MD 8: Si Webb goes top, and welcome to the Round of 16 USA and Senegal

Senegal players celebrate their victory over Ecuador and progress into the Round of 16

Christian Pulisic injures himself while scoring his team's winning goal (USA 1 Iran 0)

A brace for Marcus Rashford (England 3 Wales 0)

While his Game Outcome predictions have been a tad on the average side, his Scoreline predictions have left the rest of the competition eating some Qatari sand. Congratulations Si Webb, our new outright leader. Webb's 7 points this morning were enough to bump Jonathan (6 points) off the top. Could this be the beginning of something special for Mr Three Lions himself? The next generation of F4Mates, including Jonathan and Aramis, may have other ideas. However, one thing is certain: the table is getting very tight. Aramis has climbed back into contention, moving to equal second and only one point before Mr Three Lions himself. Angelique and Nestor were the morning's biggest winners, scoring 11 points and showing that there is still hope for the rest and that there is still time to make some gains within Round 3. Good luck Mates, and good luck Australia against Denmark.

NEW! The knockout special Penalty Bonus

 

Yep, we are excited to introduce a new dynamic to Football4Mates. 

The knockout special Penalty Bonus feature that has been specifically created for the knockout phase of the competition will be launched at Qatar 2022. 

These Italian lads are excited because they won the World Cup in this fashion way back in 2006. The dreaded penalty shootout, yeah why not. 

Now Mates will also have the opportunity to extend their lead, gain ground, or slide down the F4Mates ladder. 

Take a risk and you can win OR lose everything! 

The Penalty Bonus is going to be the first addition to the competition since we kicked things off way back at Italia 90. Stay tuned.   

MD 8: Jonathan's superior Game Outcomes put him top at the end of Round 2

 

Portugal celebrate! Two goals by Bruno Fernandes against Uruguay and Portugal are through to the Round of 16.

Casemiro's goal sinks Switzerland and Brazil progresses with a 1:0 win 

Aboubakar scores in a fantastic game of football between Serbia and Cameroon (3:3)

Ghana celebrates its victory over South Korea (3:2) 

Congratulations Jonathan and Si Webb, who finished equal on points at the end of round two; Jonathan however claims the copper-coloured bar for his superior Game Outcomes; 38 points to Si Webb's 32. Nicos claimed the highest tally for the round, his 27 points, were 7 clear of his nearest rival. Dung mustered a late surge to jump back into contention by claiming third spot. Only one point behind our two leaders, it seems that Dung has again found his crystal ball. With plenty of drama installed, the next round of matches are going to come thick and fast. Three teams (Brazil, France and Portugal) have booked themselves into the knockout phase, and two (Canada and Qatar) have no hope of progressing. Round 3 is now or never for some of our Mates who are struggling to either get some Bonus points (Michael and Stylianos) or score any form of consistency. 

MD: 7 Germany; they want to hang around a little longer

Not keen on going home early, Germany draw against Spain (1:1)

Costa Rica's first shot on target at Qatar results in a 1:0 win over Japan.

Morocco sweep past what was once Belguim's Golden Generation 2:0

Luka Modric; Underestimate him and his mates at your own peril (Croatia 4 Canada 1)

A great evening of tipping by Si Webb, Yianni and Aramis; the only Mates worth mentioning in what was otherwise a below-average to a disastrous evening of tipping. From a footballing perspective, we should not have been taken by surprise by these results, because in the Round 1 games Germany should have buried Japan, Belgium were lucky against Canada, and Morroco were extremely positive against a strong Croatian team which many are again underestimating. As for Costa Rica, they were simply caught sunbathing and did not hear the alarms to evacuate the beach for an oncoming tsunami which came in a red wave called Spain. Jonathan is keeping the lead but he now has Si Webb who is finally showing his potential as a potential F4Mates Archon. Aramis has climbed into third while Dung continues to slide down the ladder. Had the competition commenced from Round 2, Nico would be enjoying a six-point lead from the rest. Good luck for tonight, it seems that many of us need it. 

MD 6: Hope for Australia, World Champs through

 

Mitchell Duke's goal against Tunisia gives hope for Australia to progress. 

Kylian Mbappe scores another two against an impressive Denmark (France 2:1)

Robert Lewandowski breaks through with his first World Cup goal (Poland 2 Saudi Arabia 0)

Lionel Messi scores to keep Argentina alive in the World Cup (Argentina 2 Mexico 0)

What an extraordinary evening and morning run of results, and we are talking about F4Mates tipping. The table is genuinely turning on its head. Jonathan (41 points) has extended his lead at the top, but there have been some movers and shakers, with Alexander and Nestor joining Dung in equal second position (37 points). Although he is still in the bottom half of the table, Nico has been leading the way so far in this second round; 10 points today and 17 points overall. For our Euro Archon Yianni, Round 2 looks like a train wreck, with 0 points today and 2 overall. The veteran Stylianos is probably wondering what he needs to do to win a Bonus, he is now rooted to the bottom of the ladder, despite having a high Outcome tally (28 points). Michael (in 7th) is also experiencing the significance of Bonus points; the second-highest Outcome tally is just not enough. Si Webb (in 5th) on the other hand is the opposite; an impressive accumulation of Bonus points is being let down by having the equal lowest amount of Outcomes. Hence why Jonathan is so deserving of his lead; a nice balance. Well done. But very early days still. Spain v Germany tonight is the pick of the bunch for the next four games being played tonight. Go Spain.

MD 5: The Youngest F4Mates leader in 32 years

 

Iran put aside the humiliating defeat against England to sweep aside Wales 2-0

Top goal scorer Enner Valencia strikes again for Ecuador (1:1 against Netherlands)

Gareth Southgate, England Manager and every England opponent's 12th man?

A fantastic evening of results for Ecuador, Iran, USA, Senegal, Jonathan, Nico and Nestor who scored 7 points. For Jonathan, it was a magnificent seven that see him skip past our Round 1victor, Dung, to take the lead. A difficult night for others, and I am not talking about Gareth Southgate and his entire strategy, including bringing on a lack of decent substitutes against Team USA. I often wonder what is going on in Southgate's head during matches. At times one could not help but think that with the team that he has at his disposal Southgate is actually the extra man for the opposition. After the eventful start against Iran, it will no doubt be another case of '66 and never again for the Three Lions. Sorry I have digressed. Back to our competition; is the pressure of Round 2 getting to our top 4, who each scored 2 points? time will tell, but the tournament has certainly lit up. Well done Jonathan, our youngest-ever leader in 32 years of Football4Mates. 

Now the Delphi Oracle predictor; some interesting predictions by some of our mates including Michael and Si Webb who, overlooking the issue of its Manager, have gone for England to make the final. The latter has even as gone as far as predicting a Three Lions victory 😳. Good luck with that one chaps; most of us however know where that will end.  Seven Mates have gone for Brazil to make the final, with five predicting the Seleção as World Champions. Very original. Not to be outdone though, Stylianos, Nestor, Aramis and Alexander have all gone for Spain. Perhaps it was the demolition of Costa Rica, or better still, deep down we all know that Spain should have beaten Italy in last year's Euro Semi-Final.  Yianni's prediction is rather interesting, Brazil v Spain, which means that either one of these teams will need to finish second in their group, otherwise they should meet in the Quarter Finals, whereby Spain will beat Brazil 👊. Jonathan believes Ronaldo will achieve football immortality by leading Portugal to their first World Cup. Portugal is also known to have a manager who goes by the nickname of the Portuguese Southgate; just putting it out there. 

MD 5 Round 2 Ladder

Delphi Oracle Predictions: * winner on penalties

MD 4: Brazil and Portugal win. Dung is top after Round 1

 

 Richarlison scores a stunning second goal for himself and Brazil (2:0 win over Serbia)

Another game, another record for Ronaldo; that's five consecutive World Cups that he has scored
(Portugal 3 Ghana 2)

The first round of Group matches is now complete and with that, we have all had the opportunity to watch every team in action. That means it is time to pull out a World Cup chart and become a Delphi Oracle. Follow through on who will finish first and second, and how each team will manoeuvre their way through the knock-out stages. For example, there is a very likely chance that Spain will meet Brazil in the Quarter Finals, so think it through and good luck.

Some movement on the ladder last night, with Mates making some impressive tips; Anqulique and Si Webb being the pick of the bunch with 12 points. Si's impressive Bonus point predictions see him bump Yianni off second and move to within one point of Dung, who with his 9 points, finishes top after Round 1. Nice tipping Dung.

Do not forget to get your tips in, and include the all-important Delphi prediction. 

FootballFMates ladder at the end of Round 1 Group Matches

MD 4: Japan stun Germany, and magical Spain hit 7

Japan's Ritsu Doan equalises against Germany: Japan wins 2-1

It was another game where players from another of the 'big' footballing nations were left at the final whistle looking around at each other and asking "what the hell just happened?" Japan, who was on the ropes, pulled off a great victory over what looked like a German side cruising to an opening-game win. Inspired by the rolling upsets, Canada pushed Belgium and was rather unfortunate not to at least get a draw. The upsets have stagnated our predictions, but one thing was never in doubt, Spain v Costa Rica. In the lead-up, the only question mark was whether Spain could convert attacking position football into goals. That box has emphatically been ticked. This leads to the next question, and the introduction of a new feature for our Mates to achieve some inspiring ancient Greek-related title name glory; 

The Delphi Oracle 

Personally, there is nothing more annoying than when people before a World Cup ask you "Who do you think is going to win?" How does one know? Seriously, who watches World Cup qualifiers? and besides qualifying in your own region, where the playing style is similar; European football is played somewhat differently to South America, Africa and Asia, and that affects teams who traditionally do well in qualifying but hit a wall during a World Cup. In Qatar so far, look at Poland, Denmark, and Croatia. Oh yes, let's not forget Argentina and Germany. Therefore, Football4Mates is doing this predictor differently. Here, you can see every team play once before making your prediction. So, after tonight/tomorrow morning's matches, where Round 1 comes to an end, you need to make your prediction for the Final, including the World Champion. You will be welcome to give a classic Delphic riddle if you wish. However, as we are certain to have more than one Mate predicting the same team to be crowned champion, you will also be required to give the runner-up and the score. If two people predict one winner, then the Delphi Oracle outcome will be determined by the Winner, the two Finalists and the predicted score. To nail this achievement, you will need to go through a World Cup wall chart to see how teams will progress, and who they will come up against before the final. 

After some philosophical football thinking, I believe there is one nation which will be a certainty to be in the final at Qatar 2022, but I am waiting to see the remaining games for this round before making my prediction. 

Seven magnificent goals by Spain against Costa Rica: Final score 7-0

Here is the latest update on our F4Mates ladder; our top 2 positions are looking familiar, Dung and Yianni who went at it toe for toe during the Euros are at it again, but early days for the rest of us.

 

MD 3: World Champions thrash Australia

Kylian Mbappé and friends thrash Australia (4-1) and show us what favourites are supposed to do.

Lionel Messi; a lone figure after Argentina's shock defeat to Saudi Arabia (1-2)

One standout prediction from this morning's results was Alexander's 0-0 prediction between Mexico and Poland - 5 points. 

A promising start by Australia, but French quality was on display for the defending champions. Pity SBS could not find another co-commentator than Harry Kewell, who was doing his best to make a claim for the Socceroos job. Ten minutes of having to listen to Kewell's analysis and one can work out how the ex-Leeds United, ex-I'm always injured to play for Australia player gets sacked from the lower tiers of English football management. 

Another uneventful performance by Poland at the World Cup. I'm sure I've had a rant somewhere in the past about the Poles taking up another nation's place at major football tournaments. However, with Argentina's rather sorry and chaotic performance against a rather average "Kingdom" of Saudi Arabia, anything is possible in this group, even for the Poles to sneak into the knock-out phase. One thing is almost certain, and I'm calling it early; you can scrub Argentina off the favourites list. What happened in the other game? Not to worry, zero points for all Mates.

Guillermo Ochoa of Mexico saves Robert Lewandowski's penalty.

MD 2: Walker Zimmerman, WT# were you thinking?

 

USA's Walker Zimmerman stupidly goes in on Gareth Bale. Penalty, Wales!

The result was almost in the bag for many mates this morning until up stepped USA's WZ to ruin many of our F4Mates predictions and possibly his own nation's hopes of progressing into the next round. Well done Z man. Onto the evening's other game, and it's the best start to a men's England campaign in history, no truly, it really was. A comprehensive 6-2 win over Iran, with a fist-pumping Southgate, enjoying every goal; take that doubters. This is great because we know that there is no other nation's fans who inflate their expectations like a Zeppelin like the English; that song is once again soaring up the Spotify charts. 

Dung was the pick of the bunch this morning; nailing 10 points for the Netherlands' victory over Senegal, and thanking WZ for his unforgivable brain explosion. Well done Jonathan in collecting your first 5 pointer. Big shout also to Aramis, Yianni, Nico and Michael, who have got five out of five Outcome predictions. 

Cody Gapko scores the Netherlands' first goal against African champions Senegal. Netherlands 2-0.

All Mates are off the mark

 

Enner Valencia of Ecuador scored the opening two goals of the 2022 World Cup

The latest and perhaps most "surreal" opening game in World Cup History is wrapped up, and with little sympathy for the host nation, Ecuador has comfortably brushed off Qatar 2-0. While Guardian's Barney Ronay described the event as a "hyper-strange sporting super‑show", Qatar is now the first host to have lost its opening game at a World Cup. Money buys your way into hosting a tournament, but success on the pitch is another matter. But this competition is not just about a repressive small oil-rich nation flaunting its billions, and banning fans from enjoying a drink while watching games within the stadiums. 

Football4Mates is for our little community coming together to enjoy the greatest sport of all; football. Now for our eighth World Cup tournament, we would like to welcome our latest players to the competition; Michael (Klop for the Kop), and our youngest batch of next-generation F4Mates; Alexander and Jonathan, who join Aramis and Angelique. We have our usual suspects Dung, Nico (M'laces United), and Si Webb (Hound). Of course, the two F4Mates veterans Stylianos (Orpheas) and Nestor (writing in the third person) are back for the pain and shenanigans which come with our tournament. Last but not least our Euro Archon, Yianni. This Hellenic Archon is a raging hot favourite to add the World Cup Archon title and be the first to take home the official Football4Mates trophy. 

Time to treasure your success in one of the first modern-day tipping comps. 

On this exciting quest for the Archonship, this morning's result has seen all players get off the mark with Alexander, Aramis, Nestor and Si Webb getting the extra 3 bonus points. 

 

Sports washing aside, the greatest prize in football soon begins

Image: https://www.fifa.com

And here we are, on the shores of the Persian Gulf, and the hereditary monarchy of Qatar, the latest and arguably most controversial venue for the FIFA World Cup. It is here, on the Arabian Peninsula where thousands of foreign workers have been exploited and lost their lives in preparing for this tournament, where the majority of the most talented male footballers will gather; with the exception of Haaland, Pogba, and Salah, who will be watching all 63 games from wintery Manchester, Torino and Liverpool. Oh yes, and let us not forget; the entire nation of Italy, who have once again failed to qualify, and will no doubt bitterly ignore the entire tournament. But this will not be the case for us at Football4Mates. 

Here, every game means something; Qatar v Ecuador, you better believe it, for 5 points will be up for grabs from the very opening game on November 21st (1:55 am). And the intensity and enjoyment will not end until the very end, when the final whistle is blown on Monday morning of December 19 2022.

Predict the outcome of every game (2 points), and watch for the correct score (3 points). Stay in touch with the leaders through the Group stages and march on where others have failed; through the Round of 16, onto the Final, and the title of Football4Mates Archon. All games have a purpose and every minute, bar the penalty shootout, and the useless playoff for Third counts. Extra time will add further anxiety, and failure leads to another two-year wait (for the Euros) to ponder what could have been. The Kudos that comes with victory brings the reward of bragging rights, and one's name on the honours roll. For the losers, it's derision and ignominy and the pondering of 'oh, if only'; not going for the heart; e.g England beating Argentina in the Quarter Finals (a real possibility).

Defending Euro Archon, Yianni will be looking at repeating his exploits from Euro 2020(1), while a long list of failed participants, including yours truly, will be hungry to redeem some credibility for their battered football fan egos. Football4Mates neutrals will be present, as will the next generation of our game's participants. 2022 promises to be an exciting tournament, and we cannot wait to take a small breather from all our hectic schedules to enjoy the football spectacle which will unfold before us. Friendly rivalries between mates will again blossom, and personal bets will again be on the table as the tournament moves towards the knockout phase. Will Brazil make it 6? Can the temperament of the Portuguese and Argentinians hold their nerve and give one of the two GOATs of the game a fitting send-off? And how about France, what can the current world champions produce in the desert? While the ridiculous kickoff times are the same as usual, for the very first time, we do not need to watch football in freezing pre-dawn conditions. 

Let the tournament begin.