OPINION ✍️ Spain's #fifawwc win simply teaches the best way to approach playing the game of football. Read my argument in the latest piece on my blog 👇 https://lnkd.in/d2t3MfpG

Happy  ̶F̶o̶o̶t̶b̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶C̶h̶r̶i̶s̶t̶m̶a̶s̶... Euros Day! ⚽ Over at Peak we have a very highly competitive football predictions league setup ready for the first weekend of the European Championships. Rules are simple, 3 points for a correct score, 1 point for a correct result and 0 for a wrong prediction. I have put together a bit of analysis using ChatGPT to see who Peaker's are backing to start the tournament strongly... or fall at the first hurdle! 🔹 Most Favoured Team: England, predicted to win 92% of the time with an average of 2.25 goals per game! 🔹 Least Favoured Team: Serbia, predicted to lose 92% of the time, conceding the most goals. 🔹 Most Common Scoreline: Germany to beat Scotland 2-0 (predicted four times). 🔹 Top Predicted Draw: Hungary vs Switzerland, with five predictions for a 1-1 draw. 🔹 Biggest Predicted Upset: Scotland to beat Germany (1 prediction). 🔹 Highest Scoring Predicted Match: Serbia vs England, with a potential 5-goal thriller! Anything you disagree with? Is it anything other than "coming home 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 "? 🏆⚽️ #Euro2024 #Football

Exciting developments are underway for the English football calendar! It is expected that FA Cup third and fourth round replays, as well as the two-legged EFL Cup semi-finals, will be scrapped as part of calendar reforms. Additionally, the FA Cup fifth round will be restored to a weekend slot. These changes are being made in response to the expanding European competitions and the pressure it places on the domestic calendar. While the exact timing of these changes is yet to be determined, it's worth noting that a new TV contract is set to begin in the 2025-26 season. Furthermore, the Champions League and Europa League will face an expansion to 36 clubs starting next season, placing further strain on the domestic calendar. To ensure minimal clashes with European club competitions, and to abide by UEFA regulations, the match calendar will need to accommodate the limited number of available midweeks for domestic matches. The Premier League has already confirmed that their offer to broadcasters for the cycle starting in 2025 will include five midweek rounds per season. BBC Sport suggests that alterations to the two cup competitions will provide a solution. The FA might give up third and fourth round replays in exchange for reintroducing a weekend date for the fifth round, which hasn't been possible since 2019-20. While the removal of FA Cup replays for top-flight teams may disappoint some, it's worth mentioning that they were temporarily scrapped in the last two seasons due to the pandemic. With the FA, BBC, ITV, and Sky all involved in current broadcasting deals, it will be interesting to see how these changes align with their respective agreements. For more details on this calendar reform, check out the blog post here: https://ift.tt/AC1ihSm

I asked ChatGPT to calculate the outcome of the semi-final football match of the Netherlands versus England tonight. It came back with an interesting analysis, and a prediction: Netherlands The Dutch have been solid throughout the tournament, displaying a well-rounded team performance. Their predicted starting lineup includes key players like Virgil van Dijk in defense, Xavi Simons in midfield, and Memphis Depay leading the attack. The team has shown resilience, particularly in their quarter-final match against France, which they won 2-1 with goals from Depay and Gakpo. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen has been impressive, providing a strong last line of defense England England's journey to the semi-finals has been marked by a series of robust performances, including a penalty shootout victory over Switzerland in the quarter-finals. Gareth Southgate's squad is likely to feature stalwarts like Harry Kane, who has been pivotal in their attacking strategy, alongside rising stars like Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka. Jordan Pickford has been reliable in goal, ensuring their defensive solidity Recent Performances and Head-to-Head In their recent matches, the Netherlands have shown a balance of solid defense and opportunistic offense. Their match against Spain in the group stage ended in a draw, demonstrating their ability to hold their own against top-tier teams. England, on the other hand, displayed resilience and tactical flexibility, especially in their extra-time win against Slovakia and the penalty shootout against Switzerland Prediction Given the current form and tactical setups, the match is expected to be closely contested. The Netherlands might edge out England due to their cohesive team play and the impactful presence of key players like Depay and Van Dijk. However, England's tactical versatility and the scoring prowess of Harry Kane cannot be underestimated. Predicted Score: Netherlands 2-1 England This prediction takes into account the strengths and recent performances of both teams. It’s bound to be an exciting match with potential for surprises, as both squads are well-equipped to advance to the final. Enjoy the match tonight!

Since I'm not doing any podcasts and Columns sotto Natale, here is my view on what I've watched from #A22 today. - this is a midweek competition that NEEDS to replace the Uefa Champions league. This isn't about major change, it's about power/control. - the legal ruling about monopolies is obvious and very similar to what the Supreme Court said about the NCAA. This is the main part of today. The end of the dictatorship of FIFA UEFA and the FAs. They can no longer block competitors from TRYING to compete with old football. - the investment vehicle is UNIFY. This is a platform play. Old school Silicon Valley. Build the users to create equity value. Give it for free to scale. I don't buy this anymore. We aren't in 2019 in the early stage. I can't see UNIFY as cashflow positive after paying clubs. - for product market fit, it's not so different to the champions league. This isn't radical. - this does NOT deal with the major issues facing football, namely the EPL pulling away, and making great European clubs unable to compete. Domestic leagues remain. - It doesn't help a club from a small media market like Celtic be able to compete again, in a EU unified league and market. - this will be a total damp squib. Here's why. You can't replace UEFA, and the champions league, and think international football isn't touched. This is how football currently works. The FAs control things in their territory. Including the leagues. It is they who are the senate of UEFA and FIFA. They control all national team and club football. There is NO way they will allow this. Calmly let the champions league die. A22 and its competitions cannot succeed whilst football is still run by domestic FAs and their "democracy" TO REALLY CHANGE THINGS YOU NEED TO GO AFTER THE FAs. People say it's the Trojan Horse. The first cut. The start of the end. Maybe. I'm deeply unimpressed by A22.

Just coincidence, or a very clever and subtle expression of the (very understandable) anger on FC Bayern München 's side towards UEFA referee Szymon Marciniak in this post-game press conference YouTube thumbnail? Bayern Munich lost their UEFA Champions League semi-final game against Spanish legends Real Madrid 1-2, partially due to a VERY controversial scene in the last minutes of the game - basically a rules violation by the referee that cost them the vital equalizer goal, or at the very least the chance to score. But did Bayern's YouTube channel manager create this thumbnail coloring the last three letters of MADRID in a different color, so that the white font basically spells "REAL MAD" in reference to that? After all, they have all the reason to be very, very mad at this. Coach Tuchel was close to tears at the press conference after the game, and even though I am far from being a Bayern Munich fan, I can totally relate to that and feel for them. Do you think this was done on purpose? For reference, this is what happened for those who don't follow football: Referee Szymon Marciniak blew his whistle too early during a Bayern attack that was possibly offside, even though the rules demand these scenes not to be interrupted. Why is that? In case the video assisted check of the scene shows there was no offside, whatever the result of that scene was (usually a goal) can be counted as such. And in case it was offside in the end, well - no harm done, the goal can just be annulled. But because referee Szymon Marciniak blew his whistle while the scene was still in progress and Real's players basically stopped playing, the goal that resulted from the scene could not be counted, and the VAR assistant could also not check the scene, because the game was halted by the referee mid-scene, so there was nothing to analyze.

⚽ EURO 2024: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ?-? 🇪🇸 Ahead of the EURO 2024 Final game between Spain and England on July 14, we’ve fine tuned most popular AI companions and used RAG with relevant information from recent updates in football world. Excited to share with you the results: 💬Prompt: “Imagine you are a sport analytics expert. Give a prediction on who's going to win the EURO 2024 between Spain and England, and what will be the score based on the relevant information provided?” ChatGPT 4o: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 2-1 🇪🇸 The EURO 2024 final between Spain and England is set to be a closely contested match. Spain’s possession-based play and technical midfield will challenge England’s solid defense and pacey counter-attacks. While both teams have shown strong form, England's ability to capitalize on key moments might give them a slight edge. Prediction: England to win 2-1. Claude 3.5: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 2-1 🇪🇸 Based on current form and recent tournament performances, England is predicted to edge out Spain in a closely contested EURO 2024 final with a score of 2-1. England's tournament experience and hunger for a major trophy give them a slight edge. However, Spain's technical prowess and emerging talent could still pose a significant challenge. Gemini: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 1-2 🇪🇸 The Euro 2024 final is set to be a thrilling clash between Spain and England. Spain is favored with their dominant form, but England's resilience shouldn't be underestimated. Expect a close match, possibly ending with a narrow 2-1 victory for Spain. The final whistle will reveal the true champion, but both teams deserve recognition for reaching this stage. What would be your predictions?

Among the 16 clubs that move on to the next stage of UEFA Champions League, all 4 Spanish clubs and both English clubs won their group and all 3 Italian clubs finished as runners-up. Thus, apart from the constrains that no teams from the same group can play each other, the only additional constraints are induced by German clubs in that neither Bayern nor Dortmund can be drawn against Leipzig in the round of 16. Based on the application of rook polynomials (https://lnkd.in/gVq92yXi), one can see that the rook polynomial for this situation is (1+x)^5*(1+5x+5x^2+x^3), which implies a total of 10595 possible drawing outcomes. Out of these 10595 possible outcomes, 1501 would involve Man City playing Inter. An interesting question is how to derive this without resorting to brute force enumeration…

From the story below: "The English football pyramid is famous around the world for its depth and history. Ranging from the Premier League to regional football in Step 11, it symbolises England's love for football. Whatever the level and whatever the skill, people will flock from their homes to watch the beautiful game. By definition, the English football league system is a series of connected leagues for men's football in England - including five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isle of Man. The system has a format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system, the Premier League." Read "English Football Pyramid Explained: How Promotion, Relegation And Cup Competitions Work" on SmartNews: https://lnkd.in/evsHMcYA

Finished writing an article on the first round of matches in UEFA EURO 2024, looking into the statistical side of the tournament for a few points and recaps of crucial matches for the others. The next article will follow the second round of matches, published on Monday at the latest. #football #jalkapallo #uefa #uefaeuro2024 #euro2024 #em2024 #journalism #sportsjournalism #data #stats #statistics https://lnkd.in/gWWUnDH8