Soccer Update

They've wrapped up the soccer season, and the big story was the dominant performance of Paris-Saint Germain.  PSG crushed Inter Milan 5-0 in the final of the Champions League yesterday to become only the second French club to win the title.

Here are the major results:

European Cup:  Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) (first ever European Cup)

English Premier League:  Liverpool (ended a four-year winning streak for Man City)

English F.A. Cup:  Crystal Palace (first major title in club history)

Scottish Premier League:  Celtic (four in a row, and 13 of the last 14)

Scottish F.A. Cup:  Aberdeen (first F.A. Cup for Aberdeen in 35 years)

Spanish La Liga:  Barcelona

German Bundesliga:  Bayern Munich (11 of the last 12)

Italian Serie A:  Napoli

French Ligue 1:  Paris Saint-Germain (four in a row, and 11 of the last 13)

If you want to see how much people love sports, look up the videos of the Crystal Palace and Aberdeen fans after their teams each pulled big upsets in their respective Cup finals.  And if you want to see how good a soccer team can be, watch PSG's blowout over Inter Milan in yesterday's Champions League final.

We'll see everyone in August.

Soccer Update

It has been a relatively dull soccer season unless you are a Liverpool fan.  In England, Liverpool has already clinched the Premier League title with four games left in the season.  In Scotland, Celtic has done the same.  The F.A. Cup final will be between Crystal Palace and Manchester City, and the Scottish F.A. Cup final will be Aberdeen v. Celtic (Rangers was upset by Queen's Park in the Round of 16).

So that leaves the Champions League.  You will recall that a few years ago, UEFA changed the rules so that teams had to fund themselves from their soccer operations.  This rule was intended to prevent owners from using their fortunes to build super teams, but as a practical matter it gives an incredible advantage to the three biggest clubs in Europe:  Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.  Since 2012, these three clubs have dominated the Champions League.  Only the English clubs have been able to challenge them:

2013:  Bayern Munich (GER)
2014:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2015:  Barcelona (ESP)

2016:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2017:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2018:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2019:  Liverpool (ENG)

2020:  Bayern Munich (GER)

2021:  Chelsea (ENG)

2022:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2023:  Manchester City (ENG)
2024:  Real Madrid (ESP)

This system has largely killed my interest in the Champions' League, as there's not much point in watching so long as Real Madrid is alive.  And so, when Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich all cruised into the quarter-finals during this season, I felt pretty safe in ignoring the competition -- especially as Liverpool had already been eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain.  But then we had some upsets.  Here were the quarter-final results over two legs:

Aston Villa (ENG) 4 - 5 Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

Real Madrid (ESP) 1 - 5 Arsenal (ENG)
Borussia Dortmund (GER) 3 - 5 Barcelona (ESP)

Inter Milan (ITA) 4 - 3 Bayern Munich (GER)

So that gives us the following two-leg semi-finals:

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) v. Arsenal (ENG)
Inter Milan (ITA) v. Barcelona (ESP)

PSG has already eliminated Liverpool and Aston Villa, and my guess is that they will complete their sweep over the English clubs by eliminating Arsenal.  And I expect Barca to roll over Inter and PSG to keep the title in the hands of the Big Three.  But at least it won't be Real Madrid, and that's about all we can hope for these days.

Bulgaria Update

We haven't done one of these in awhile, because every year the Bulgarian soccer league is won by the same team:  PFC Ludogorets Razgrad.  Last season, Ludogorets won the Bulgarian league for the 13th year in a row, which gave them a 13th shot at the Champions' League.

In 2014-15, Ludogorets actually made it all the way to the Group Stage of the Champions' League, where they went 1-4-1 and were eliminated.

In 2016-17, Ludogorets returned to the Group Stage.  This time, they went 0-3-3 and were eliminated.

Since the 2016-17 season, they have entered the Qualifying Rounds of the Champions' League, but they have not yet returned to the Group Stage.

Here's what happened to Ludogorets this year:

In the First Qualifying Round, they drew FC Dinamo Batumi of Georgia.  Over two legs, Ludogorets outscored Dinamo Batumi 3 to 2, so they advanced to the Second Qualifying Round.

In the Second Qualifying Round, Ludogorets drew FC Dinamo Minsk of Belarus.  Over two legs, Ludogorets advanced with a 2-1 aggregate score.

So they went to the Third Qualifying Round.  If Ludogorets could survive this round -- and the next Playoff Round -- they would be in the Group Stages for the first time since 2017.  In the Third Qualifying Round, Ludogorets drew Qarabag FK of Azerbaijan.  The first leg was played in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Ludogorets pulled out a 2-1 win.

Today, Ludogorets and Qarabag met for the second leg in Razgrad.  After 7 minutes, Qarabag scored, but Ludogorets responded with goals in the 13th and 23rd minutes.  At that point, Ludogorets was at home with a 4-2 lead on aggregate, and you had to like their chances of advancing.  But Qarabag scored two goals late in the first half, and the aggregate score was 4-4.  The teams played a scoreless second half, so they were still tied at 4.  UEFA doesn't decide matches by the away goals rule anymore, so they went to extra time.

In extra time, the roof fell in on Ludogorets.  Qarabag scored in the 93d minutes, the 110th minute, the 112th minute, and the 118th minute.  So Qarabag went from being down 4-2 on aggregate to winning 4-8 on aggregate.  Ludogorets are eliminated, and Qarabag marches on to the Playoff Round, where they will face GNK Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia.  One of those teams will be in the Group Stage, but Ludogorets will not.

XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Days 14-16 Before Closing Ceremonies)

Vive la France!

Medals leaders:

1. United States 30 gold, 38 silver, 35 bronze (103 total)

2. China 29, 25, 19 (73)

3. Australia 18, 14, 13 (45)

4. France 14, 19, 21 (54)

5. Great Britain 13, 17, 21 (51)

6. South Korea 13, 8, 7 (28)

7. Japan 13, 7, 13 (33)

8. Netherlands 11, 6, 8 (25)

9. Italy 10, 11, 9 (30)

10. Germany 9, 8, 5 (22)

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Summer Games, Athens 1896

-- XXX Olympic Summer Games, London 2012 

-- XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 

-- XXXII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day -2-Day 8)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 9)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 10)
-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 11)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 12)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 13)

XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 11)

Paris 2024 medals leaders:

1. United States 21 gold, 30 silver, 28 bronze (79 total)

2. China 21, 18, 14 (53)

3. France 13, 16, 19 (48)

4. Australia 13, 12, 8 (33)

5. Great Britain 12, 13, 17 (42)

6. South Korea 11, 8, 7 (26)

7. Japan 10, 5, 11 (26)

8. Italy 9, 10, 6 (25)

9. Netherlands 7, 5, 5 (17)

10. Germany 7, 5, 4 (16)

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Summer Games, Athens 1896

-- XXX Olympic Summer Games, London 2012 

-- XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 

-- XXXII Olympic Summer Games, Tokyo 2020

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day -2-Day 8)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 9)

-- XXXIII Olympic Summer Games, Paris 2024 (Day 10)

Euro 2024

The quarter-finals are where things really get going in Big-Time Soccer.  The first quarter-final is Spain v. Germany from Stuttgart.  Spain scored in the 51st minute to take a 1-0 lead, but Germany equalized in the 88th minute.  So it looks like we are headed to extra time.

Euro 2024

Every four years, the nations of Europe play their own soccer tournament in the summer -- it's like a miniature version of the World Cup.  (In 2021, of course, it was delayed by a year because of COVID.)  This year they are in Germany.  For the last few weeks, they've been going through the group stages, and the knockout games start on Saturday.  Here is your Sweet 16:

Spain v. Georgia

Germany v. Denmark

Portugal v. Slovenia

France v. Belgium

Romania v. Netherlands

Austria v. Turkey

England v. Slovakia

Switzerland v. Italy

Here are the last ten finals:

1984:  France 2 - 0 Spain

1988:  Netherlands 2 - 0 Soviet Union

1992:  Denmark 2 - 0 Germany

1996:  Germany 2 - 1 Czech Rep. (golden goal)*

2000:  France 2 - 1 Italy (golden goal)

2004:  Greece 1 - 0 Portugal

2008:  Spain 1 - 0 Germany**

2012:  Spain 4 - 0 Italy

2016:  Portugal 1 - 0 France (after extra time)

2021:  Italy 1 - 1 England (3-2 on penalty kicks)

*Golden goal means "sudden death" in American.  The Europeans experimented with sudden death in the late 1990's and early 2000's, but they didn't like it, so they went back to extra time.

**That Spain team also won the World Cup in 2010.  In other words, they won three major tournaments in a row.  It was probably the best National Team since Pele's Brazil teams won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, and 1970.

Champions' League Update

I quit watching Man City and Real Madrid once it went to extra time, because I knew it was going to penalty kicks and I cannot abide penalty kicks.  Sure enough, after dominating play for over 100 minutes, City made only three of its five penalty kicks -- and was eliminated when Real Madrid made four.  Meanwhile, Bayern Munich beat Arsenal 1-0 at home.

So the English clubs are out, and the only game I've wanted to watch all season was decided on penalty kicks.  Anyway, this sets up the following semi-finals:

Borussia Dortmund (GER) v. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

Bayern Munich (GER) v. Real Madrid (ESP)

I'm going to root for an all-German final.  But I'm pretty sure Real Madrid will be lifting the Cup for the 15th time overall, and the sixth time since 2014.

Champions' League Update

Borussia Dortmund beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 today, which means that it won 5-4 on aggregate.

Paris Saint-Germain was down 1-0 in Barcelona -- and down 4-2 on aggregate.  But in the 29th minute, one of the Barcelona players got a red card, and PSG ran wild after that.  Paris Saint-Germain hammered Barcelona 4-1, and won the quarter-final 6-4 on aggregate.

So we now have one of the semi-finals:

Borussia Dortmund (GER) v. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA).

Champions' League Quarter-Finals

Years of experience have taught me not to pay attention to the UEFA Champions' League until they get down to the quarter-finals.  Today and tomorrow, they will be playing the second legs of the quarter-finals.  Remember that the team with the most total goals over two legs advances to the semi-final.  Remember also that last year, Manchester City defeated Inter Milan to win the title.

Here are the quarter-finals.  The home team for the second leg is listed first and the score is the score after the first leg:

April 16:

Borussia Dortmund (GER) 1 - 2 Atletico Madrid (ESP)

Barcelona (ESP) 3 - 2 Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

April 17:

Bayern Munich (GER) 2 - 2 Arsenal (ENG)

Manchester City (ENG) 3 - 3 Real Madrid (ESP)

Here are the last 10 finals:

2013-14:  Real Madrid (ESP) 4, Atletico Madrid (ESP) 1 (after extra time)

2014-15:  Barcelona (ESP) 3, Juventus (ITA) 1

2015-16:  Real Madrid (ESP) 1, Atletico Madrid (ESP) 1 (Real Madrid wins 5-3 on penalty kicks)

2016-17:  Real Madrid (ESP) 4, Juventus (ITA) 1

2017-18:  Real Madrid (ESP) 3, Liverpool (ENG) 1

2018-19:  Liverpool (ENG) 2, Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) 0

2019-20:  Bayern Munich (GER) 1, Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 0

2020-21:  Chelsea (ENG) 1, Manchester City (ENG) 0

2021-22:  Real Madrid (ESP) 1, Liverpool (ENG) 0

2022-23:  Manchester City (ENG) 1, Inter Milan (ITA) 0

EFL League Two Fever

Well, I was going to try to figure out what the heck everything that John Green is talking about in this fantastic thing, but ... nyah ...

I will add that I love the map that Wikipedia has for the current EFL League Two teams.

Almost There

In England, they played the F.A. Community Shield game, which is an exhibition between the League Champion and the Cup Champion.  When the same team when both titles -- like Manchester City did last year -- that team plays the team that came in second in the League.  Anyway, this means that next week, the new season will begin:

Friday, Aug. 11:

Burnley v. Manchester City

Saturday, Aug 12:

Arsenal v. Nottingham Forest

Sheffield Utd v. Crystal Palace

AFC Bournemouth v. West Ham Utd.

Brighton & Hove Albion v. Luton Town

Everton v. Fulham

Newcastle Utd. v. Aston Villa

Sunday, Aug. 13:

Brentford v. Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea v. Liverpool

Manchester Utd. v. Wolverhampton Wanderers

And that will mean that we are only three weeks away from a full week of college football.

Pennant Fever

For a long time, Manchester City was overshadowed by Manchester United, which served as the Mayfield to City's Tilghman.  But in August 2008, City were purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group, and since then conditions have changed.  In 2011-12, City won the English Premier League, taking its first League crown since 1968.  And in February 2016, City hired Pep Guardiola, who had previously managed Barcelona and Bayern Munich.  Under Guardiola, who may be the best manager in the world, City has come to dominate English football.  Here's what City have done in recent years:

2017-18:  1st place in the EPL

2018-19:  1st place in the EPL, Winners of the F.A. Cup

2019-20:  2d place in the EPL, Semi-finalists in the F.A. Cup

2020-21:  1st place in the EPL, Semi-finalists in the F.A. Cup

2021-22:  1st place in the EPL, Semi-finalists in the F.A. Cup

2022-23:  1st place in the EPL, Winners of the F.A. Cup

So that's five league titles and two doubles (league and cup titles) in the last six seasons.

However, the European Champions' League had consistently evaded City.  Year after year, they had suffered heartbreak, and mainly against English clubs:

2017-18:  Lost in the quarterfinals, 5-1 on aggregate to Liverpool (ENG)

2018-19:  Lost in the quarterfinals, 4-4 on aggregate (3-1 on away goals) to Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

2019-20:  Lost in the quarterfinals, 3-1 on aggregate to Lyon (FRA)

2020-21:  Lost in the final, 1-0 to Chelsea (ENG)

Last year was incredibly painful.  City reached the semi-final, where it drew Real Madrid (ESP).  After winning the first leg 4-3, City led 1-0 in the second leg -- and 5-3 on aggregate -- going into the 90th minute in Madrid.  Real Madrid then scored a goal in the 90th minute, and another goal in injury time, to tie the semi-final at 5-all and force extra time.  Five minutes into injury time, Real Madrid scored on a penalty, and City was eliminated 6-5.

I have to admit that after all these tough losses, I had become convinced that City could never go all the way.  But this year, City finally would not be denied:

In the group stages, City won its group with a record of 4-0-2, and outscored its opponents 14-2.

In the round of 16, City crushed RB Leipzig (GER) 8-1 on aggregate.

In the quarter-finals, City pounded Bayern Munich (GER) 4-1 on aggregate.

That set up another semi-final against Real Madrid.  This time, City held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Madrid.  In the second leg, played in Manchester, City buried Real Madrid 4-0 in one of the greatest performances any English club has ever shown in the Champions League.

That left the final, played today in Istanbul against Inter Milan (ITA).  As you would expect from a great Italian club, Inter Milan is a tremendous defensive club, and City was never going to get its offense going in this type of game.  But City finally broke through with a goal in the 68th minute, and then they held off wave after wave of attacks.  Finally, after 90 minutes of game time, and 5 1/2 minutes of injury time, the final whistle blew, and City had won the Champions League 1 to 0.  It was their first Champions League title in history.

Now only three British clubs have ever won the "treble" -- the league title, the cup title, and the European championship -- in the same season.

The first was the Celtic (SCO) team of 1966-67, which won the Scottish Football League, the Scottish F.A. Cup, and the European Cup.  That team is remembered in much the same spirit as how we remember the Packers of the 1960s.  

The second was the Manchester United team of 1998-99, which is remembered in much the same way we recall the Jimmy Johnson Cowboy teams of the 1990s.

And now we have the Manchester City team of 2022-23.  After they humiliated Real Madrid in the semi-finals, serious observers in England said that this year's City team is the greatest club in the history of English soccer, and I think they are probably right.

So ends one of the longest (thanks to the World Cup) and most dramatic seasons in recent soccer history.  For the English Premier League, the new season will begin on August 12.

Pennant Fever

The big news in England is that Manchester City could become the first English team since Manchester United in 1998-99 to win the League Title, the F.A. Cup, and the European Cup in the same year.  Arsenal has suffered three draws in a row, so Man City (with two games in hand) is in a good position to overtake the Gunners:

1.  Arsenal:  23-3-6 (75 points)

2.  Man City:  22-4-4 (70)

On Wednesday, Man City will host Arsenal, and that game will give the Sky Blues a chance to take command of the League race.

Meanwhile, the F.A. Cup Semi-Finals were played over the weekend.  Man City rolled 3-0 over Sheffield United, while Man United played a scoreless draw with Brighton & Hove Albion before winning 7-6 on penalty kicks.  So  Manchester City and Manchester United will meet for the F.A. Cup final, something that has never happened before.  They've only played eight times in the F.A. Cup, and the latest they've ever met previously was in the 1925-26 F.A. Cup, when City beat United 3-0 in the semi-final.  This year's final will take place at Wembley Stadium on June 3.

Also, we are down to the semi-finals of the Champions' League.  Man City will play Real Madrid over two legs, with the first match in Madrid on May 9 and the second match in Manchester on May 17.  AC Milan and Inter Milan -- who share a stadium -- will play their two legs on May 10 and May 16.  The Champions' League Final is scheduled for June 10, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The season is running longer than usual this year, because of the delays resulting from the World Cup in Qatar.  But Man City fans still have a lot to look forward to.

Pennant Fever

After leading the English Premier League for months, Arsenal is starting to fade.  The Gunners have suffered 2-2 draws to Liverpool and West Ham Utd in their last two games, while Manchester City is red hot.  Now the top of the table looks like this (note that Man City has eight games left, while Arsenal has only seven games left):

1.  Arsenal:  23-3-5 (74 points)

2.  Man City:  22-4-4 (70)

3.  Man Utd:  18-7-5 (59)

4.  Newcastle:  15-4-11 (56)

5.  Tottenham:  16-10-5 (53)

The F.A. Cup is down to the semi-finals, which will be played at Wembley next weekend:

04/22/23:  Manchester City v. Sheffield Utd

04/23/23:  Brighton & Hove Albion v. Manchester Utd

A Manchester Derby would make for a very entertaining final, unless you have strong reasons to hate either of those teams.

Meanwhile, they're in the middle of the quarter-finals of the Champions' League.  The teams have each played one game so far, and the scores look like this going into the second leg (teams hosting game two listed first):

04/18/23:  Chelsea (ENG) 0 - 2 Real Madrid (ESP)

04/19/23:  Inter Milan (ITA) 2 - 0 Benfica (POR)

04/19/23:  Bayern Munich (GER) 0 - 3 Manchester City (ENG)

04/18/23:  Napoli (ITA) 0 - 1 AC Milan (ITA)

It's been a very strong year for the Italian teams so far.  No team from Italy has won the title since 2010, and no team from Italy has made the final since 2017, but the Italian teams are in a strong position so far.

Pennant Fever

Here's the top of the English Premier League:

1.  Arsenal:  17-3-3 (54 points)

2.  Man City:  16-4-4 (52)

3.  Man Utd:  15-5-4 (49)

4.  Spurs:  13-8-3 (42)

5.  Newcastle:  10-2-11 (41)

Here are the matchups for the Fifth Round of the F.A. Cup, which will take place next week.  Teams from the Premier League are in bold:

Stoke City v. Brighton & Hove Albion

Leicester City v. Blackburn Rovers

Fulham v. Leeds Utd

Bristol City v. Manchester City

Southampton v. Grimsby Town

Burnley v. Fleetwood Town

Manchester Utd v. West Ham Utd

Sheffield Utd v. Tottenham Hotspur

Pennant Fever

Here is the top of the English Premier League, with roughly half the season left to go:

1.  Arsenal:  16-1-2 (50 points)

2.  Man City:  14-3-3 (45)

3.  Newcastle:  10-1-9 (39) (goal differential of 22)

4.  Man Utd:  12-5-3 (39) (7)

5.  Tottenham:  10-7-3 (33)

Here are the matchups in the fourth round (round of 32) of the FA Cup, which takes place next weekend.  Teams from the English Premier League are in bold:

Friday, Jan. 27:

Manchester City v. Arsenal

Saturday, Jan. 28:

Walsall v. Leicester City

Blackburn Rovers v. Birmingham City

Bristol City v. West Bromwich Albion

Fulham v. Sunderland

Ipswich Town v. Burnley

Luton Town v. Grimsby Town

Sheffield Wednesday v. Fleetwood Town

Southampton v. Blackpool

Boreham Wood or Accrington Stanley v. Leeds Utd

Preston North End v. Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester Utd v. Reading

Sunday, Jan. 29:

Brighton & Hove Albion v. Liverpool

Stoke City v. Stevenage

Wrexham v. Sheffield Utd

Derby County v. West Ham Utd

Pennant Fever

Arsenal remains on top of the English Premier League, but I still think Man City is the better team:

1.  Arsenal:  14-1-2 (44 points)

2.  Man City:  12-2-3 (39)

3.  Newcastle:  9-1-8 (35) (goal differential of 21)

4.  Man Utd:  11-4-2 (35) (goal differential of 7)

5.  Tottenham:  10-5-3 (33)

6.  Liverpool:  8-5-4 (28) (goal differential of 12)

7.  Fulham:  8-6-4 (28) (goal differential of 3)

Meanwhile, Celtic appears to have everything under control in Scotland:

1.  Celtic:  19-1-1 (58 points)

2.  Rangers:  14-2-4 (46)

3.  Hearts:  9-6-5 (32)

Pennant Fever

Here are the last five winners of the English Premier League:

2017-18:  Manchester City

2018-19:  Manchester City

2019-20:  Liverpool

2020-21:  Manchester City

2021-22:  Manchester City

I can remember when Man City hadn't won the title in 45 years, but that has changed.  They have become the Red Sox to Man Utd's Yankees.  But this year, City is facing some real competition.  As of today, the top of the table looks like this:

1.  Arsenal:  13-1-1 (40 points)

2.  Newcastle Utd:  9-1-6 (33)

3.  Manchester City:  10-2-2 (32)

4.  Tottenham Hotspur:  9-4-3 (30)

5.  Manchester Utd:  8-4-2 (26)

I think City still has to be favored, given the strength of their team, but Arsenal is playing very well so far.  Furthermore, Arsenal doesn't have to play in the Champions' League, because the Gunners didn't qualify last year.

Meanwhile, here are the last five winners of the UEFA Champions' League.  Notice that City's success in England has not translated into success in Europe:

2017-18:  Real Madrid (ESP)

2018-19:  Liverpool (ENG)

2019-20:  Bayern Munich (GER)

2020-21:  Chelsea (ENG)

2021-22:  Real Madrid (ESP)

Here are the matchups for this year's round of 16, which will start on Valentine's Day.  These will be two-leg matches between the eight group winners and the eight group runners up.  The group winners are listed first:

Manchester City (ENG) v. RB Leipzig (GER)

Benfica (POR) v. Club Brugge (BEL)

Real Madrid (ESP) v. Liverpool (ENG)

Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) v. AC Milan (ITA)

Napoli (ITA) v. Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)

Chelsea (ENG) v. Borussia Dortmund (GER)

Porto (POR) v. Inter Milan (ITA)

Bayern Munich (GER) v. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

Liverpool was in the same group with Napoli.  Both teams went 5-1 in the group.  Liverpool beat Napoli 2-0 in Liverpool.  Napoli beat Liverpool 4-1 in Naples.  That means that in the head-to-head matchups, Napoli had a one-goal advantage.  As a result, Liverpool -- which reached the final in 2018, 2019, and 2022 -- is almost certainly going out in the round of 16.

Argentina v. Croatia (World Cup Semi-Final)

ARGENTINA:

GK:  Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) (ENG)

D:  Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid) (ESP)

D:  Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur) (ENG)

D:  Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica) (POR)

D:  Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon) (FRA)

MF:  Rodrigo de Paul (Atletico Madrid) (ESP)

MF:  Leandro Paredes (Juventus) (ITA)

MF:  Enzo Fernandez (Benfica) (POR)

MF:  Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion) (ENG)

F:  Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) (FRA)

F:  Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) (ENG)

CROATIA:

GK:  Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb) (CRO)

D:  Josip Juranovic (Celtic) (SCO)

D:  Dejan Lovren (Zenit St. Petersburg) (RUS)

D:  Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig) (GER)

D:  Borna Sosa (VfB Stuttgart) (GER)

MF:  Luka Modric (Real Madrid) (ESP)

MF:  Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan) (ITA)

MF:  Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) (ENG)

MF:  Mario Pasalic (Atalanta) (ITA)

F:  Andrej Kramaric (1899 Hoffenheim) (GER)

F:  Ivan Perisic (Tottenham Hotspur) (ENG)