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VIFF 2024 Review: The End

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

I find it quite fitting that the last film of VIFF I saw was titled The End. It’s also interesting that there would be an attempt to create a musical on a subject one would not normally create a musical about.

The musical begins in what appears to be a home of a wealthy family. The son is happy with the diorama of America he has. The father and mother consider it the idea life or the dream life. Or is it? Is it the dream life when all people need to participate in emergency raids? Turns out this ideal place of the family is a bunker underneath a salt mine they need to live in because the planet is unlikeable. The mother, father and son are among the lucky few to survive this ‘end of the world’ and this bunker is their refuge. The three aren’t the only ones living in the bunker. Also ‘lucky’ to be living there is a family friend, a doctor, the butler and the son’s ex-wife Mary. They’re the only other people the parents were willing to trust while still living on Earth’s ground. The father was an oligarch who faced death threats in his lifetime on Earth.

It should appear like they have it all in their underground bunker. They have all the luxuries they need for themselves, the friends they could trust the most on Earth living with them, samples of plants and species to keep, grow and breed for themselves, and there’s even a diorama of Earth’s site for the son to marvel at. Actually the son feels something missing in his life as he spent almost all of it below ground. Then one day, an ‘intruder’ is detected in their shelter. The intruder is a young African-American woman. She was one of the few that managed to survive the devastation as her family have all been killed. The son is attracted to her as he sees something captivating in her. Possibly because she’s the only person in his life who has lived recent time at the surface.

The romance between the son and the girl kindle, but the mother and father are not happy about it. She’s an outsider. She’s an interference to the ideal life they envisioned having once the apocalypse happened. The mother even suspects her of having an ‘agenda.’ Soon awful truths begin to unravel from the girl as she has the most knowledge of the devastation at the surface. All the pollution that was caused killed her family. Soon the news hits Mary as she learns the pollution is what caused her son’s terminal cancer and she neglected him in the end by bringing him to the surface to die. She soon dies in heartbreak. Then the parents learn of the hurt they caused. Mostly the father as on Earth, he bribed corruption in developing countries to happen for his gain, his company caused massive pollution around the world and his political ties allowed his influence and policies to be adopted around the world. A world he did his part to destroy. The mother tries explaining to her son she did all this to protect him, but he doesn’t buy it. The parents wonder is there any way they can find any redemption or forgiveness for what they’ve done? They do find it, but not in the way anyone expects.

It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that there would end up being an ‘end of the world’ musical. Creativity is just waiting to happen. I’m sure this is not the first apocalyptic musical ever done. The story itself is an ambitious story. An oligarch family live in a bunker below the devastated Earth and live happily with themselves and the people they want. Suddenly they find an outsider in their area. The parents don’t know what to do with her. The son falls in love with her. Meanwhile as the two become closer, ugly truths about the parents and the choices they enforced caused much of this earthly destruction and they are finally facing the music about it. This musical does touch on a lot of things such as environmental damage, blood money and people who ‘ruled the world’ facing the music for the devastation they cause.

The thing about this musical is that it doesn’t feel all that together. I know it’s a musical that has most of the activity taking in one small place and it doesn’t lead too much outside, but one does get the sense a musical like this could have been done much better. Its biggest flaw is there are many times in which during many dialogue parts of the song, you forget it’s a musical until a song is thrown in. Now don’t get me wrong. Cinematic musicals are as hard to create for the big screen as stage musicals are hard to adapt to the big screen, but one can’t help but think as they watch along that this could have been a way better musical. I’ve often sensed that if Adam McKay were to do an ‘end of the world’ musical like this, it would be a lot angrier and with humor that delivers a lot more hard blows as McKay is known to do.

Despite its flaws, I give credit to Joshua Oppenheimer for his ambitious attempt to create such a musical. This film is not only Oppenheimer’s first attempts at a big-screen musical but also his first attempt at a feature-length film that isn’t a documentary. His two documentaries The Act Of Killing and The Look Of Silence have both been nominated for Oscars in the Best Documentary Feature category. In this film he directs and co-wrote the screen play with Rasmus Heisterberg, his lack of experience in directing live action shows as it’s not all together. Mind you those that know the story know it’s not an easy story to direct and set. Never mind throw in songs ever now and then. Some critics have labeled such a film an ‘experiment.’ If this film is a successful experiment, it’s an uneven success where the flaws are noticeable. The songs composed by Marius de Vries and Joshua Schmidt are good but there aren’t as many as there should be in a musical.

By the looks of screen time, it looks like George Mackay is the lead actor in this film. I’m unfamiliar with his experience at singing or musical theatre but he does a very good job in this film. He plays the naive son clueless about the outside world very well. His chemistry with the girl is often because she symbolizes the outside world he craves to live in. Also playing the role well is Moses Ingram. She’s most famous for playing Jolene in The Queen’s Gambit. She does a great job at playing the survivor of this catastrophe who’s able to capture the son’s love. Michael Shannon and Tilda Swinton do a good job of playing the parents. Curiously, Shannon is only 17 years older than Mackay. I didn’t think Michael looked that old! They both do a good job who are first in love with what they have and then learn this paradise is an illusion and they confront the truth of what they caused. Also great is Danielle Ryan who plays the first love of the son who soon confronts her role in the responsibility of her son’s death.

The End attempts to create a musical that attempts to be like a sad comedy. The energy and overall mood are not as fluid as they should be. The acting and singing are both good, but the film doesn’t seem to be all together.

And there you have it! Finally the last of my reviews of films from the Vancouver Film Festival of 2024. You’ll be getting my wrap-up blog soon.

VIFF 2023 Intro And Review: The Promised Land (Bastarden)

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
Mads Mikkelsen plays Gustav Kahlen, a settler in 18th Century Denmark in the film The Promised Land.

VIFF INTRO: Normally I do a separate blog for VIFF when it opens. Since the Festival ended on Sunday the 8th, I’ll do a brief summary here. The Vancouver International Film Festival returned. This year, there were no longer films to stream as VIFFaccess is no longer. It became a case cinemas are working to bring crowds back to the theatres. Same with VIFF as its films were shown at seven different facilities. There was a reduced number of films shown at 140. Now that the pandemic is almost over, the arts communities have to downsize in order to rebuild itself. Nevertheless a lot of great films to see coming from 73 nations. A wide selection of Canadian films, Indigenous films, LBGT-themed films, documentaries and an excellent number of films directed by women are yours to watch. And even after the Festival with VIFF repeats just after! The Festival may be over but the reviews are still worth posting as the films could return to the VIFF theatre, get wider release or even be put on a streaming service.

One of my goals of the Vancouver International Film Festival is to see at least one film that’s a nation’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category for this year’s Oscar race. I did it on my very first VIFF film: Denmark’s The Promised Land. This film already has a lot of buzz, and rightly so.

It’s the middle of the 18th Century in Jutland; territory ruled by Denmark. A peasant man named Ludvig Kahlen of unknown fatherhood sets out to cultivate the untouched heath land in hopes to win honor from the king. Even though the king’s men accept and give him servants, he soon makes an enemy with Frederik Schinkel who owns the land and wants to believe his say supersedes that of the king’s. He also reminds Kahlen that those who attempted to cultivate the land before him have failed. Nevertheless Kahlen is stubborn and is determined to make it work with the minister Anton Eklund and a servant couple. He also meets a dark-skinned Romani orphan girl named Anmai Mus who tries to connect with him, but he rejects her at first with the common racist attitude.

Over time as Kahlen gets better at his work, Schinkel gets more envious and more control-hungry. He even takes the servant husband, has him whipped in his private chamber and executed with boiling water poured on him in a dungeon. All are shocked but Schinkel is remorseless. A distraught Kahlen soon develops an intimacy with the servant’s widow. He even welcomes Anmai Mus in his life and soon it becomes a family-like situation between the three. As for the heath, Kahlen and the two work tirelessly against a stack of odds to make the land work. If it’s not the land that’s hard and lacks fertility, it’s the unpredictable weather, workers that desert and the murder of Eklund by Schinkel’s men.

In the second year, Kahlen gets a new set of settlers from Germany. They are hesitant to help Kahlen out as they view Anmai Mus as a wicked child because of her dark skin. Kahlen is insistent since he has developed a fatherly love for her. Meanwhile problems threaten Kahlen’s goal and his unity with Ann Barbara and Anmai Mus. The jealous Schinkel starts coming onto Ann Barbara and creating a love triangle between her and his cousin wife. In addition, the workers refuse to assist as long as Anmai Mus is there. They consider her bad luck. Kahlen makes a resolution to send her to a boarding school miles away. It works in getting the settlers to work, but Ann Barbara is disgusted how he did this in the name of his pride.

The cultivation of the heath becomes successful, but the envy of Schinkel gets to the point he feels he has to destroy what Kahlen has created. Kahlen’s land and livestock are set ablaze. Kahlen responds by killing some of Schinkel’s men. That leads him to being captured by Schinkel and sentenced to death. The method being whipping and boiled water: the fame fatal punishment Ann Barbara’s husband receives. Kahlen is whipped mercilessly and Schinkel would delight in seeing him burned to death but as Kahlen is put in the dungeon, Schinkel is called to his chamber. Ann Barbara awaits him and promises him an unforgettable night. After a cup of tea, which Ann Barbara poisoned, Schinkel convulses and Ann Barbara has him at his most vulnerable. Ann Barbara does not resist arrest at all for his murder.

Schinkel’s murder is successful in stopping Kahlen’s execution, but Ann Barbara is imprisoned for life hundreds of miles away. Before Kahlen returns to his farm, he takes Anmai Mus away from the boarding school and promises never to let her go. Upon returning to the fame, Kahlen leads and demands the settlers treat Anmai Mus with respect. Over the years, the farm is prosperous and Kahlen earns the title of baron from the king. Also Anmai Mus grows up to be a successful woman who wins the eyes of a young man in the area. It is after her marriage to him and her goodbye to Kahlen that Kahlen knows what he must do. The ending is slow, but it comes with a surprise result.

This is one of those films that is based on a historical person that gets you questioning if it’s real or not. This story of Ludvig Kahlen as he and his wife try to grow a farm and overcome the ruthlessness of landowner Schinkel does appear farfetched in how it plays out. Actually this is based on a novel from Danish writer Ida Jessen. Nevertheless this film does tell a lot about the case of classism and racism. It was as problematic back then as it is today. It will shock many how the settlers viewed the dark-skinned daughter as bad luck, but that’s how most people thought back then. Also seeing how someone who owns the land thinks he has bigger empowerment on situations than the king, we can see examples of people like that in the world.

I’ve seen films based on a novel based on a historic person before. It seems to be a common thing now. Although it is still common to do historical dramas, it’s become more common lately to adapt novels of stories loosely based on historical people. Gets you wondering about the “Based on a true story” factor. In this film, we see a case where a historical figure overcomes racism and adopts a dark-skinned girl. He overcomes classism by making the Heath fertile and marries the widow of his servant. He overcomes geographic odds by cultivating land in Jutland. He also overcomes his own class odds by him, a bastard peasant son who’s normally destined to stay in the peasant class, achieving Baronhood. It’s uncertain how much of this is true or loose fiction, but it is a story to get one thinking.

You can either welcome a loose story of historical figures like this or you can pan it for its inaccuracies or farfetched drama. However you view it, this film plays this story out in a unique style. One can say it plays out in the style of an epic film with all this recreation. Some would even view the film as an unlikely romance. Some even say this story plays out with the common dramatic elements of an American western. It takes a story of a historical person few have heard of and makes people get intrigued by the drama and even anticipate what will happen next. It even adds some comedy with the behavior of people, including Schinkel. The stupidities of Schinkel are behaviors that can easily remind people of bad behavior of some rich people of today. In addition, this story does not end like your typical drama. There are atypical twists at the ending, surprising people who didn’t expect the film to end that way. Maybe sending the message this film isn’t what they thought it would be about.

Top credits go to director Nikolai Arcel. Arcel has already amassed a good reputation with having written for fourteen previous films and directing five. One film he wrote and directed, A Royal Affair, was nominated for an Academy Award. In this film that he directed and co-wrote with Anders Thomas Jensen and Ida Jessen, he goes back into the genre of epic films and delivers a drama that’s grand in spectacle and thrills. Also worthy of top honors is lead actor Mads Mikkelsen. Here he temporarily leaves behind the MCU and Indiana Jones that has catapulted his stardom and returns to Denmark for a character he helps create and enhance with his performance. Also worth admiring is Simon Bennebjerg who creates a villain in Schinkel that succeeds in making you hate him for being evil and laugh at him for being stupid. Additional good performances include Amanda Collin for adding the drama as Ann Barbara and Melina Hagberg for adding in the charm as Anmai Mus. The set designers did an excellent job in recreating the barren land of the 18th Century and the score by Dan Romer adds to the dramatic feel of the film.

Danish film has really had it strong at the Academy Awards in the 21st Century, especially these last ten years. In the Best International Feature Film category, Denmark has achieved two of its four wins, six additional nominations and three years making it into the annual shortlists this Century. Arcel himself had one of his films, A Royal Affair, nominated in that category back in 2012. The Promised Land is the second of his films submitted as Denmark’s official film in this category. This film was even nominated for the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival. At that same festival, Arcel was given Honorable Mention for the SIGNIS Award.

Whether it is true or mostly made up, The Promised Land is an intriguing story about classism and racism and the lust. Even a telling story about what it’s like to live under a monarchy. It’s also an unlikely love story.

2023 FIFA WWC: My Prediction For The FINAL And Third-Place Playoff

Jon The Blogcentric4 Comments

I know that sometimes my predictions can be quite off. I got all eight of the Round of 16 winners right, I got three of the four quarterfinalists right, but I got none of the semifinalists right! That’s why I tell people not to completely trust my predictions if you’re placing bets!

HOST NATION KUDOS

First off, I would like to say that both New Zealand and Australia did an excellent job of hosting the Women’s World Cup here. I know there was a lot of concern from FIFA and the New Zealand tourism industry in trying to get game tickets sold. The group stage saw a lot of near sell-outs of the games involving New Zealand or the USA, but low crowds for some of the other less lauded teams. As the rounds got bigger, New Zealand began to improve in their ticket sales and attendance has been great. As for overall, attendance has been excellent. It has set a Women’s World Cup record of 1.85 million! Per game, it’s just very short of the 30,000-per-game mark but it will have no problem passing it with the attendance of these last two matches. In the process, it ill become only the third Women’s World Cup with an average attendance of 30,000 per game or more!

Third-Place Playoff:

Yes, I’m one of those that’s willing to make a prediction for the third-place match. Besides I’m sure there will still be people betting on that match. The most intriguing thing about this match is that both teams are coached by a Swedish coach! So here are my thoughts:

Head-To-Head Stats:

Australia and Sweden have faced each other fifteen times before. Sweden won nine times and Australia have won twice. Worth noting is the most recent meet-up, in Melbourne in November 2022. Australia won 4-0!

Team-By-Team Analysis:

SWEDEN: It is always tempting to feel sorry for Sweden. They almost always seem to have a team that can contend for the top, but constantly falls short. They won the first-ever Women’s Euro, but have yet to win a second after eight more Top 3 finishes since. They two two Olympic silver medals, losing on penalty kicks to Canada in Tokyo 2020. And here in the Women’s World Cup, they find themselves in their fourth bronze-medal match! No doubt they would’ve wanted to be in their second Final, but Spain was the better team.

The Blagult have shown themselves to be top-notch players. They went through the Group Stage with straight wins and did very well in the knockout round until Spain beat them 2-1. Turns out Spain exposed their weak side as Spain had more ball control and better attack. If Sweden wants to win this match, they will have to have the ball control over Australia.

AUSTRALIA: Despite losing to England, the Matildas delivered a team that the host nation should be proud of. I know being a Canadian, I’m not happy they had our team eliminated, but I’m proud of what they’ve done. Making it to the semi-finals, they became the first host-nation team since the USA in 2003 to do so.

Australia have really proven themselves in the games they played and the opponents they faced. Nevertheless there have been times in this WWC where their weaknesses have been exposed. It was Nigeria in group play that first exposed their flaws and almost paved their way for elimination. The game against England also showed the team’s glitches. Some say England played dirty, but Australia were noticeably off. Even with Sam Kerr’s wonder-goal, England was the better team. Australia knows they will face a tough rivalry from Sweden and they know they need to be dead-on if they want to win.

My Final Verdict: Sometimes you wonder who wins the third-place match? Is it the team that’s the least disheartened? Or the team that feels they have one last thing to prove? Interesting fact: Sweden has won all three of their previous bronze-medal games. For this, I will go with Australia to win 2-1.

THE FINAL

Here it comes. After 31 days and 63 matches, it all boils down to the Final for the Cup. Sydney’s Stadium Australia which was the host venue for the 2000 Summer Olympics will be the arena to decide who wins the Cup. Since the semifinals, it was known the winner of the Women’s World Cup would be a first-time Cup winner. Another interesting fact is that for both finalists, this is their first-ever Women’s World Cup final!

Past Head-To-Head Results: Spain and England have played each other sixteen times before. England have won seven times while Spain have won three times. Their last meeting was in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Women’s Euro which England won 2-1 in added extra time.

SPAIN:

La Roja came to this Women’s World Cup with a lot to prove. A team competing in only their third Women’s World Cup and only entering into FIFA’s Top 10 two years ago. Can Spain be that good of a team? Decisive wins over Costa Rica and Zambia already proved them worthy of the knockout round. A 4-0 to Japan had people questioning their chances. Then the knockout round came. In each of their matches, Spain delivered in ball control and attack. The round of 16 was a 5-1 win over Switzerland, the quarterfinal against the Netherlands was a 2-1 victory in added extra time and the semifinal was a surprise 2-1 win over Sweden! Their first-ever win over Sweden couldn’t have come at a better time!

You can thank coach Jorge Vilda for their success. He not only coaches the Spanish women’s national team, but he’s also the sporting director of the RFEF’s women’s national team system and coaches at the National Coaching School. Spain have been brilliant through most of the tournament. They have shown dominance through most of their play. Nevertheless it was Japan that exposed their weaknesses. Despite Spain delivering dominant play in the Knockout games, their luck could run out in the final.

ENGLAND:

This is a case of a long time coming. Hard to believe this is England’s first-ever trip to the Women’s World Cup final, but it is. You can best give credit to their Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman. Wiegman already had made a name for herself in her home country by coaching the Dutch national team to a Women’s Euro win in 2017 and then finalists in France 2019. In September 2021, Wiegman signed on to coach England. The team showed a duplication of success as they won the 2022 Women’s Euro and delivered a 3-1 win over Australia to make it to the final.

Now before you start singing “It’s Coming Home,” we should not rush in and say England are going to take it. The Lionesses have delivered a lot of excellent play during this Women’s World Cup. They have a good record of scoring 13 goals here and only conceding three, but they have played too conservatively at times and possibly underestimated their opponents. Preliminary play saw them have 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. The knockout round saw them open with a scoreless draw against Nigeria which they won on penalty kicks. They can’t afford to underestimate Spain. Not after the dominance they’ve been showing. Even though they really came alive during their 3-1 win over Australia, they’ve been accused of dirty play. It’s perfectly fine to want to win the Cup, but they need to watch it in the Final.

My Final Verdict: This is really hard to tell. Both teams pose a challenge to each other. England has a lot to prove being the reigning Women’s Euro holder, while Spain wants revenge for their early ouster. I predict the game to go to England 2-1.

And there you have it. Those are my predictions for the third-place match and the Grand Final of the Women’s World Cup. This will make for quite the Saturday and Sunday mornings for most of us. I’m sure the Europeans won’t mind having an early breakfast. I’m curious how many North Americans will wake up earlier than usual to watch it live! It starts at 3am Sunday morning for me! Nevertheless it’s worth it to watch history unfold!

2023 Women’s World Cup: My Semifinal Predictions

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Just when you thought the group play was loaded with shockers, the shockers of the 2023 Women’s World Cup didn’t end there. Starting with the Round of 16, one of the first shockers was Spain humiliating Switzerland 5-1. Spain was the favorite but that big of a margin was a shock. Possibly the biggest shocker of all was the US playing a scoreless game to Sweden and losing on penalty kicks with the last kick being conceded by a fraction of an inch! USWNT Tobin Heath put it best when she said “It may seem that we lost this game by a millimeter, but we lost this tournament by a mile.” Then came another favorite England also getting a scoreless draw, to Nigeria, and their top player Lauren James getting an instant red card. England sis win on penalty kicks but James will be out until the final or the 3rd-place match, whatever England qualifies for.

The quarterfinals also delivered their own shockers. The first quarterfinal, Spain vs. Netherlands, was expected to be a tough game and ended 1-1 in regulation. However added extra time provided the surprise as 19 year-old Spaniard Salma Paralluelo delivered the tie-breaking goal! Sweden’s 2-1 win over Japan wasn’t that surprising since the two are top-ranked teams and this would be a tight match. The shocker was just the fact of the game that Japan, the last former Women’s World’s Cup winner standing, was out! The following day, England’s win over Colombia wasn’t a shock but Australia achieving a scoreless draw over France and then winning on penalty kicks was. A delight for the host nation.

SEMIFINALS PREVIEW

Now onto focusing on the semifinals. One thing is certain before the semis begin. It’s clear we will have a first-time Women’s World Cup winner. The last to do so was Japan in 2011. Also these will be the first-ever semifinals of the Women’s World Cup without the U.S.A. present. Another surprising fact! For two of these nations, this is their first-ever semifinals qualification. All four have achieved a big win of some kind during this tournament but Spain is the only team to not need a win on penalty kicks in this Knockout Round. All four have shown off brilliant play but they’ve also shown some weaknesses in their WWC play too. So here’s a look at the four teams and my prediction for each semifinal:

SemiFinal #1: Spain vs. Sweden

Head-To-Head Stats:

Spain and Sweden have played each other eleven times before. Sweden won seven games. Spain has never won. Their most recent meeting has been a friendly in October 2022 which both teams drew 1-1.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

SPAIN: Up until a few years ago, Spain was not considered to be a major contender in women’s football. The men are known to shine, but their women were substandard. Sure, they may have finished in the semifinals of the 1997 Women’s Euro, but they were lackluster for a very long time. The turning point came a little more than ten years ago when the RFEF started taking the women more seriously. Starting with the 2013 Women’s Euro, the team made it to the quarterfinals. In 2015, they qualified for their first-ever Women’s World Cup, but it didn’t go well. They were out in the Group Stage and were the only European team that didn’t advance. Even after they were out in the quarterfinals of Women’s Euro 2017, they showed signs of improvement with a Round of 16 finish at the 2019 WWC. In the fall of 2021, La Roja ranked in FIFA’s Top 10 for the first time ever. Here in this Women’s World Cup, they made it to their first-ever semifinal. A big improvement over the last ten years!

La Roja have shown a lot of impressive play in this Women’s World Cup. They opened their group play with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a 5-0 win over Zambia. They did have a setback with a 4-0 loss to Japan. During the Knockout phase, they’ve been showing excellent teamwork and ball control with a 5-1 win over Switzerland and also rivaling Netherlands in the quarterfinal which they won 2-1 in added extra time.

Spain has blown past many people’s expectations and have won the respect of the world. The women can no longer be underestimated. Many people were surprised to see Spain rank in FIFA’s Top 10 but their play in the Cup have them proving they deserve it. It’s not to say Spain can’t be stopped. Don’t forget they lost 4-0 to Japan. Spain did an excellent job against the Netherlands showing they can win against top contenders. Now they’re onto Sweden who have played without a loss this Cup. Spain have to be just as strong as they were against Switzerland and the Netherlands if they want to win.

SWEDEN: If you want to talk about certain small nations and how impressive they are at football, you should talk Sweden. At the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991, they finished third. The semifinals would become common to see Sweden qualify for. They’ve done it for the fifth time in this Women’s World Cup! Very impressive since Sweden has a population of less than 10 million and this is only the ninth Women’s World Cup to be held. The Blåguld also has an impressive record of winning the last two Olympic silver medals and making it as far as the semi finals in nine of the twelve Women’s Euros.

Throughout this Cup, the Blåguld have been showing some of the best team play of all teams. They won all three of their Group Stage games with eight goals and only conceding one against South Africa. Then came their Round Of 16 match against the United States; the seventh Women’s World’s Cup meeting of the two. Both teams played to a scoreless draw and then Sweden won the penalty kicks 5-4. The quarterfinals saw them play against Japan who, like Sweden, also won all three of their group play games. It started with a goal from Amanda Ilestedt in the 32nd minute and Sweden didn’t look back winning 1-2.

Sweden have done a very good job in showing itself as one of the top teams here. They’ve shown excellent play and knew how to handle both the Americans and Japanese. It’s easy to believe that they will be the team to win the Cup. I think the one thing that could stand in their way is if they misjudge Spain. Spain have done an excellent job in their play in this Cup of attacking and controlling the ball. Sweden could easily misjudge Spain and it could end up the Spaniards would end up winning the game. That’s something Sweden won’t want. Especially if they want to make it to their second Final ever.

My Prediction: This really gives me time to do a lot of thinking but I will have to predict Sweden to win 1-0 in added extra time.

SemiFinal #2: Australia vs. England

Head-to-Head Stats: The two teams have rivaled each other six times. England have won three, there was one draw, and Australia have won twice. Their most recent meeting is worth noting. It was a friendly in Brentford, England which Australia won 2-0!

Team-By-Team Analysis:

AUSTRALIA: Australia making it to the semifinals has been a slow and steady process. Hard to believe, but they weren’t in the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991. Australia have been in every Women’s World Cup since. Their breakthrough came in 2007 when they qualified for the knockout round for the first time and they’ve done so in every WWC since. In 2015, the Matildas won their first-ever knockout match. Here at this WWC, they took it one step further by achieving their first-ever semifinals berth! First host nation to do so since the USA did it in 2003. Australia have also excelled in other tournaments such as winning the last three OFC Women’s Nations Cups before Australia switched to the AFC. After the switch, Australia have made it to the finals four out of six times and winning in 2010.

The Matildas have delivered play at this Women’s World Cup with a lot of ups and downs. They started their trip to the Cup well with a 1-0 win over Ireland but soon feel into trouble with a 3-2 loss to Nigeria. They knew they needed to win their last game over Canada, which they did 4-0. In the Round of 16, they faced Denmark and won 2-0. In the quarterfinals, they were up against more favored France. The game went to a scoreless draw but Australia won on penalties 7-6. Of all teams, Australia has done the most to defy expectations. They’ve been playing really well here but their play has been inconsistent. Except for their big win over Canada, most of their play has been pretty close. They may have had a scoreless draw against France but they can’t afford to push their luck here if they want to go to the Final.

ENGLAND: You figure a nation as football mad as England would have their women excel quite far. It wasn’t always the case in the past. Until 1972, England was one of a multitude of nations that forbid women to play the sport. Even as national women’s teams were starting to be formed in the 70′ and 80’s and the first Women’s World Cup was started in 1991, England wasn’t there. 1995 showed promise as the team made it to the quarterfinals, but they wouldn’t return to qualifying for the Women’s World Cup until 2007. Since their return, it’s been all uphill from there. In 2007 and 2011, they made it to the quarterfinals. In 2015, the Lionesses made it to their first ever semi-final and have never missed a semifinal since. Their improvements have also shown at the Women’s Euro as they have not missed one since 2001, made the semifinals three out of the six times finalists in 2009 and winners in 2022!

The Lionesses have delivered play here that will make one convinced they’ll be singing “It’s Coming Home” for the first time in Women’s World Cup history. They started their group play with conservative 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. When it came to their last group game against China, they went all out and won 6-1. Their first knockout game was against Nigeria which led to a scoreless draw and England winning on penalty kicks 4-2. Their quarterfinal match was against Colombia which they won 2-1.

Playing conservatively worked well for England at the beginning of the Cup. Now they can’t take any more chances. It was evident after their scoreless game against Nigeria that they have to play like the Lionesses that dazzled everybody during the Women’s Euro of 2022. Besides they’re playing against Australia in the semifinal. They can’t forget their defeat to them because if they don’t play like they’re supposed to, they may lose again, and this is the worst time to lose.

My Prediction: This is too tough to say. Both teams know how to play well, but both teams have made their errors obvious during the Cup. I think this game will be a 1-1 draw with Australia winning on penalty kicks.

And there you go. These are my predictions for the semifinals of this Women’s World Cup. Hard to believe the final is less than a week away! Will the semis provide shockers of their own beforehand?

2023 Women’s World Cup – Group G Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

Normally when I do my blogs on the Women’s World Cup, I mostly focus on the positive as the excitement builds up. Nevertheless I can’t avoid talking about the negative in women’s football that has happened in the last four years.

Women’s football has always been know to be a victim of sexism; always second-fiddle to the men. Nevertheless the last four years has seen a lot more awareness, activism, disputes and even legal battles involving national teams. Those of you who’ve read my previous 2023 WWC blogs have learned about the disputes involving national teams from Canada, the US and Spain. In the past four years other national teams have had disputes and achievements. Additional achievements include the Australian women’s team achieving better revenue distribution and equal accommodations as the men as well as 12-months maternity leave and Ireland achieving equal pay and equal tournament bonuses in August 2021. In addition, the 2027 Women’s World Cup will be the first WWC where player bonuses will be equal to that of the men.

Continuing problems include: England’s FA saying on July 3rd that England’s team will not receive bonuses for their performances within the tournament; the Jamaican women’s team not receiving enough financial support; Nigeria’s team being denied player bonuses for this Women’s World Cup as well as manager Randy Waldrum being denied more than a year’s pay; and South Africa’s team denied tournament bonuses from their Federation. The issues don’t end with equal pay. Most recently, Zambia’s coach Bruce Mwape was accused of sexual misconduct. I’m sure he’s not the only national coach guilty of it.

No question the issues of sexism are a problem with women’s football. The equal pay is a big challenge. Of course we shouldn’t forget that football is one sport with one of the biggest histories of sexism. Look at the men in football. They’ve always been on top of the world. Women, however, have a history of being forbidden to play football even up to the early-70’s. It isn’t until the start of women’s lib in the 70’s that breakthroughs for women happened, including sport. It was the 1980’s that more women’s national teams started forming and it was only until 1991 when women got their first Women’s World Cup. Sexisms like the lack of equal pay and the lack of attendance are examples of the slow drive to include women in the sport. That’s why I see events like the Women’s World Cup as ways to improve the sport of women’s football. Hopefully in the future, women’s football will be as much of a phenomenon as men’s football.

My next group of focus is Group G. This is one group consisting of one team that’s one of the traditional favorites and three other teams that are working to build their strength on the world stage. Two are nations who have two of the most legendary men’s teams and are now just starting to take their women seriously:

-Sweden (3): Sweden is one team that has to be one of the most underrecognized great teams. They’ve competed in every WWC since it started and finished in the Top 3 in four of the previous eight. That’s half the Women’s World Cups! They’ve also qualified for the Olympic tournaments every time since it started in 1996 and have won two silver medals. Even now the Blågult are a team that should not go overlooked.

The team is coached by Peter Gerhardsson who has coached the team since the 2017 Women’s Euro. The team is full of top-notch players like forward Sofia Jakobsson, midfielders Caroline Seger and Kosovare Asilani, and defender Linda Sembrant. Notable wins they’ve had in the last 12 months have been to China, France, Portugal and Switzerland. They’ve had draws to Germany, Spain and Norway, and they’ve has losses to Denmark and England. Chances are Sweden can prove itself to be a top contender at the Women’s World Cup and could just achieve its first-ever win. Only time will tell.

-South Africa (54): South Africa is a team that’s just starting to make waves in women’s football. France 2019 was the very first WWC for Banyana Banyana. The women have previously completed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. At the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, South Africa finished runner-up in 2018 and won in 2022! They come to Australia/New Zealand ready to prove their abilities.

The team is coached by Desiree Ellis who has coached the team since 2016. The team consists of players who play for teams in leagues in Europe, the US, Mexico and South Africa’s own SAFA Women’s League. Notable wins in the last 12 months include Morocco and Costa Rica. They had a win and a loss to Zambia. Other losses include to Brazil, Australia and Serbia. The stage is set at this Women’s World Cup as a chance for South Africa’s women to be better than most people expect.

-Italy (16): It’s kind of funny that lately in the year after the Men’s World Cup in which Italy fails to qualify, Le Azzurre end up qualifying for the Women’s World Cup! Italy started as a top European team in women’s football when the Women’s World Cup and the Women’s Euro were just starting out. As the boom in women’s football happened in the 21st century, Italy was slow to catch on, missing tournaments or having low results. They’ve shown recent improvements lately. In France 2019, they got as far as the quarterfinals, but failed to make it past the group stage in Euro 2022.

Italy is coached by Milena Bertolini who has coached the team since the 2017 Women’s Euro. Most of the team plays for teams that are part of Italy’s Serie A Femminile. In the past 12 months, they’ve had key wins against New Zealand, South Korea and Romania. Their one draw has been to Morocco and they’ve endured losses to England, Brazil and Belgium. Australia/ New Zealand 2023 could be the place for Italy to prove to be a better team than most anticipate.

-Argentina (28): Argentina’s men are now on top of the world. This is something the women can only dream of right now. This is only the fourth Women’s World Cup La Albiceleste have ever qualified for. Argentina had a weak start in women’s football on the international stage. They were in the 2003 and 2007 Women’s World Cups and at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In all three cases, they lost all their group play games. Recently as South America has been making bigger improvements in women’s football, Argentina has improved too. They’ve finished third at the last two Copa America Femenina’s, finished runner-up at the 2019 Pan Am Games and they competed in France 2019 where they had two draws and a loss.

The team has been coached by German Portanova since 2021. The team play for teams in a mix of leagues in Spain, the US, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina’s own Campeonato Femenino. In the past 12 months, they’ve achieved wins against Peru, New Zealand and Chile. They had a win and a draw against Venezuela and a draw against Poland. They’ve also endured losses to Spain, Canada and Colombia. The Women’s World Cup is another opportunity for Argentina to improve as a team and possibly go further than expected.

My Prediction: It’s no sweat to predict Sweden as one of the qualifiers. The other three are a bit of a challenge. I’ll take a risk and say Argentina.

And there you go. That’s my look at Group G of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Crazy how the games will be contested at times when most of us will be sleeping. I’m sure there are some night owls willing to stay up and watch!

VIFF 2021 Review: Flee

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Flee is an animated documentary of Amin: an Afghani refugee living in Denmark who always felt he had to hide his true past from everyone. Including the man he loves.

Flee was the first time I was able to see an animated film at the VIFF this year. It isn’t just an animated film. It’s part-story, part-documentary that tells a lot about a remarkable story.

The story begins with a man named Amin. He tells the story of his life and his ordeal. He tells it in fluent Danish. He first tells of his story of how he had to flee as his whole family had been killed off. This is a story he also tells his boyfriend Kasper. This is on the verge of Kasper about to buy a house for him and Amin. Meanwhile Amin is undecided whether to accept living with Kasper or accept a teaching job at a university.

The interviewer then takes Amin to a private place. There, Amin can tell the true story. It starts when he reflects of his childhood in Kabul. His biggest memories are of being four in the mid-1980’s and running down the streets with a Walkman with pink earphones in his hand and wearing a dress! However the harsh realities hit Amin and his family in 1989 when Amin turns eight. The Mujahideen have taken over Afghanistan, just two years after the Soviets withdrew from the nation. Their father has been captured and they don’t know what happened to them. Fearing they’ll be next, Amin, his mother, two sisters and brother seek refuge on a plane. The plane takes them in Moscow as the USSR is one of few countries willing to take the family in because of their status.

Life is not very good for the family in Moscow. Even after the fall of communism, they can only do limited work, live in a cramped flat and constantly be harassed by corrupt policeman who heckle them for being different. They know they will have to flee to another country if they are ever able to be free for once. However their only hope depends on human traffickers. They all want to flee to Sweden. The eldest brother is the only one who can work. It is he who will have to provide the money for these trips.

The first trip, which involved being in a car failed and they found themselves back in Moscow. The second trip involved the whole family travelling at once. This involved a long walk through the woods with others right in the coldness of winter. It then led them all to a fishing vessel where they had to hide themselves in the fish trap. The feel of the boat trip was nerve-wracking with the water splashing. Then water started coming in, which involved the passengers coming out of the trap to get the water out. Fortunately a cruise ship discovers the boat. Unfortunately, the cruise ship calls Estonian police to rescue the passengers. That meant back to Moscow.

The long wait is frustrating. The mother is getting older, the siblings including Amin himself are growing and missing out a lot on their future, and the oldest brother is having the frustration of his future being squandered to saving up for these illegal immigration stings. It’s frustrating, but they can’t go on watching Mexican soap operas and being harassed by Moscow police forever. Finally the brother finds a new illegal immigration operation. It’s way more expensive than the ones in the past, but this has excellent chances of working. However this involves each of the family members to go alone.

Amin is to go with one other teen male. The agent gives both boys strict instructions to obey. The trip starts with both of them being inside a van and lying down. During the trip, Amin senses a feeling he has toward the other male. The male gives him his gold chain. Before they board the plane, the agent gives the two plane tickets and passports: Amin for Denmark and the other boy for Switzerland. They all go on a flight to Istanbul. As the flight lands, the agent advises the two to do everything he instructs them to do and once they arrive in their country of destination to tear up the passport and tell officials their story. After the agent leaves, the two depart but not without one final goodbye.

Hours later, Amin arrives in Copenhagen, tears up the passport, and tells his story of being a completely orphaned Afghani refugee. As he’s transported to safety, he looks out the window of the car and sees freedom, but can’t feel it or sense it. He spent years living in a shelter living with various families and pursuing excellent grades in school. Then one day, he receives a phone call. It’s his brother in Sweden. Amin learns his brother found refuge in Sweden from his own trip from the trafficker.

Time would improve for Amin. Soon he’d learn all of his family including his mother had found refuge in various places in Europe with his two sisters also living in Sweden. His life has improved as he has been able to become a strong academic and even had lecturing jobs at American colleges. However he’s still had to keep his true life a secret from his boyfriend and his homosexuality a secret from his family as Afghani culture considers homosexuality to bring shame to the family. One day, when the brother and sisters get into conversation about Amin not being married, he then outs himself to the shock of all. The brother then tells Amin to get into the car. Amin is uncertain and fearful about what will happen next during the car ride. The brother takes him to a gay bar and hands him some money. They knew all along! Inside the gay bar, Amin discovers a freedom he never thought possible. The film then flashes forward two years later showing how Amin’s life has improved.

This is definitely a story about a current hot topic: refugees and illegal immigrants. It’s constantly an issue. As long as there’s political oppression and corruption, there are going to be people fleeing. Refugees and illegal immigrants probably feel they have something to hide about themselves. Even if they become legit citizens of their country, they feel they still have something to hide and they have to lie for their freedom. Roughly they’re still mentally ‘on the run.’ Even the fact that the subject has to tell his whole truth under the pseudonym Amin Nawabi adds to this factor. It becomes evident when Amin first tells the interviewer of his story of his family deceased. Then when he’s in a private room, he tells the truth. It’s also evident how he’s unsure whether to commit to marrying his boyfriend Kasper and instead accept an offer at an American university.

Amin’s story is definitely a story of intrigue. This is a story of a man who pretty much feels he has his ‘life on the run.’ He had to flee his home of Afghanistan with his family and first settle in Russia, only for all to find another nation to live in. This is a case of three attempts and the frustration of wondering if you’ll ever be free. This is about feeling that you have to hide the truth of yourself even though you’re now living in a free country. This is about even hiding a truth about yourself that is forbidden and seen as shame in your home country. I think that’s the point of the story. About hiding things. It starts off as a case that Amin has a lot to hide. However over time, he opens up. Hidden truths about himself no longer become a taboo. It’s a case as we see the story unravel over time just as we get to the part where he outs himself to his siblings.

This is a story of from a life of refuge to a newly discovered freedom. When you look at it, Amin’s freedom in Denmark is the best thing to happen to him. We all see he had to deal with life in Russia along with his siblings. Even without attempts to immigrate, Russia was no place for them. Not as they were constantly being harassed. Afghanistan was no place for them either as their father may had been killed and they would be in pursuit. It’s especially no place for Amin as his sexuality was obvious at a young age. If he had not fled from Afghanistan in his lifetime, he could have been executed for his homosexuality. That really gets you thinking. Especially when we recently heard about the return of the Taliban to power. It’s something how Amin is born in a country with the harshest attitude towards homosexuality and finds himself in one of the first countries to legalize same-sex marriage!

I give top accolades to writer/director Jonas Poher Rasmussen. He’s done films about people’s struggle with homosexuality before. The story does a very good job as it goes from the interview to the re-enactments of Amin’s past. From running down the streets listening to Take On Me to the family forgetting their problems as they watch Mexican soap operas, it does a good job of telling the story while mixing other elements in the background. The images do a great job in capturing the drama of the time. The voice acting was also very good. The animation from Sun Creature Studio did an excellent job of depicting the story in both the present and the past. The addition of the music of the times and of the Mexican soap operas also add to the story.

Flee is a great animated film about a man who feels like he has always had to be on the run. On the run from danger, on the run from authorities, on the run to achieve freedom, and on the run from how he was meant to live and who to love. It’s an eye-opener and a delight to see at the same time.

UEFA Euro 2020: Knockout Round Predictions

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Well the Group Play has just been conducted. There were a lot of surprises and there were a lot of expected results. Whatever the situation, the sixteen qualifiers have all been decided. And after their two days of rest, the Round of 16 starts the knockout part of the Euro en route to deciding the winner of the Cup. So in the meantime, here are my predictions on how I think the games will go:

ROUND OF 16

First off the Round of 16. This is only the second Euro ever to have such a round. One good thing that time around is there isn’t as much huge traveling around from place to place. And here are my predictions with my picks for the winner in bold.

Wales (Group A 2nd) vs. Denmark (Group B 2nd): Wales showed their strength with a win against Turkey and a draw against Switzerland. Their 1-0 loss to Italy showed they are able to rival the best. Denmark is a team that was visibly shaken after the cardiac arrest of Christian Eriksen. However it was in their last group game against Russia that they finally came out of their shell and won. For this match, I predict Wales as they’ve been more consistent in team unity and delivery.

Belgium (Group B Winner) vs. Portugal (Wildcard: A/E/F): Belgium finished third at the 2018 World Cup. Portugal is defending Euro champions. Belgium have shown their dominance since the start of the tournament. Portugal’s biggest success in Euro 2020 play is their 3-0 win against Hungary. However Cristiano Ronaldo keeps on breaking Euro scoring records! This is a tough one. Belgium’s team prowess against Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring. I will have to go with Belgium to win.

England (Winner Group D) vs. Germany (Group F 2nd): A classic rivalry with landmark moments and moments of infamy such as in both the 1966 and 2010 World Cup. And to make it a bonus, it’s right in Wembley Stadium! This is the only Round of 16 match which has a home team playing!

England has been performing very well as a team and only suffered a scoreless draw against Scotland. Germany show great scoring ability in their games, but their team unity which normally is what takes them far in World Cups and Euros is missing here. Also England is in one of its best eras of team play ever, but their two wins were 1-0: both times scored by Raheem Sterling. A tough one but I’ll go with England in added extra time.

Italy (Winner Group A) vs. Austria (Group C 2nd): Italy came to Euro 2020 with redemption and the chance to show a new Azzurri in mind and they have been excellent. They’ve one all three of their group games scoring seven goals and not conceding one. Actually the last game Italy conceded a goal was against the Netherland way back in October! Austria have reason to celebrate as they achieved their first-ever qualification to the Euro knockout round: one of two Group C teams to make it their first ever. However this is where Austria is going to be brought to an end here. Italy are practically unanimous favorites here, and my pick too.

Netherlands (Winner Group C) vs. Czech Republic (Wildcard: D/F): Like Italy, Netherlands is another powerhouse that failed to qualify for World Cup 2018 and looked to Euro 2020 as a shot of redemption. And like Italy, they won all three of their games. They scored eight goals and conceded only two against Ukraine. The Czechs have also played very well too with Patrik Schick scoring all three of the team’s goals. I’ll predict the Netherlands and their team play.

France (Winner Group F) vs.  Switzerland (Wildcard A/C): France comes out of a tough Group F with two draws and a win that came thanks to a German own-goal. Switzerland has had mixed results but has done a good job in play and scoring. In fact they did a good job scoring in their match against Turkey. France has still shown the better team unity. I predict France to win this match.

Sweden (Winner Group E) vs. Ukraine (Wildcard B/C/D): This marke Sweden’s first time to the knockout round since 2004 and Ukraine’s first time to the knockout round ever! Sweden appeared conservative at first with just having draws but performed very well in their win against Poland. Ukraine is a team that’s unpredictable. It won against North Macedonia. However their 3-2 loss to the Netherlands showed they can contend with the best. Ukraine is a team that can do the unexpected. I predict the win to go to Sweden in added extra time.

Croatia (Group D 2nd) vs. Spain (Group E 2nd): This is a case of both teams playing substandardly their first two games and then pouring it on in their final games. Spain drew against Sweden and Poland, but was spectacular against Slovakia. Croatia first lost to England and then drew to the Czechs, but was brilliant against Scotland. Their win against them here during the Euro is their first victory over the Scots ever! This is a tough one and could be the one Round of 16 match that could be decided on penalty kicks. I’ll go with Croatia.

QUARTERFINALS:

Unlike group play and the England vs. Germany match of the Round of 16, none of the games will have a home team. Here’s my bonus quarterfinal predictions. For each quarterfinal, I assume each prediction I make for the Round of 16 is true, though you know it won’t always be the case. Whatever the situation, here goes:

Belgium vs. Italy – Should this match-up result, it would be interesting. Two teams who won all three of their group games. One team has a reputation for consistency, the other is making a comeback. The Round of 16 games they play in could tell more about them. For now, I think this could go into a draw in which Belgium would win on penalty kicks.

France vs. Croatia – This would be a rematch of the World Cup final. However both teams are not playing as the teams they’re reputed to be. Croatia struggled at first and finally came active in their last group game. France topped Group F, but not without three tough bouts. One important statistic. Croatia has never beaten France in the eight times they’ve played each other. So I’m picking France to win.

Sweden vs. England – This would be exactly like it was during the 2018 World Cup quarterfinals. England have been playing well, but conservatively while Sweden has been delivering better than expected. Despite it, I anticipate that England will take this.

Netherlands vs. Wales – Both teams are unpredictable. Remember that Wales made the semifinals at the last Euro. Netherlands however just qualified for their first Euro knockout stage since 2008. The Dutch have shown their dominance so far and that’s why I think the Netherlands will win this, should this quarterfinal result.

And there are my predictions for the first two knockout rounds. It’s not an easy job as things can change from the Group Stage to the knockout rounds. It should all result in a lot of excitement. And I’ll see you all again in the semis.

UEFA EURO 2020: Group Stage With One Game To Go

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

To be among the 16 to qualify, it takes two wins to guarantee. The only way it could ever be possible for a team with two wins not qualifying is if all six groups had three teams with two wins and a loss. And that’s extremely unlikely. Whatever the situation, all four teams of each of the six groups have played two games and there are a lot of telling stats. Three have qualified already while twenty others still have the last game as one last chance, and only one is officially out. Here’s how the groups look so far. Those who have already qualified are bolded:

GROUP A:

Italy came to Euro 2020 with the hope of redeeming their reputation in the football world. They delivered 3-0 wins against Turkey and Switzerland to guarantee themselves qualification for the Round of 16. Wales’ 2-0 win over Turkey and 1-1 draw against Switzerland put them in very good chances of qualifying.

For the next game, Italy could lose to Wales and they’d still qualify, but I’m sure they’d want to win or at least draw so that they can keep their #1 status. Wales’ chances of qualifying are healthy, but they would have to win to take the lead in Group A, draw to guarantee 2nd place, or rely on their game stats and goal differentials if they were to lose to Italy. Switzerland will have to win over Turkey if they want to qualify. A draw won’t cut it as game stats and goal differentials decide the four third-placers that qualify. And Turkey will need nothing less than a win for them to have a chance. They’ve lost to Italy and Wales. Only a win against Switzerland will do if they are to have any chance of qualifying.

GROUP B

Many touted Belgium as the team most likely to win Group B based on their third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup. With two wins, they’ve already guaranteed a qualification no matter how bad their game against Finland goes. They haven’t completely guaranteed the #1 spot. If Finland beats Belgium they will be the #1 team as a result of head-to-head play.

With Russia and Finland having a win under their belts, drawing can guarantee a 2nd place for Russia and a 3rd-place for Finland which would have to rely on their wildcard stats to qualify. However I’m sure Neither of the teams simply want to draw in their last matches on Monday. Denmark is in the uncomfortable position that they will need to win against Russia if they are to have any chance to qualify. It would not surprise me if the Danish team has been shaken since the collapse of Christian Eriksen. That’s a shocker he was dead for five minutes. It’s very good fortune that the first aid on the field did all the right stuff to resuscitate him and have him taken to a hospital. Actually since Eriksen’s cardiac arrest, it’s a reminder to us all that living is more important than winning.

GROUP C

Most groups would normally have a simple qualifier if they have two wins by now. Group C has an official first-place with the Netherlands! It was their two wins and big goal differential that did it! And I doubt if they will want to lose to North Macedonia in their last game!

The game of Ukraine vs. Austria will be the game for second-place in the group. If there’s a draw, Ukraine will have the advantage because of bigger scoring. Austria could qualify due to the combination of game results and goal differentials. If both qualify for the Round of 16, or either one, it will be their first time ever at the Euro that they do. As for North Macedonia, they have the misfortune of being the first team eliminated. Even if they win against the Netherlands and by a big margin, it won’t matter because of their head-to-head losses to Ukraine and Austria.

GROUP D

Interesting that Groups A to C already have a qualifier guaranteed while Groups D to F don’t have anything decided and it will take Matchday 3 to not just decide it all but decide anything. If if any team in those groups is guaranteed a Top 3 finish, that still doesn’t completely guarantee them qualification. Focusing on Group D, Both first-matches for the group’s teams resulted in wins, but both second-matches on Friday resulted in draws. That means with two teams having a win and a draw and two teams with a loss and a draw, none of the four have secured qualification and all four still have a chance in their third-matches on Tuesday.

In the match of the Czech Republic vs. England, the winner will naturally claim the #1 spot of Group D. If there’s a draw, the Czech Republic has the advantage with better goal differentials. However I’m sure both teams want to win. Croatia and Scotland both have a win and a draw. Croatia leads because of goal differentials and a draw would solidify Croatia to finish in third place, but that most likely won’t be enough to qualify. The six third-place teams will be ranked by game stats and goal differentials. Only the top four will qualify for the Round of 16, and two draws and a loss will most likely make Croatia one of the two third-place packing sooner than they hoped. So either Croatia or Scotland will have to win and nothing less if they want to secure qualification.

GROUP E

Like Group D, Group E has the difficulty of two draws causing the statistics to remain completely undecided for who will qualify. One thing that is certain is that all four still have chances to qualify and it’s up to Matchday 3 to decide it. Sweden has the best luck so far with a 1-0 win over Slovakia despite their scoreless draw against Spain. Despite the loss, Slovakia is second in ranks thanks to their 2-1 win over Poland. Spain, normally a powerhouse, has just two draws while Poland looks like their still waiting to deliver. They’re lucky they saved themselves against Spain 1-1.

Sweden has the luxury that they can qualify simply by drawing, but I doubt if they want a simple draw. Especially since Poland will be hungry for the win. The winner of Slovakia vs Spain will definitely qualify, but Slovakia will have better qualifying chances if they lose because of their win over Poland. You can be sure Spain want to win this. Attempting to qualify on a wildcard with three draws is pushing it. Possible, but pushing it. Also Poland requires nothing less than a win if they want to qualify. Two draws and a loss has very low chances of cutting it. Plus they’d have the added bonus that is they win over Sweden, they’d overtake Sweden in standings because of the head-to-head result!

GROUP F

Group F looked to be the Group Of Death. However a lot of lopsided play has turned a lot of things around unexpectedly. France is one team that has underperformed. One would usually expect a lot of big play from the team that are the reigning World Cup holders. However their 1-0 win over Germany came thanks to an own-goal from Germany’s Hummels and they drew 1-1 to Hungary. Drawing against Portugal will guarantee them qualification, but they will have to win if they want to prove themselves a worthy winner. Isn’t that something? A rematch of the Euro 2016 final happening in group play?

Germany has had it most interesting. They got a loss to France because of an own-goal, but a 4-2 win over Portugal thanks to two own-goals from the Portuguese! A draw against Hungary will guarantee them qualification, but Hungary won’t make it easy as they will want to win. Despite the loss, Portugal are still in good contention after their 3-0 win over Hungary. They can still qualify if they lose to France, but they would have to rely on goal differentials to see if their stats are good enough for the wildcard berth. Finally Hungary proved themselves strong players by drawing 1-1 against France, but they need nothing less than a win against Germany if they want to qualify. That’s how it is for them with just a loss and a draw.

And there you go. This is how things look right now with the teams of Euro 2020 with only one game to go. Matchday Three will finalize everything to decide the thirteen others who will advance and the seven others who will be packing for home sooner than they hoped. Looking forward to it!

UEFA EURO 2020: Group E and Group F Review

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Interesting to note for this year’s qualifying teams, there are only two new teams competing this year: Finland and North Macedonia. Also this year are nine of the ten countries that have one at least one Euro title. Greece is the only former winner that didn’t qualify. The funny thing about football is that any team can win the Euro. There have been surprise victories before when the underdog came out the winner like Denmark in 1992 and Greece in 2004. It’s very possible a country that has never won a Euro before can win here.

Continuing on with my group reviews, I focus on Group E and Group F today.

GROUP E

For this group, this looks to be the most unpredictable. This group consists of two teams that are known for great play, but frequently fall short. It also has two teams that can go further than most people expect them to.

Spain (6) – La Furia Roja are an enigma. For so long they had been known as football’s greatest underachievers. However that all changed around the time of the late-noughts, early-2010’s. During that time, Spain won two straight Euros (2008 and 2012) and finally clinched the World Cup in 2010. After that, Spain lost their winning edge. They were stopped in the Group Stage of the 2014 World Cup and since then it’s been the Round of 16 at both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

Spain have been in a struggle to get their winning ways back. The current team has an all-Spanish team of coaches. Most of the players play for La Liga with six playing in England’s Premier League teams. Since the start of 2020, they’ve only had a single loss, to Ukraine. They would also beat Ukraine in that time as well as Germany, Switzerland and Lithuania. They also had draws against Greece and Portugal. Chances are Euro 2020 could be the domain for Spain to redeem itself.

Sweden (18) – One thing about football is never underestimate the Blågult. After a disappointing Group Stage ouster at Euro 2016, they came back with a World Cup qualifying surprise against Italy in the playoff round and would then go on to finish in the quarterfinals of the Cup. And this is after superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from the national team!

You can thank coach Janne Andersson for the turnaround. Team Sweden’s players play for various leagues around Europe. They arrive at the Euro competition with a set of mixed results since the beginning of 2020. They’ve had losses to France, Portugal and Denmark, but they’ve also had wins against Russia, Croatia and Denmark. Whatever Sweden does here in Euro 2020, they have what it takes to deliver the unexpected.

Poland (21) – Making it to the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 has been Poland’s biggest Euro success ever. This is a team that has finished as high as third at two World Cups and three Olympic medals including gold in 1972. Unfortunately Poland didn’t get the breakthrough they were hoping for at the 2018 World Cup as they were out in the Group Stage. Robert Lewandowski didn’t even score a goal.

The current Polish team consists of players who mostly belong to teams in England’s Premier League and Italy’s Serie A. Poland has had mixed results in its play since the beginning of 2020. They’ve won against Bosnia, Finland and Ukraine, both also lost to England, Italy and the Netherlands. The Euro 2020 arena will be another chance for Poland to prove itself and what it’s made of.

Slovakia (36) – Slovakia is a team that is constantly under low expectations, but will surprise many of their naysayers. They’ve only qualified for a single World Cup back in 2010 and their first-ever Euro was the Euro 2016. In both cases, they progressed past the Group Stage into the Round of 16.

Here in Euro 2020, The Falcons hope to do much better. Their coaching staff is completely of Slovakian coaches and the players play for a wide variety of leagues throughout Europe. Slovakia have had a mixed set of results since the beginning of 2020. They’ve won over Russia, Scotland and Northern Ireland, drawn against Cyprus and R. O. Ireland, and lost to Israel and the Czech Republic. Anything can happen in Euro 2020 and the Slovaks have what it takes to pull a surprise.

My Prediction: For this group, I anticipate that Spain will top it and Sweden will come in second. I have a feeling Poland will come in third but may not have enough to earn the wildcard qualifying berth.

GROUP F

Of all the groups in Euro, this is the group most deserving of the title the Group Of Death. Two of them have won the World Cup in the past ten years, one is the defending Euro champion and the other is a former great looking to reclaim its greatness.

Hungary (37) – The Magyars have been hoping to regain the success their team used to have from the 1930’s to the 1960’s that carried them to two World Cup finals and three Olympic gold medals. For those that don’t know, the Euro began in 1960 and Hungary’s best-ever result is a third back in 1964. For a long time it seemed like their era was long over. However Euro 2016 showed signs of a comeback as the team qualified for the first time since 1972 and made the Round of 16.

The head coach is Italian Marco Rossi whose been hired since the 2018 World Cup. A majority of the players play for teams in the Hungarian league. Since 2020, they’ve only had a single loss to Russia, a single draw to Poland, and wins against Iceland, Serbia and Turkey. Not much is expected of Hungary here but they have what it takes to pull an upset in Euro 2020.

Portugal (5) – Portugal comes to Euro 2020 as the defending champions. They started the Group Stage with straight draws but came on in the knockout round winning all their games en route to the win. Unfortunately, they followed it up at the 2018 World Cup with an ouster in the Round of 16.

Fernando Santos, who coached them at Euro 2016 is still their head coach. Cristiano Ronaldo is their captain, but they also have a lot of other greats with the team like Pepe, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio. Since the start of 2020, they’ve only had a single loss, to France. They’ve had draws to Spain and Serbia, and wins against Croatia, Sweden and Israel. Portugal has made it as far as the semi-finals in four of the last five Euros. It’s highly likely the magic of the Navigators will be back in Euro 2020.

France (2) – France is a case of a success story that rose over time. They started after humiliation at the 2010 World Cup. Then became slow-and-steady progression with a quarterfinal finish at the 2014 World Cup to becoming runners-up at Euro 2016 to winning the World Cup in 2018.

Les Bleus is still coached by Didier DesChamps who has coached them since the 2012 Euro. Ironically there are more players on France’s team that play for Spain’s La Liga and England’s Premier League than in France’s Ligue 1! Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who is the team captain, plays for Tottenham Hotspur! For play, France has only had a single loss since the beginning of 2020, to Finland. They’ve won against Croatia, Sweden and Wales, but also had both a win and a draw against both Portugal and Ukraine. Euro 2020 could be the stage where France can claim their third title.

Germany (12) – The Mannschaft have always been known as a top contender in football, whether it be the World Cup or the Euro. Their win at the 2014 World Cup kept their reputation of consistency alive. However their reputation took a severe beating at the 2018 World Cup when they were ousted in the Group Stage. That made it the first World Cup in 80 years Germany failed to progress past the opening round. Some say it was because of a team that wasn’t together. Some even say it’s the ‘curse’ of the defending World Cup champion. Germany’s disappointment would continue as they struggled during the first year of the UEFA Nation’s League.

Despite the setbacks, Joachim Low is still the national coach. The current team features some of the 2014 World Cup alumni but mostly consists of a lot of new younger players. A majority of players play for Germany’s Bundesliga. Since the beginning of 2020, Germany have only had two losses: to Spain and North Macedonia. They’ve also drawn against Spain as well as Switzerland and Denmark and they’ve achieved wins over Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Iceland. A recent 7-1 win over Latvia shows the Mannschaft have something to prove. Euro 2020 could prove to be the domain for Germany to redeem themselves.

My Prediction: This is a tough one as even the best teams have shown some visible weaknesses. I predict Spain to top the group with Portugal second and Germany third, but with enough game stats to qualify as a wildcard.

And there you have it. That’s the last of my predictions for Euro 2020. Sure, a lot could be told. However we should remember that lots have changed since the pandemic and that could also mean the prowess of some teams. Those expected to fare well might now here. That’s why whenever I make my predictions, I tell people not to use them for gambling bets! Anyways this should be an exciting month with a lot of exciting play.

2019 FIFA WWC: My Prediction for the FINAL, And Third-Place Playoff Too

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I have to say this Women’s World Cup has been excellent. It won’t break the attendance record set by Canada back in 2015 but it has already surpassed the 1 million mark. The support for the teams has been outstanding with the various football federations shouting their support and some of the biggest male football stars supporting their teammates. Play has also been excellent as there’s American Alex Morgan and England’s Ellen White chasing the golden boot with six goals each. Also there’s only been four expulsions: only one of which was an instant red. So this is a Women’s World Cup France should be very proud of.

THIRD-PLACE Playoff:

Few people are willing to make a prediction for the Third-Place playoff, or the match I call the ‘bronze medal match.’ However I’m one who is willing. Here’s how I look at it:

Head-To-Head Stats:

England and Sweden have faced off against each other 24 times before in the past. Sweden has won thirteen times, England won three times and they drew eight times. Their last match against each other was on November 11, 2018 which Sweden won 2-0.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

England fixedEngland: Women’s football has really grown a lot since England finished third at the last Women’s World Cup. The team they fielded looked like one that could pose the best challenge to the United States. Unfortunately it was not to be as the US beat them 2-1. To add insult to the injury, the US’s Alex Morgan appeared to do a tea-sipping gesture after scoring the winning goal. Many have taken this to be an insult to the English.

It’s difficult to say if England will win. They will have a lot of their top stars like Ellen white and Lucy Bronze ready to play for the game, but Millie Bright won’t be after her double-yellow red card. Phil Neville knows that he will have to get his team ready for the match on Saturday. England have already gotten this far. Perhaps they can give their team one last feat.

Sweden FixedSweden: Before the semifinal, I’m sure most of you predicted Sweden to beat the Netherlands. I mean Sweden had the clout. They’ve been to every Women’s World Cup since it began in 1991. They’ve finished in the Top 3 three times before. They’ve even beat the Netherlands way more often than they lost to them. However things did not go according to plan. Before the match, Fridolina Rolfö received a second yellow card during the match against Germany which meant she will miss the next match. The Netherlands turned out to be a more formidable opponent than they expected. Regulation play resulted in no score. Then there was the goal from Jackie Groenen in the 99th minute. Then there was the shocking injury to Kosovare Asllani where she was carried off on a stretcher.

Sweden came to the tournament with a lot of energy. They won big and were able to rebound after a loss to the United States. Their trip to the WWC semifinal was not easy as they overcame teams like Canada and Germany that had bigger expectations. However they were brought to a halt by the Netherlands in the semifinals. They could win the third-place match or they could lose it. It depends if their players are all in top condition and they attack more than they did on Wednesday.

My Prediction: England have the star strikers, while Sweden has a strong team unit. Sweden will have a one-woman advantage in this game after Bright’s expulsion. Asllani may not be recovered from her injury, but Rolfö can be brought back in play. I will predict Sweden to win 2-0.

THE FINAL

FIFA WWC

This is it. The final for the Women’s World Cup. One team has been their four of the previous seven times and won three times including the last contest in Canada. The other team is only competing in its second Women’s World Cup and won its first-ever knockout match right here in France. So this is quite the quantum leap for the team. So here’s the low-down:

Head-To-Head Stats:

The USA and the Netherlands have met only seven times before. The only time the Netherlands won before was their first meeting all the way back in 1991. The last time the two squared off against each other was in 2016.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

United_States_SoccerUnited States: The United States is the team that is most expected to win this Women’s World Cup. They’re the defending champs from 2015. They’re ranked #1 in the World. They have some of the biggest stars in women’s football who are seen as trailblazers. However they have also earned naysayers too. It all started when they won 13-0 against Thailand and celebrated after each goal. Many thought it was disrespectful. Then Megan Rapinoe made headlines for taking a knee during the play of the Star-Spangled Banner. She followed that by saying she won’t be going to the White House to a reporter. Most recently, Alex Morgan made England fans mad when she celebrated her game-winning goal by doing a tea-sipping gesture. Despite the negative press, they’ve delivered each time. They’ve won all their games, scoring 24 goals and only conceding three.

The only barrier I can see the US would have en route to winning the Cup is them being overconfident. They’ve played very well: better than any other nation. However they showed in their Round Of 16 game against Spain they could give it all away. They won 2-1, but on two penalty kicks from Rapinoe. They did come back in the QuarterFinals against France winning 2-1. However they should not go to the Final thinking they’ll roll over the Netherlands. The Netherlands has surprised all their major opponents here in France. For the US to win, they have to be on the ball and take the Netherlands seriously.

Netherlands FootballNetherlands: Before Women’s Euro 2017, people did not expect much of the Netherlands. Why should they after they finished in the Round of 16 in Canada 2015 and failed to qualify for the Olympics? However they surprised everybody by winning all their games and would win the final by beating Denmark 4-2. This made it the first Women’s Euro since 1993 that Germany didn’t win! Here at this Women’s World Cup, expectations were good but not that big. Canada was expected to top Group E, but the Netherlands did it by winning all their games, including beating Canada 2-1. Then in the Round of 16, they were pitted against Japan whom they lost to in Canada 2015. This time the Netherlands won. They were pitted against Italy in the quarterfinals and won 2-0. Then came Sweden who was more expected to win the game. It started with nil-nil after regulation, but a goal from Jackie Groenen in the 99th changed it all. Now it’s the Netherlands in the final.

What can I say? The Netherlands have silenced their critics. Especially those who dismissed their win at the Women’s Euro as host-country luck. These past six matches show that the Netherlands have earned their place in the WWC Final. However the United States team has more seasoned players and have consistently shown to be a stronger team unit with more know-how of the game than the Dutch players. Now don’t get me wrong. I think the Netherlands can win against the USA, but they will have to play like they’ve never played before, both as individuals and as a team unit, and take advantage of any American weak-spots once they find them.

My Prediction:

I hate to side with the majority so instantaneously, but I think the United States will win this 4-1. I hate to peeve off Oranje fans, I could be wrong, but the Netherlands simply making it to the final already shows how much women’s football has improved there.

And there you go. That’s my prediction for the Final of the Women’s World Cup, as well as my prediction for the third-place match. To think it will all be decided by Sunday. What a month it’s been!