EURO 2016: ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS

A Late Strike from Ivan Perisic gave Croatia a 2-1 win over Spain.

Spain’s 2-1 defeat to Croatia has blown the knockout stage of the competition wide open.  A second place finish presents them a rematch of the 2012 Euro final against Italy. Additionally, this puts them in the same half of the draw as France, England and Germany.

The tournament which for the first time includes 24 teams has some intriguing prospects as it enters into the final round of fixtures for Match-day 3. Lack-lustre performances from the traditional big guns has thrown the tournament wide open.

Today sees the conclusion of the group stages with the final fixtures of Group E and Group F. Italy is assured of top spot in their group and Hungary regardless of results will make it to the round of 16. Slovakia and Northern Ireland were assured of a spot as well after results put them to finish in the top 4 among the third place teams. That leaves 4 more spots to be filled in the final 16.Two of the spots will be filled up by the runners-up from Groups E and F. 

This is the lookup of the draw currently: 

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This means there are 2 third place spots up for grabs and it comes down between Albania, Turkey and 3rd place finishers from Group E and F. The third place teams to be chosen are decided by another table. ( one meant for all sides that finish 3rd).The hierarchy is in Points, Goal Difference, Goals Scored, Fair Play AND  UEFA Team Coefficient. 

Firstly, when UEFA announced the draw, Group Winners of A,B,C and D were slated to play the four 3rd place teams. 

Taking this in terms of France, the table states that they will play the 3^rd placed side from Group C,D or E. Logically it would be safe to assume the 3^rd place side from C and if they didn’t qualify it would be D. Failure of C and D to qualify would mean E. But this is not the case. 

Instead, UEFA has come up with another table to decide prospective match-ups.

Now, this present 4 main possibilities based on the results from the first 4 groups.

SCENARIO 1: THIRD PLACE SIDES FROM GROUPS A,B,C,D.

For this to be possible, today's results will have to look like this.

GROUP E: BELGIUM V/S SWEDEN (BELGIUM WIN/DRAW)
                   ITALY     V/S IRELAND (ITALY WIN/DRAW)

GROUP F: PORTUGAL V/S HUNGARY (PORTUGAL LOSE)
                   ICELAND    V/S AUSTRIA   ( ANY RESULT WILL DO)

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SCENARIO 2: THIRD PLACE FROM GROUPS B,C,D,E.

GROUP E: BELGIUM V/S SWEDEN (BELGIUM LOSE)
                   ITALY     V/S IRELAND (ITALY LOSE)

GROUP F: PORTUGAL V/S HUNGARY (PORTUGAL LOSE)
                   ICELAND    V/S AUSTRIA   ( ANY RESULT WILL DO)

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SCENARIO 3: THIRD PLACE TEAMS FROM GROUPS B,C,D,F.

GROUP E: BELGIUM V/S SWEDEN (ANY RESULT WILL DO)
                   ITALY     V/S IRELAND (ITALY WIN/DRAW)

GROUP F: PORTUGAL V/S HUNGARY (PORTUGAL WIN/DRAW)
                   ICELAND    V/S AUSTRIA   ( ANY RESULT WILL DO)

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SCENARIO 4: THIRD PLACE TEAMS FROM GROUPS B,C,E,F.

GROUP E: BELGIUM V/S SWEDEN (ANY RESULT)
                   ITALY     V/S IRELAND (IRELAND WIN)

GROUP F: PORTUGAL V/S HUNGARY (PORTUGAL WIN/DRAW)
                   ICELAND    V/S AUSTRIA   ( ICELAND WIN/DRAW)

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These permutations and combinations present mouth-watering scenarios for the Round of 16, Including the probability of France v/s Belgium and England v/s Portugal.

These permutations and combinations present mouth-watering scenarios for the Round of 16, Including the probability of France v/s Belgium and England v/s Portugal. It promises to be another day of high-intense football where every result matters and could play a role in determining the future champions.

Cleveland Cavaliers 89-104 Golden State Warriors: Game Review

The Golden State Warriors cruised to a 104-87 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the 2015-16 NBA Finals.  Shaun Lvingston and Andre Iguodala were the star men for the warriors as their star duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had their lowest scoring game of the season. The Cavaliers scoring was dominated by the big three of Lebron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. The 3 combined for 66 of their 89 points. 

Both teams started off brightly with good plays on the offensive and defensive ends. Unlike last year’s finals, the Cavs had their best players on hand and were in prime condition going into the finals. They began the game well on the offense whilst restricting Thompson and Curry on the other end. Curry did manage to get off 2 quick 3’s, but he would eventually have an off-scoring night. The Warriors front-court did all the work in the first half, with Harrison Barnes justifying his bump into the starting 5 by knocking three consecutive field goals. Draymond Green seems to have found his focus back as he was immense on the defensive end for the warriors. Despite a good run by golden state in the 1st quarter, they would end it only up by 4.

Livingston led the Warriors with 20 points.

The 2nd quarter began with yet more joy for James and Coach Steve Kerr made the adjustment, putting Andre Iguodala on James. The matchup, reminiscent of last year’s finals is what ultimately turned the ball game in favour of the warriors. Curry and Thompson’s off shooting game had no effect as the warrior bench took centre stage and rose to the occasion. Shaun Livingston with some tough shots off post-ups. He would ultimately finish with a playoff-career high of 20 points (8/10 FG). The warriors would eventually end the first half with a 9 point lead.

The second half began with a Cavaliers come-back as they tried to cut into the lead. Kyrie Irving got finally rolling and he was making his shots and important plays on the offensive end. A 9-4 run in favour of the Cavs, midway through the 3rd quarter saw them take the lead for the first time since the 1st minute of the game. This was followed by 6 consecutive changes in lead. When Curry missed an open 3-PT, it looked like the momentum was now with the cavaliers. But Iguodala on the defensive end, and Livingston on offence made play after play sending the warriors on a 7-0 run to end the quarter.

The fourth period of play saw some more magic from Livingston as the warriors extended their scoring run to 21-0. With none of the Cavs bench or the other starters contributing, their top three found it difficult to get their offense going. The Warriors bench would eventually outscore the Cavs 45-9. A mini-comeback by Cleveland midway in the 4th was sent to a halt as Curry and Thompson both hit 3’s to send the stadium into frenzy.

The reigning finals MVP put in another inspiring performance.

The game re-emphasized the reason why Golden State Warriors are the reigning champions. Without much contribution from their star players, they have the quality in their bench to come out and make it happen. Iguodala, the finals MVP last year is a direct-example of the Warriors motto “strength in numbers”, as the star man has taken a demotion to the bench to further his teams cause.

As for Cleveland, they will have to work more cohesively as a team and contribute from all fronts if they want to stand any chance of winning the championship