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