EXTRA TIME. No points will be awarded for 90 minutes of football if extra time is called upon.
PENALTIES are NOT included, NOR is the OUTCOME of the penalties.
Example: If Brazil v Chile ends in a draw after extra time and YOU have predicted the draw, congratulations, you get the points.
If you have chosen a Brazil victory and Brazil win on PENALTIES, you DO NOT WIN.

Does that seems straight forward? Great. Best of luck and remember, things have just gotten a little bit harder for you to predict. The Archonship does not come cheap. There is plenty of nail biting, and stressing even if you pretend that you're all cool about it.

For the record, this is how they ended up in the Group Stages. So much for the country which apparently has the 'best' domestic competition in the world.

Group A