Friends in fútbol,

Saudi Arabia was picked by one of us - ONE - to advance out of its group. Comparatively, we were HOT on Iran, with a robust 3% of us advancing them out of Group B.

Cue Herm Edwards voice: That's WHY... we PLAY... the GAMES.

It's been a wild World Cup so far. If you're having fun, tell a friend they can join our Knockout Stage competitions for just 10 bucks. Send 'em your referral link!

Matchday 3 Survivor picks open at 1pm PT today. And both our Bracket competition and the Knockout Stage of our Pick'em start in 1 week (Dec. 3). ONWARD.

 

MATCHDAY 2 PICKS

• Old Man Buffon Survivor
  
  • Game View | Matchday 2 Standings
• Pickles Pick'em
  • Summary | Group Stage Standings
• Your group picks (get in a group with friends!)

 

While it's dangerous to draw TOO many conclusions from just one or two games per team, Commish is a dangerous man whose Moxie is only bested by whomever pounded 7.9 Bud Light Limes and then full body slammed their mouse to click "Saudi Arabia" in our Pick'em.

What have we learned so far?

• Germany seemed strangely vulnerable heading into Qatar and confirmed they are indeed vulnerable with a 2-1 loss to Japan
• Soccer is perhaps king of "the final score didn't match the stats". Argentina outshot Saudi Arabia 15-3, put 6 of them on goal vs. just 3 for the Saudis, controlled possession 69% to 31%, drew 21 fouls (vs. just 7 against them), had a 9-2 advantage on corner kicks and... lost the game 2-1
• The lesson: You can't win in the World Cup if you don't make the most of your goal-scoring opportunities. Which leads us to...
• The United States doesn't have a true 10 (the guy who can SCORE), never has, and likely won't ever make noise at the World Cup until it finds one
• Brazil is very good
• If more soccer matches had the pace and drama of Portugal-Ghana (3-2 Portugal) and Wales-Iran (2-0 Iran with both goals in the final two minutes), soccer would probably be more popular in America
• I'm not saying soccer needs that - Commish is a soccer fan, after all - but Americans like what they like

At least six of the eight groups are wide open at this stage, and we look destined to see a large number of must-win games in Matchday 3 next week. We already know USA-Iran is one of them (for us; Iran just needs a tie).

Reminder that the Game Outcomes page shows you the number of picks on every team, and gets updated with results (who won/lost) as the games happen. Here is that page for Survivor Matchday 1, and for Survivor Matchday 2.

For Matchday 1 recap, Matchday 2 picks, and our best Matchday 2 comments, scroll on...

 

 

MATCHDAY 1 RECAP

 

Old Man Buffon Survivor

Who's still alive | Game Outcomes

We went from 790 to 500 in Old Man Buffon Survivor. 86.6% of our picks were correct (win or draw), but with three picks per person, that still felled 290 people.

"Really, Messi?!"

You can't blame Argentina's shocking loss to Saudi Arabia on Messi, but as the superstar he has to shoulder some of the responsibility. Argentina was the ONLY team in our top 14 picks to lose, and was responsible for 207 of our 290 knockouts (71%).

Our first-ever World Cup Moxie award winner, @Sportsfan90, was one of just THREE people on Wales (draw) and one of just 12 on Poland (draw). With the third pick being Ecuador (win), Moxie looked GOOD on them and they're on to Matchday 2 with picks of Japan, Senegal, and Argentina.

 

 

Pickles Pick'em

How are your upsets looking?

It already seems clear our Group Stage interval champ is gonna be someone who harnessed the boldness of a thousand Brazilian amateur beach soccer players and nailed a few scarcely picked teams advancing out of their groups.

51 of us picked Japan to advance out of Group E, 27 picked Iran in Group B, 19 picked Tunisia in Group D, and ONE picked Saudi Arabia in Group C. One or more of those teams could still stumble, but if you were among the brave souls who backed even one of them, you have to be feeling good about your chances right now.

Here's a look at the group-by-group picks on each country. (Blue shaded cells denote your picks.)

 

 

MATCHDAY 2 PICK STATS

 

Old Man Buffon Survivor

• Senegal (vs. Qatar) garnered a whopping 68% pick share, as 334 of us made them one of our three picks
• The rest of our top picks: Japan (47%, vs. Costa Rica), Wales (41%, vs. Iran), Poland (32%, vs. Saudi Arabia), Belgium (21%, vs. Morocco), and Belgium (18%, vs. Morocco)
• There is a distinct theme with our top four picks (Senegal, Japan, Wales, Poland): Teams we think can eke out a win or draw but likely won't make much noise in the Knockout Stage, if they even make it there
• We had just 6 teams get picked by at least 10% of us, as compared to 10 such teams in Matchday 1
• A more concentrated picking slate means more consensus but also more risk of catastrohpic upsets... like Iran beating Wales
• 30 out of 32 teams were picked by at least one person, up from 27 in Matchday 1
• The only two teams not picked: Switzerland (vs. Brazil) and Morocco (vs. Belgium)
• Brazil's opponent also went unpicked in Matchday 1, while Belgium's received a single pick (Canada)
• A whopping SEVEN teams were picked by exactly one bold soul: Cameroon, Ecuador, Mexico, Qatar, Spain, USA, and Uruguay
• Two of those lone pickers are already successful (Ecuador and USA)

 

Pickles Pick'em

• Reminder that, for the Group Stage, we just picked the two teams to advance out of each group
• In the Knockout Stage, we'll pick the winners in each round, before each round starts
• There are prizes for best Group Stage picking and best Knockout Stage picking, in addition to the Overall competition

 

 

MATCHDAY 2 COMMENTS

 

Maradona Moxie Award
Boldest pick WITH a comment. You can't win a SZN competition without a little Moxie!

@Pattrick11 (Survivor: WAL, SEN, AUS): "I should have been more drunk to support this."
Commish says: I need zero drinks to be absolutely intoxicated with AUSTRALIAN MOXIE.

 

 

@anselmclinard (Survivor: WAL, SEN, CRO): "There can be only one. "
Commish says: HELLO. IT'S ME.

 

@Moondogs (Survivor: SEN, JPN, SRB): "So, you're saying that my team can score zero goals and still may not be eliminated? I LOVE this GAME!!! "
Commish says: No, no, no... yes. BUT DON'T GET COMFORTABLE. Your team needs to score to win in the Knockout Stage... unless it's a 0-0 tie that goes to a shootout... I'm gonna stop now.

 

@Nope_not_Today (Survivor: SEN, JPN, SRB): "Round 2 is like when your friends invite you to play this new game and you somehow win the first game. Then in the 2nd game you realize you really have no idea what you’re doing and the first game was nothing but beginners luck. Hoping to ride the beginners luck to the end!"
Commish says: I see you pandering to the survival gods. I know what you're doing. AND IT IS SMART.

 

@SP_Alexander (Survivor: WAL, SEN, POL): "Gleefully watching Argentina lose, makes me certain that lightening has never known to strike twice.. does it COMMISH.."
Commish says: I just googled "does lightning happen in saudi arabia" and immediately regretted it. I graduated high school, I promise. (But in all seriousness, you need to clarify: What is the lightning hypothetically striking here? Argentina? Or whomever is playing Saudi Arabia? I NEED MORE FROM YOU.)

 

@hikee44 (Survivor: SEN, JPN, SRB): "Senegal, Japan, and Serbia walk into a bar..."
Commish says: .. and @hikee44 says HELLO LET ME TELL YOU A STORY ABOUT AN OLD MAN NAMED BUFFON

 

@edudeus (Survivor: WAL, SEN, POL): "Lozano doesn’t look like Chuckie. "
Commish says: I'll have you know, dudeus, that Chucky Lozano (striker for Mexico) is nicknamed as such because he made a habit of hiding under teammates beds and scaring them. I'm pretty frustrated that no journalist has tracked down who got scared and who didn't. Also, did any fights break out? I subconsciously typed that as "frights". I'm going to end this response.

 

@Ickey_Woods_Shuffle (Survivor: SEN, POL, JPN): "I'll never buy Kielbasa or a Pierogi again if Lewandowski lets me down. Call me a Golumpki if I get knocked out of Old Man Buffon Survivor in Matchday 2!"
Commish says: OK and I'll never eat chili again or stan for Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame if the Bengals don't win the Super Bowl. Am I doing this right? Can I expand it to the whole state of Ohio?

 

@Tijani (Survivor: SEN, TUN, JPN): "Need to get a little riskier but may change before lock "
Commish says: GIMME THOSE BOLD TUNISIA PICKS!

 

@pqueenan6 (Survivor: SEN, POL, JPN): "Don't mind me, just cracking an ice cold Bud Zero with the boys."
Commish says: CAN I BE IN THE BOYS AND DO YOU EXPELL PEOPLE WHO DRINK BUD LIGHT LIME

 

 

Yours in Golden Boots,
The Commish