2022-23 All Rocks World Cup

Hopefully this will get everyone ready to go......

Since it is a World Cup year, and for the first time the actual World Cup will fall midseason, I'm dusting off the World Cup format that we used back in 2009-2010 (you can check in the pinned history page to see who won that one ), albeit with some tinkering with the groups (since we only have 24 teams in 3 divisions and not 32 teams in 4 divisions) and some modification of seeding and other scheduling so that we can finish by GW16 before FPL breaks for the "real" World Cup.

Scoring and Tiebreakers. In group stage, it is 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss. The tie breakers if tied on points are:
1--"FPL Point Difference",
2--"FPL Points Scored",
3--"FPL Point Difference in matches between tied teams",
4--"FPL Points Scored between tied teams," and
5--"Fair Play" points (-1 for yellow, -3 for red card from two yellows, -4 from direct red card).
If still tied, a virtual tie breaker of some sort will be used.

KFTM. In the event of a draw during the elimination round, we will go to a fantasy variation of "kicks from the mark" ("KFTM"). KFTM will be determined as follows: each team's top scoring field player will face off in round 1 and the player with the higher individual score that week will win that round (with the higher scoring player deemed to have converted the KFTM and the lower scoring player not converting), then the same with each team's second top scoring field player, and then the third, and so on through the top five scorers for each team. (If the individual scores are tied, both players will be deemed to have scored in that round). If it is tied after 5 rounds, we'll proceed round by round like regular kicks until we have a winner. Captaincy points will not be counted during KFTM. Note: The goalkeepers will not go until the last round, even if their score would otherwise have them go earlier. If it is still tied after 11 rounds, then we'll go to a virtual tie breaker of some sort. Example: Teams A and B tie 72-72. The top players scored 15 & 11 (edge to A), second top players scored 9 & 10 (edge to B), third top players scored 8 & 7 (edge to A), four top players scored 6 & 7 (edge to B), and fifth top players scored 5 & 6 (edge to B). B won rounds 2, 4, and 5, and wins KFTM by 2-3.

Like the Eliminator Cups, which will also be back, there must be at least 6 games played or the gameweek will not count for Cup purposes.

=========================
***2022 All Rocks World Cup***
=========================

The 24 teams were placed into six groups of four. The teams drafting first and second in each division were pulled out as the top 6 teams and placed in the "1" position in each group based on a random draw of those teams. The balance of the groups were done by a random draw of the remaining 18 teams (draft positions 3 to 8), with the only additional group rules being that each group must have one team from each division and no more than two teams from the same division can be in a given group. Once we have draft orders for each division, the actual teams will be updated.

Group A
A1 = VSR 2
A2 = VSR 3
A3 = Sand 6
A4 = Small 6

Group B
B1 = Sand 1
B2 = Small 7
B3 = Small 5
B4 = VSR 8

Group C
C1 = Small 1
C2 = Small 3
C3 = VSR 7
C4 = Sand 3

Group D
D1 = Sand 2
D2 = Small 8
D3 = VSR 4
D4 = Sand 5

Group E
E1 = Small 2
E2 = VSR 5
E3 = Sand 4
E4 = Sand 7

Group F
F1 = VSR 1
F2 = Sand 8
F3 = VSR 6
F4 = Small 4


============
Group Stage
============

Fixtures are arranged in World Cup tournament style, with two groups playing on a given fantasy gameweek. So, your group will only play 3 times in the first 9 gameweeks, with other groups rotating through the other gameweeks.

Gameweek 1:
A1 vs A2
A3 vs A4
B1 vs B2
B3 vs B4

Gameweek 2:
C1 vs C2
C3 vs C4
D1 vs D2
D3 vs D4

Gameweek 3:
E1 vs E2
E3 vs E4
F1 vs F2
F3 vs F4

Gameweek 4:
A1 vs A3
A4 vs A2
B1 vs B3
B4 vs B2

Gameweek 5:
C1 vs C3
C4 vs C2
D1 vs D3
D4 vs D2

Gameweek 6:
E1 vs E3
E4 vs E2
F1 vs F3
F4 vs F2

Gameweek 7:
A2 vs A3
A4 vs A1
B2 vs B3
B4 vs B1

Gameweek 8:
C2 vs C3
C4 vs C1
D2 vs D3
D4 vs D1

Gameweek 9:
E2 vs E3
E4 vs E1
F2 vs F3
F4 vs F1

================
Elimination Round
================

For the Elimination Round, 16 teams will advance, consisting of the top 2 teams in each group and the four highest scoring 3rd place teams. I've used the 1990 format referring to how teams placed in their group, and there is a formula for how the 3rd place teams are assigned that depends on which 4 groups have a 3rd place team advance (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_FIFA_World_Cup_knockout_stage). The elimination rounds will be a single game with each of the rounds split over two gameweeks. There will be no third place game. With the All Rocks World Cup Final scheduled for GW16, we will wrap up on November 12, 2022 and then break for the real World Cup. If we encounter any gameweeks that must be postponed due to insufficient games, we'll figure a solution.


============
ROUND OF 16
============

Gameweek 10:
1) 1C vs 3A/3B/3F
2) 1E vs 2D
3) 2B vs 2F
4) 1A vs 3C/3D/3E

Gameweek 11:
5) 2A vs 2C
6) 1D vs 3B/3E/3F
7) 1B vs 3A/3C/3D
8) 1F vs 2E


===========
Quarter-finals
===========

Gameweek 12:
QFA) Winner 1 vs Winner 2
QFB) Winner 3 vs Winner 4

Gameweek 13:
QFC) Winner 5 vs Winner 6
QFD) Winner 7 vs Winner 8


=========
Semi-finals
=========

Gameweek 14:
SF1) Winner QFA vs Winner QFB

Gameweek 15:
SF2) Winner QFC vs Winner QFD


======================
All Rocks World Cup Final
======================

Gameweek 16:
Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2


Note: No 3rd Place Game

 

The group stage positions are now set - reminder that your draft position in your division determined where you went.

In addition, each "all rocks" team will be representing the actual country in the 2022 World Cup that shares your assigned group position. So, A1 was VSR2; Soccer Steve had the #2 position in the VSR draft; and A1 is Qatar; thus, A1 Qatar (So Steve). I believe that I've included enough of everyone's "rocks" name in the parenthetical so that we can easily know who is playing, but I was trying to limit length to fit in cells in the spreadsheet.

Note: There are 32 teams and 8 groups in the 2022 World Cup, not 24 teams and 6 groups, so there are 8 additional countries from Groups G & H who are not represented in the All Rocks World Cup: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon, Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, S. Korea.

Using your position assignments, you can figure out your specific game schedule and opponents from what is posted above if you don't want to wait, but I will try to post the actual game schedule in the lead up to each GW's games, along with an update on the prior GW's results. As a reminder for the Group Stage and for your planning purposes, Groups A & B play in GWs 1, 4, 7; Groups C & D play in GWs 2, 5, 8; and Groups E & F play in GWs 3, 6, 9. Get your best lineups ready for these All Rocks World Cup dates!

Group A
A1 Qatar (So Steve)
A2 Ecuador (Aviat..)
A3 Senegal (Starbo..)
A4 Netherlands (Jour..)

Group B
B1 England (Parra..)
B2 Iran (Tangers)
B3 USA (dawgs)
B4 Wales (Bigger B..)

Group C
C1 Argentina (CDS)
C2 Saudi A (Top S..)
C3 Mexico (G of Os)
C4 Poland (Epik..)

Group D
D1 France (Bor..DM)
D2 Australia (Keys..)
D3 Denmark (Sasha)
D4 Tunisia (The Jav)

Group E
E1 Spain (GDaze)
E2 Costa Rica (RealN)
E3 Germany (Dreaml..)
E4 Japan (StorminG..s)

Group F
F1 Belgium (KopJrs)
F2 Canada (MGlory)
F3 Morocco (Loko..)
F4 Croatia (FCSP)

 

Nominated for the smoothest names based on how the draw ended up:

Morocco (Loko..)
Senegal (Starbo..)

 

No, no country swaps, please. Those 8 countries are not in the all Rocks 2022 world cup. It's admittedly random, but thats how the real groups were drawn, and our groups a to f will use the countries from the same groups, and we will have group phase matchups that will mirror the games that will come in November. And we'll get an all Rocks preview of who will win these 6 groups....

 

Group phase of the World Cup kicks off in GW1 for Groups A and B.

Reminder that there is a Friday game, so make sure you have your teams set with all of the players that you have drafted and get your lineups and captaincy decisions set before the first deadline.

The GW1 matchups are:
A1 vs A2 Qatar (SocrSteve) v Ecuador (Aviat..)
A3 vs A4 Senegal (Starbo..) v Netherlands (Jour..)
B1 vs B2 England (Parra..) v Iran (Tangers)
B3 vs B4 USA (dawgs) v Wales (Bigger B..)

As we begin to get familiar with where all of the players landed in the various drafts, here are the first round draft picks for these teams:
Son -- Qatar, USA
De Bruyne -- Ecuador, Senegal
Salah -- England
Alexand-Arnold -- Netherlands
Jesus -- Tangers
Vardy -- Wales

 

The World Cup kicked off in GW1 for Groups A and B. Parraraiders' England squad put up a massive 78 points for the victory over Tanger's Iran squad. While it is only one of three group games, goal differential is the first tie breaker for the allocation of the third place spots. In the hard luck category, Senegal (Starboy XI) has 13 points in SUB-1 position on the bench, only to see Doherty come on for 3 minutes to block the autosub. The 12-point differential would have been just enough to see Senegal to victory.







Groups A and B are now off until GW4. Groups C and D will be up this coming GW (schedule to follow).

 

Groups C and D kickoff group phase in Gameweek 2. The matchups are:

C1 vs C2 Argentina (CDS) v Saudi A (Top S..)
C3 vs C4 Mexico (G of Os) v Poland (Epik..)
D1 vs D2 France (Bor..DM) v Australia (Keys..)
D3 vs D4 Denmark (Sasha) v Tunisia (The Jav)

With Gold medals coming this past week for scores of 79 in GW1 by the threesome of ColdDogSoup, Top Shelf, and Sasha Juniors, it is interesting to find all three of them in World Cup action in GW2. Argentina vs Saudi Arabia jumps out as the spotlight match as we look to see if both teams can duplicate their GW1 success now that it matters......

 

I'll get the GW2 scores and standings posted by the weekend (victories for Saudi Arabia and Poland in Group C and France and Denmark in group D).

Groups E and F are up this weekend and the GW3 schedule is:

Gameweek 3:
E1 vs E2 Spain (GDaze) v Costa Rica (RealN)
E3 vs E4 Germany (Dreaml..) v Japan (StorminG..s)
F1 vs F2 Belgium (KopJrs) v Canada (MGlory)
F3 vs F4 Morocco (Loko..) v Croatia (FCSP)

 

GW2 saw Groups C and D kick off. Both groups saw the top two scoring teams this GW face each other, meaning that the second highest scorer took the loss and is cursing the scheduling randomizer. While Epikoinis' Poland squad posted the high score of the GW, no team took a commanding lead on goal differential.

After a high-scoring warmup in GW1, Lobo's Argentina squad stumbled in the group opener, and has seen an early wildcard played to try to re-sort the squad for what will be a critical second game in GW5 against Mexico (Game of Ohhhs). With both teams coming off an opening loss, this becomes an early "must win" situation for both countries. Similarly, Australia (Keysersoze) faces Tunisia (The Javelinas) will face off in GW5 looking for a needed victory.

GW3 sees Groups E and F kickoff off their World Cup campaigns. Schedule is in the post above. Spain (Glorydaze) has been scoring for fun and it will be quite the challenge for Costa Rica (RealNewark).

 

With one game to play, several close World Cup matches this week....

Gameweek 3:
E1 Spain (GDaze) -- 65 + LDiaz
v
E2 Costa Rica (RealN) -- 63 + Robertson

The week's marquee matchup between Spain and Costa Rica has lived up to its billing, and goes into the final game as a toss up, with both teams also vying for this week's gold medal.

E3 Germany (Dreaml..) -- 43 +1
v
E4 Japan (StorminG..s) -- 53+...

Edge to Japan, with Germany out of players.


F1 Belgium (KopJrs) -- 45 +Salah(c)
v
F2 Canada (MGlory) -- 47 + Martinez + Fernandes + Martial (or 6 via autosub if any dont play

Canada is looking to knock off the seeded Belgium squad but no one is betting against Salah. Another toss up.

F3 Morocco (Loko..) -- 46 + 1 + TAA(c) + Gomez
v
F4 Croatia (FCSP) -- 49 + Allison

A tight match but it looks like Morocco should be able to see this one out barring a very unexpected outcome.

 

Groups E & F got underway in GW 3, with multiple closely contested games. Morocco looked set to see Croatia off, but "barring an unexpected outcome" were famous last words, as it was unexpected to see MUN show up strong against LIV, unexpected to see LIV continue its early season slump, and certainly unexpected to see captain Trent post a 0*2 score for 0 points, with -1 for conceding two goals and another -1 for an unnecessary yellow. As it was, and missing from the pre-match summary above, Morocco also had Bruno Fernandes in action on Monday, and he also picked up a yellow card (less unexpected, perhaps) to end with just 1 point in what was a 1 point loss.

In an equally competitive match, Spain held on to a 2-point lead going into Monday's finale to win by 2 points, as Costa Rica was another team hurt by the unusually porous LIV defense.





The first round of the group phase is now complete.

* 5 of the 6 top seeds won, with Argentina in Group C as the only top seed to lose their opener.

* The European teams went 8-2, with Germany and Wales being the only two Euro-squads not to win their openers. The Euro winning percentage will necessarily have to go down as their will begin to be some head-to-head matches.

* Unlike the "real" World Cup, and not surprisingly, we are 12 games in and have yet to see a draw.

GW4 will see Groups A & B back in action. The GW4 schedule will be up shortly.

 

Round 2 of Group 1 matches 1v3, and 4v2. In Group A, Qatar and Netherlands will clinch if they both win, while in Group B, England and USA face off with the winner looking to take control of the group. With the wildcards for 3rd place teams, starting 0-2 does not necessarily mean elimination but it will leave work to be done in the final game and might be too big a hill to climb should goal differential come into play as the tie-breaker. Good luck to all.

Gameweek 4:
A1 vs A3 Qatar (SocrSteve) v Senegal (Starbo..)
A4 vs A2 Netherlands (Jour..) v Ecuador (Aviat..)
B1 vs B3 England (Parra..) v USA (dawgs)
B4 vs B2 Wales (Bigger B..) v Iran (Tangers)

 

7 games played, and still AVL-WHU, WOL-NEW, and NFO-TOT to come on Sunday.

The closest match (for now) is in Group B and finds Iran holding a 1-point edge over Wales at 18-17, the lowest scoring affair of the week. Both teams are looking for first points and to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start. Iran still has Trippier, Ait-Nouri, Ings, and Joelinton to play, while Dr.H's Wales squad counters with an extra player still to go--Henderson, Targett, Coutinho, Saint-Maximin, and Hojberg. Both have different but double NEW assets, so it will be interesting to see if those preferences tip the balance in either direction, and Tangers fairly noted that Henderson vs TOT could well end up being a negative and not a positive.

In the other Group B match, USA has opened up a lead on England by the tally of 29-15. England only got the 3*2 from captain Salah, but Mal was quick to point out that they still have half the squad to play with Emerson Royal, Cresswell, Targett, Bailey, Kulesevski, and Coutinho in the Sunday games. USA also has minutes to come in the form of Targett, Neto, Son(c), Jiminez, and Isak. The winner goes to 2-0 and leads the group.

In Group A, Senegal leads the host nation Qatar by 51*-26. Qatar still has Son(C), Buendia, and Richarlison to play (and 7 autosub points on the bench should someone not play). Senegal's tally includes 5 points from autosub, with Cash and Jiminez still to play.

And, Netherlands appear to have locked their second win with a healthy 87-20 lead over Ecuador. Ecuador still has Lloris, N.Williams, Bowen, Jimenez, and Antonio via autosub to play (or 6 from the next autosub if someone doesn't play), but 67 points from these 5 players seems too big a gap to overcome and it looks like Netherlands are poised to secure their second win.

 

GW4 results are in for Groups A & B:


The updated table is:



The closest game of the week saw USA (40) edge past England (38)--painful reminders for some of World Cups in the past.... Coach Mal blamed the England defeat on quirks in the bonus point system, as "there surely had to be 2 points hidden in there somewhere...."

In the other games, it was a massive victory for Netherlands over Ecuador (105-38) to move to 2-0, while Wales (48-23) and Senegal (60-37) got their first victories.

The "-y" after a team's group lottery position indicates that the team has secured a spot in the round of 16. USA will finish no lower than 2nd, as England and Wales will face each other in the final group round game and thus only one can get to 6 points. If USA loses, the winner of that England-Wales game looks set to grab the top spot on goal differential.

Netherlands does not have the "-y" yet, as a technical matter. But it is highly unlikely that it doesn't advance given its massive positive goal differential. Netherlands have locked at least a 3rd place spot, and will likely secure at least a wildcard spot before its next game as the other groups play and we get another group that can't have 3 teams on 6 points. (Group B is already in that category).

For Ecuador and Iran, it is sad times. Neither team is technically eliminated, but they will need to win by extremely large margins to have any chance of reversing their goal differentials and even then, it will take a lot of other things to happen, both in their groups and in other groups. There may be a team or two that gets into the Round of 16 with 3 points, but with goal differential as the first tie breaker, those large negative numbers spell trouble for these two squads.

==
Note: While the draws were done randomly, groups A & B have the 5 teams currently at the bottom of the All Rocks table:
#20. Aviators--166 points
#21. Bigger Boat--163
#22. blechs_dawgs--161
#23. Soccer Steve--158
#24. Tangers--142

Journeymen (#4) is the only team in the top half of the table, with Starboy (#15) and Parraraiders (#17) rounding out the group.

Had Bigger Boat not come along for the ride on this one, perhaps another conspiracy allegation!

 

Groups C & D are back in action in GW5:
C1 vs C3 Argentina (CDS) v Mexico (G of Os)
C4 vs C2 Poland (Epik..) v Saudi A (Top S..)
D1 vs D3 France (Bor..DM) v Denmark (Sasha)
D4 vs D2 Tunisia (The Jav) v Australia (Keys..)

All of the winners square off--with Saudi Arabia and Poland in Group C and France and Denmark in Group D looking to go to 2-0 and even to book their spots in the Round of 16 if other games break right. Meanwhile, the teams in the "other" games will have just read about how grim it looks to go 0-2. Argentina -- the only top seed not to win -- will be looking to get its campaign going, but faces a historically tough matchup against Mexico.

For Tunisia and Australia, this is a critical match if they want to advance. For Tunisia, they are seeking a first ever Round of 16 position, while Australia must go back to 2006 and a Tim Cahill squad to find its most recent Round of 16 journey at the World Cup.

 

While a midweek report is usually used to highlight the players still to play in close matches, it looks from a quick glance like all of the matches are locked, even where there are still 1 or 2 players to come.

So, let's put the spotlight on the biggest match of the GW, France vs Denmark in Group D (which is 1v2 in the all rocks leaderboard, featuring a young upstart (@xxSamxx) against former champion one year removed from glory and seeking to reclaim the top spot (@tarvinodos)).

Not surprisingly, we find Haaland(c) on both squads as well as Firmino. Tarv also sees points this week from Martinelli, Walker, and Jonny, while xxSam doubles on the MCI defense with Stones and Dias, and throws in a Mount assist for good measures. With bonus points now in, both teams are showing 75 points! For xxSam, that is from all 11 players, while sneaky Tarv's 11 have all played, but it includes another injury absence from Zinchenko, which will mean that Tarv will add 1 point via auto-sub from Ward-Prowse to grab the victory and move to 6 points and top of Group D (and will locked a position in the round of 16 when all the scores are in).

All of this assumes no point adjustments over night..... Quite the matchup. France will now need to regroup for a showdown with Australia.....

 

As noted in the earlier note, one super-close, super high-scoring affair, as Denmark edges France. Meanwhile, in Group C, Saudi Arabia goes top of the table (Note: that the top three scores in this week's Olympics were from Groups C & D), and has locked a top 2 position and a trip to the Round of 16. While Denmark could still end up in 3rd place, we now know that 6 points from a 3rd place team will advance (due to the Group B and C results), so Denmark has secured a Round of 16 spot, and the Group C results also means that Group A's Netherlands has will advance, even should they drop to 3rd. Argentina--the lone seeded team not to win in the opening games--scores early and often against Mexico, and will now face Poland in a match where the winner advances. For Mexico and Tunisia, it will be an uphill battle, with Mexico's only shot being to finish 3rd and fix its goal differential to get in with 3 points.

 

GW6 is just over a day away and finds Groups E and F back in action:

E1 vs E3 Spain (GDaze) v Germany (Dreaml..)
E4 vs E2 Japan (StorminG..s) v Costa Rica (RealN)
F1 vs F3 Belgium (KopJrs) v Morocco (Loko..)
F4 vs F2 Croatia (FCSP) v Canada (MGlory)

Spain vs Germany reads like a semifinal. Hard to believe it's a group phase matchup. Costa Rica, Morocco, and Canada knew that they had history against them coming in, and will be looking to take an important step forward.

 

It's a very late midweek look-in, but with 20 minutes to play, the showdown between Adams family (@kopiteinkc & @Tpadams ) is on as Belgium and Morocco head to the final minutes.

Belgium has 35 points, with Gabriel still in and with 2 points apparently coming their way from Trossard.

Morocco has 36 points, with White and Fernandes still in. Fernandes is currently tied with Antony for what would be 1 bonus point.

 

With the Eriksen assist on the 3rd goal, Eriksen has now joined the tie for the final bonus point with Fernandes and Antony. Can Fernandes hang on for the bonus point? Can Fernandes, White, or Gabriel find additional points in the final minutes?

 

Fernandes inching along and hanging on. In the 87th minute, the bonus point system reads:

Rashford - 57
Saka - 23
Fernandes - 21
Eriksen - 20
Antony 18