Golden Goals World Cup 2022

 

                                     

                          SEMI                                                    GOALS     PRIZE

            FINAL    FINALS     NAME                                TOTAL    MONEY 

                        1                5            C. SETFORD                          49          £40.00

                   2            1            D. HARRINGTON                  48          £27.50

                   3            7            AMANDA STUBBS               48          £27.50

                   4            2            R. WOOD                                47          £21.00

                   5            3            J. BLYTH                                46          £18.00

                   6            4            M. LIDDLE                             46          £18.00

                   7            6            LUCIFER                                45          £12.75

                   8            11          K. SETNA                               45          £12.75

                   9            8            S. STUBBS                             45          £12.75

                   10          12          J. WOOD                                45          £12.75

                   11          9            B. BARNES (2)                       44          £10.00

                   12          10          T. KING                                  43          £ 9.00

                   13          16          D. BARRETT                          41          £ 7.50

                   14          13          D. MORBEY                           41          £ 7.50

                   15          26          M. LIPMAN                            40          £ 3.00

                   16          15          MORAN                                 40           £ 3.00

With the most famous football saying “They think it’s all over….It is Now” we come to a close on the 22^nd World Cup tournament from Qatar and start to think about what if?

We started off this World Cup with our fifth best number of entries in our ninth World Cup Golden Goals 2022 and we have ended up with a total of sixteen winners. 

Congratulations to CHRIS SETFORD on winning our ninth World Cup with his winning combination of Argentina (15) Brazil (8) France (16) Netherlands (10). It was Argentina and France that gave him the cash in the final as Danny Harrington who had been top for most of the tournament, had just Argentina in the final. His teams were Argentina, Brazil, England and Portugal.

We have now entered Chris’s name in to the record book with a total of 49 goals, he has now finished in 3^rd place in our World Cup Champions League. The best four teams that we had in the Qatar 2022 World Cup are

FRANCE (16) ARGENTINA (15) ENGLAND (13) PORTUGAL (12) Total of 56 goals

SPAIN holds the record for the highest score in Qatar with that 7-0 win over Costa Rica in Group E in their opening game.

Our worst teams finished with Belgium, Denmark, Tunisia and Wales as they have all scored just 1 goal in their three games in the first round.

The fastest goal was scored by Canada's Alphonso Davies in Group F against Croatia, when they lost 4-1 in their second game in the first round. It took him just 68 seconds.

Top Goal Scorer in Qatar 2022 was Kylian Mbappe from France with 8 goals who won the Golden Boot. In second place we had Lionel Messi from Argentina with 7 goals. In third place we had Olivier Giroud of France and Julián Álvarez from Argentina with 4 goals each. We then have 7 players with 3 goals each. 

So how did your teams do in the Golden Goals World Cup 2022? Below are all of our 22 nations with the number of votes in RED followed by the nations and number of goals in each of the six stages of the World Cup.

FIRST ROUND (15) BELGIUM 1, (1) CAMEROON 4, (3) DENMARK 1, (1) ECUADOR 4, (14) GERMANY 6, (1) MEXICO 2, (1) SAUDI ARABIA 3, (1) TUNISIA 1, (3) URUGUAY 2, (1) WALES 1

SECOND ROUND (1) POLAND 3, (4) SENEGAL 5, (8) SPAIN 9, (1) USA 3, (1) SWITZERLAND 5

QUARTER-FINALS (31) BRAZIL 8, (15) ENGLAND 13, (15) NETHERLANDS 10, (12) PORTUGAL 12

SEMI-FINALS None of our teams went out at this stage.

3^rd and 4^th PLAY-OFF 3^rd (4) CROATIA 8

FINAL (20) ARGENTINA 15, (19) FRANCE 16

Our goals total finished at a grand total of 132 goals for the tournament which is our second highest score. Our top score is from the French World Cup 1998 with a total of 138 goals. 

Well that’s the end to our ninth World Cup Golden Goals. The next World Cup will be held in a joint tournament between Canada, Mexico, and USA in 2026 with a record breaking 48 nations playing. Let’s hope that we will be there again with another World Cup under our belts.

The Golden Boot Qatar 2022

 

Kylian Mbappe - France

The Golden Boot was won by Kylian Mbappe from France with 8 goals in which three of them was scored in the final. He becomes the second hat-trick in a World Cup final, following Sir Geoff Hurst's when England beat West Germany in 1966. Second Place Lionel Messi from Argentina scored twice in the final. 

1. Kylian Mbappe (France) – 8

2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 7

3. Olivier Giroud (France) – 4

4. Julian Alvarez (Argentina) – 4

5. Marcus Rashford (England) – 3

6. Alvaro Morata (Spain) – 3

7. Enner Valencia (Ecuador) – 3

8. Bukayo Saka (England) – 3

9. Richarlison (Brazil) – 3

10. Goncalo Ramos (Portugal) – 3

11. Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) – 3

Week Twenty-One

Here we are with Week Twenty-One of the competition and the start of the second half here at Golden Goals. The good news is that the the Scottish Premiership are back. So once again there is no cash prize money to win this weekend. We did have one player that picked up the most number of goals this weekend and they are TONY KING. Tony picked up a total of 6 goals from his combination of Derby, Rangers and Watford. 

100 MIDWEEK GOALS JACKPOT

We had 21 of us that managed to pick up some midweek goals this week with another small change in the leading pack this week. JOHN FILTNESS picked up the most number of midweek goals with five. They came from Rangers and Reading. His third team is Liverpool. In the lead we still have NICK HORTON out in front with a total of 39 goals. His teams are Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Norwich. In second place we have HAYLEY ADKINS with a total of 38 goals. In third place we still have JAMES BLYTH, JACQUI RATTLE and RICK WOOD our 2007/08 Champion all with a total of 35 goals each. In fourth place coming back into the race we have BARBARA BARNES (2) with 33 goals. In fifth place with a total of 32 goals we now have MARK GREGORY moving down from four. In sixth place all on 31 goals we now have STEVE AYRES, GEOFF CARTHY, PETER PORTER and TERENCE WARWICK all moving down from five place.

WEEKEND RESULTS

This weekend the weather had a big impact with snow and ice on the football fixtures. We had 23 of our teams that managed to play this weekend including eight teams that failed to score any goals.

The highest score that we had was 4 goals and they came from League One where DERBY won 4-0 at home to FOREST GREEN ROVERS. Derby are now on a total of 40 goals while Forest Green picked up their 9^th blank of the season.

CHAMPIONSHIP

BURNLEY have remained at the top here after they won 3-1 at home to MIDDLESBROUGH. Burnley have taken their goals total to 50 goals and they have now scored in all of their last 22 games. Middlesbrough picked up goal number 32. Sheffield United are still in second place even with no goal this week. After to failing to score in their last two games, SWANSEA drew 3-3 away to Coventry to take their goals tally to 32. HUDDERSFIELD are rooted to the bottom of the table as they lost 2-0 at home to WATFORD. That is Huddersfield’s 10^th blank and now three in a row. Watford are on a total of 30 goals. SUNDERLAND drew 1-1 away to Hull and they are on a total of 31 goals. It’s 30 goals for WEST BROM after they won 3-0 at home to Rotherham.  NORWICH lost 2-0 at home to Blackburn Rovers and that is their 5^th blank of the season.

LEAGUE ONE

PLYMOUTH have moved back to the top this weekend after they won 2-1 at home to Morecambe. Plymouth are on a total of 42 goals after they had failed to score in their previous two games. IPSWICH are down to second place after they lost 1-0 away to Wycombe. Ipswich picked up their 3^rd blank of the season. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY are still in third place after they drew 0-0 at home to OXFORD UNITED. Wednesday have now had a total of four blank score sheets to Oxford’s six after a goal run of 11 games. CHARLTON lost 2-1 at home to BRISTOL ROVERS. Charlton are on a total of 41 goals while Rovers are on a total of 35 goals. MK DONS won 2-0 away to Portsmouth and they are on a total of 34 goals and have now scored in all of their last eight games.

LEAGUE TWO

This is where the weather hit us the most this weekend with only a couple of games being played. The highest team that we have here in the table are SWINDON TOWN in 4^th place. They won 1-0 away to Barrow and are on a total of 25 goals after they had failed to score in their previous three games. SUTTON UNITED lost 2-0 away to top of the table Leyton Orient and that is their 10^th blank of the season.

SCOTTISH LEAGUE RESULTS

Once again the weather has effected the Scottish fixture and here are their results. In the Premiership CELTIC have kept their comfortable lead of nine points as they win their first game back 1-0 away to ABERDEEN. Celtic are on a total of 59 goals and they have now scored in all of their last ten games. Aberdeen after a goal run of seven games, picked up their 3^rd blank of the season. HEARTS won their first game back 3-1 at home to Kilmarnock. Hearts are now on a total of 27 goals and are in fourth place in the league.

In League One KELTY HEARTS won 2-1 away to Queen of the South and they are on a total of 22 goals.

Our BEST three teams this week

CELTIC (58) BURNLEY (50) ABERDEEN (49) Total of 157 goals  

Our WORST three teams are

EVERTON (13) WEST HAM (14) GILLINGHAM (15) Total of 42 goals

Our best performing team are BURNLEY as they have now scored in all of their last 22 league/cup games played. They have a total of 50 goals. That gives them an average score of 2 goals per game.

Our worst performing team is GILLINGHAM this weekend as they have picked up fifteen blank score sheets out of 27 League/Cup games played.

Our highest goal scorers in our 40^th Season are CELTIC who won 9-0 away to Dundee Utd in the league and LIVERPOOL who won 9-0 at home to Bournemouth in the league both from Week Five.

Our 2010/11 Champion TONY GUY with his second selection, has remained at the top for his 8^th consecutive weekend. Tony picked up one goal this week from Celtic. His other teams are  Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday. Grant Phillips has moved back up to second place this weekend. Grant picked up 1goal from his combination of Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham.  

At the other end at 108 we have SANDRA NICHOLLS as all of her teams still out of action. Sandra has now been here for six weeks and now nine over the season. Sandra’s teams are Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Leicester City.

Due to the weather here in the UK, the top ten has not changed much but as teams are starting to come back in play, this will change next week.

          THIS      LAST                                                        M/WEEK       W/END        TOTAL

WEEK     WEEK         NAME                                  GOALS         GOALS        GOALS 

      1             -             T. GUY (2)                                28                  111                139

       2                 3            GRANT PHILLIPS                  24                  112                136

       3                 2            J. BLYTH                                 35                  101                136

       4                 5            MANGO                                   27                  108                135

       5                 4            M. GREGORY                         32                  103                135 

       6                 -             S. DICKINSON                       28                  105                133

       7                 -             J. WISE                                    28                  103                131

        8                 -             G. DOCKERILL (1994/95)     20                  109                129 

        9                 -             G. DOWSETT (2)                  24                  104                128  

        10               14           M. LAVER                              24                  102                126         

Argentina are World Champions

 

Congratulations on ARGENTINA winning the World Cup for the third time. They last won in Mexico 1986. Argentina won games against Mexico, Poland, Australia, Netherlands, and Croatia on their way to the final. They had to play FRANCE who had beaten Australia, Denmark, Portugal, England and Morocco on their road to the final.

Both teams seem to be very slow at the start of the final game but it did not take long for both teams too settled down. France was giving the ball away so often that they would surely be punished, and they were from a clumsy tackle in the penalty area. Penalty to Argentina in the 23^rd minute and it was scored by Messi his sixth of the tournament and he has now scored in every round of the World Cup. From then on it was all Argentina and another goal which came all the way from their own half and what a goal scored by Di Maria in the 36^th minute. France were all over the place now as half-time was getting nearer. France made two substitutions with Giroud and Demebele coming off and Thuram and Kolo Muani coming on to try and claw their way back into this game. Half-time and Argentina lead 2-0. In the second half the former world champions France were still on the ropes as Argentina pressed for their third goal. France was trying to score that goal with some nice play, so much better than the first half. Then more drama as France got a penalty in the 80^th minute and it was scored by France top scorer Mbappe. More was still to come as Mbappe scored again for his 7^th goal of the tournament, in the 81^st minute and its game back on 2-2 and under 10 minutes to go and now its Argentina that were falling apart.  Both goalkeepers played for their lives which kept the score level. Full time and it’s 2-2.

In extra time, France continued with their attacks and Argentina responded well. The feeling of penalties started to creep in at this stage at the end of the first half of extra time. Second half of extra time and still both teams giving their all. Then out of the blue Argentina score in the 108^th minute from Messi once again. The game got even better as France get another penalty in the 118^th minute as Mbappe gets his hat-trick 3-3. I have never seen such a World Cup final other than 1966. Final score 3-3 and then into penalties, which Argentina won 4-2. 

Argentina had scored in every game they have played in and they end the tournament with a total of 15 goals which is their best World Cup score ever. Their average score is 8.3 goals per World Cup. In Russia 2018 they only scored 6 goals. This is their 9^th World Cup appearance with Golden Goals. 

France finished with a total of 16 goals which is also their best World Cup score. This was their 7^th World Cup with us and their average score is 9.2 goals per World Cup.

Bronze for Croatia

 

In the 3^rd/4^th play-offs CROATIA played against Morocco the dark horse of the tournament. Croatia had won just one of their group stage against Canada which is their highest score of the tournament 4-1. The other two games they drew. In the second round they beat Japan and in the quarter-finals they won 4-2 against Brazil. In the semi-finals they lost 3-0 to Argentina.

We had a great start to this game as Croatia went in front in the 7^th minute with a header from Gvardiol. Two minutes later Morocco equalised also from a header by Dari. In the first half hour of the game it seemed that the Moroccan defence were all over the place and the goalkeeper did not help either. But the game soon settles down with both sides attacked well. Croatia went into the lead just before half time in the 42^nd minute from Orsic in off the post. Half time 2-1 to Croatia. The second half slowed down after a very fast pace of the first half. Subs came on to help but it made no difference to the game. Croatia picked up the bronze medal and finished on a total of 8 goals while Morocco have done extremely well here in Qatar.

Croatia are in their 4^th World Cup with us and they first joined in France 1998, where they finished with their best score of 11 goals going out in the 3^rd/4^th play-offs. The last time that we had them was in the German 2006 where they scored just 2 goals and went out after the first round. Their average score for a World Cup is 5 goals.

Reading Fight Back

In Championship, READING lost 3-2 away to Birmingham. Reading who went 3-0 down at half time came back with two late goals. Reading are on a total of 27 goals are are currently in 9^th place in the league.

  

Rangers Back with a Win

The Scottish Premiership are back in play with RANGERS taking on HIBERNIAN. Rangers had to come back twice to win 3-2 at home. Rangers continue their goal run to eleven games and they are now on a total of 41 goals. Rangers are currently in second place in the league. Hibs had failed to score in their last two games before the break, but they are now on a total of 30 goals.