Archive for June 2014
Battle of the confederations
The 11 member Oceania Football Confederation(OFC) was not represented at this tournament after New Zealand lost to Mexico in the play-offs otherwise all the five confederations are represented.
Here is a table showing the performance of each confederation:
| UEFA | CONMEBOL | CONCACAF | CAF | AFC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 13 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Won | 18 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Win % | 46.2 | 72.2 | 41.7 | 20.0 | 0.0 |
| Drawn | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Draw % | 18.0 | 11.1 | 25.0 | 20.0 | 25.0 |
| Lost | 14 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 10 |
| Loss % | 35.9 | 16.8 | 33.3 | 60.0 | 83.3 |
| 2nd Rnd | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| % 2nd Rnd | 46.1 | 83.3 | 75.0 | 40.0 | 0.0 |
| Won Grp | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| % Won Grp | 30.8 | 50% | 25.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
So far the best performing Confederation is the host one with five out of its six teams getting into the second round and half its teams winning their groups.
The worst performing Confederations is the Asian Confederation whose teams failed to get a single win and the best they could do is have two teams getting two draws for its haul of two points.
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Netherlands finish group stage in style
The win means that the Netherlands will meet Mexico in the second round after Mexico also triumphed over Croatia to take second place.
Elsewhere they were debut second round for Algeria and Greece who will meet Germany and Costa respectively.
Here is a table showing all the teams in one big table:
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| Colombia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Argentina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Belgium | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| France | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Costa Rica | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Chile | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Algeria | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| USA | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Greece | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| Portugal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 4 |
| Croatia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Bosnia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Ivory Coast | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 3 |
| Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| Spain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 3 |
| Russia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 |
| Ghana | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 1 |
| England | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 |
| Korea | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 1 |
| Iran | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
| Japan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 1 |
| Australia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 0 |
| Honduras | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 0 |
| Cameroon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | -8 | 0 |
So Cameroon prop the table having lost all its matches.
The other teams to fail to get a point are Australia and Honduras.
All teams managed to score at least one goal.
2014 World Cup round 3 goals review
15 goals were scored in the first half whilst 27 were scored after half-time.
Here is the 2014 FIFA World Cup group stage summary:
| Number | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Matches played | 48 | |
| Home wins | 20 | 41.7 |
| Away wins | 19 | 39.6 |
| Drawn | 9 | 18.8 |
| Goalless draws | 5 | 10.4 |
| Goals | 136 | |
| Goals/game | 2.8 | |
| First half goals | 52 | 38.2 |
| Second half goals | 84 | 61.8 |
| Home team goals | 64 | 47.1 |
| Away team goals | 72 | 52.9 |
France top after two matches
After creating a table which puts all the teams together in one big group, France has six points and also a group difference of six.
Other teams on six points are Belgium, Chile, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Argentina and Colombia.
Lying at the bottom of that table with no points and a goal difference of -6.
Below is the table in full:
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Chile | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Colombia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Costa Rica | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Argentina | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Belgium | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Germany | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Brazil | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| USA | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Mexico | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Nigeria | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Croatia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Algeria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Ecuador | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Ivory Coast | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Uruguay | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 3 |
| Ghana | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 1 |
| Japan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| Russia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| Iran | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| Korea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 |
| Greece | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 1 |
| Portugal | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 1 |
| England | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 0 |
| Bosnia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| Australia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 0 |
| Honduras | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 |
| Cameroon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
| Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 0 |
2014 World Cup round 2 goals review
17 goals were scored in the first half whilst 28 were scored after half-time.
The France/Switzerland match saw seven goals scored whilst the Algeria/South Korea match added a further six goals to the total.
The highest scoring draw has been 2-all. So every team that has scored three goals has gone on to win the match.
Here is the summary so far for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil:
| Number | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Matches played | 32 | |
| Home wins | 15 | 46.9 |
| Away wins | 11 | 34.4 |
| Drawn | 6 | 18.8 |
| Goalless draws | 3 | 9.4 |
| Goals | 94 | |
| Goals/game | 2.9 | |
| First half goals | 37 | 39.4 |
| Second half goals | 57 | 60.6 |
| Home team goals | 48 | 51.1 |
| Away team goals | 46 | 48.9 |
Costa Rica win knocks out England
The result means that England can only amass a maximum three points with one match left now whilst Italy or Uruguay will have one of them at six points or both at four points.
England will now join Australia, Cameroon and Spain in playing their last match with nothing to play for but pride and ranking points.
Italy will progress to the knockout stages with a draw whilst Uruguay needs to win to stay in Brazil.
Spain, Socceroos exit World Cup
Spain become only the fifth defending champion to exit the tournament at the Group stage level.
The last team to do so was France in the 2002 edition of the tournament hosted by Japan and South Korea.
The Socceroos can only finish on three points if they beat Spain but that will not be enough and they also head home.
The last match between the defending champions and the Socceroos will just be to avoid the wooden spoon. A draw will be enough to consign Spain to fourth place.
2014/15 Premier League fixtures released
Machester City will start their title defence at Newcastle.
All three promoted sides will kick off the season at home.
Newly promoted Leicester will host Everton whilst Queens Park Rangers will host Hull and Burnley will be hosting Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.
Manchester City's first match at home will be against last season's runners up Liverpool.
Tipping on the Premier League will once again be available on TipsChallenge for what promises to another exciting season.
Goals galore in World Cup group matches
20 goals were scored in the first half whilst 29 were scored after half-time.
There were only two draws in round 1 from a total of 16 matches.
Nigeria and Iran played out the first goalless draw of the tournament whilst Russia and Korea finished off the round with a one-all draw.
Here is the summary so far:
| Number | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Matches played | 17 | |
| Home wins | 10 | 58.8 |
| Away wins | 4 | 23.5 |
| Drawn | 3 | 17.6 |
| Goalless draws | 2 | 11.8 |
| Goals | 49 | |
| Goals/game | 2.9 | |
| First half goals | 20 | 40.8 |
| Second half goals | 29 | 59.2 |
| Home team goals | 30 | 61.2 |
| Away team goals | 19 | 38.8 |
2014/15 A-League fixtures released
The new season will feature a break in January to allow for the 2015 Asian Cup which Australia will be hosting.
The Melbourne derby will now feature in round 3 instead of round 1 and this will be first time it will be Victory against City.
This time the season will end in May with the grand final set for May 10th.
The fixtures will be up on TipsChallenge soon with registration opening up as soon as that is done.
