DJHazey

The scoreline more than anything, but Croatia beating anyone is far from a surprise in itself.

Paraguay is always that one South American country that is going to steal some surprising points, especially on away games where they're unfavored going in. However, they're usually inconsistent in the matches they should do better in, but this time they're putting it all together more. Also, Paraguay and Ecuador have the toughest venues to play at for a visiting team. La Paz and Quito, which their elevation make it a brutal match if you're not used to that environment. Few places in the world have the home field advantage they do.

I think the problem is only having, what it is three Premier League teams? and a few MLS teams, otherwise only the hardcore football fans over here are going to know any of the other teams other than the other major Champions League level squads. Nobody knows any of the african/asian/south american teams, so it's hard to get excited about. It's not like the World Cup where this country will get national support because of the how many cultures are blended amongst our population, so a Japanese-American for example will get excited about going to the Japan match, etc.

I'm happy for Bolivia, who has at least been competitive this go around. They haven't been in the same class as the other nine CONMEBOL nations in several years now.

That Norway-Italy result was certainly eye-opening.

Yep, unfortunately they haven't played exciting football in years. It's getting to the point where I will be actively rooting for the country to hoist the next trophy after how many years it's been for them now. I t feels like a lifetime ago in 2002.

I know, Uzbekistan just missing the World Cup was becoming a meme. I bet Tashkent was rocking last night.

Congrats, that's a huge step forward for your country, beating the likes Bahrain and China would've been a dream in the past. I knew they had something to bring to the table from the first round when I said even having Indonesia in it was a joke since they were going to demolish everyone else in that round. And Uzbekistan have done it! After several close-calls, international playoff losses and being literally the team from Asia that would've been next if the region had even one more spot, the 0-0 draw at UAE clinches their qualification in their first World Cup!

Australia gets the late goal from Aziz Behich at the 90th minute in Perth and are basically 100% qualified for the World Cup now. They'd have to lose 10-0 to Saudi Arabia on the final match day.

Today's results will have huge ramifications for Asia qualifying as everyone is playing their second-to-last match this round. Australia and Japan are 0-0 right now the rest start in a little over three hours or later.

June 4th Results: Bermuda 5-0 Cayman Islands Grenada 6-0 Bahamas Barbados 1-1 Aruba Montserrat 1-0 Belize Dominica 3-0 British Virgin Islands St. Vincant and the Grenadines 6-0 Anguilla

I'd love to see Road America. It was always one of my favorites on Forza, which doesn't mean anything of course, but I've always felt like it was under-utilized great track. NASCAR went there one year and then left, which was so disappointing.

I would've been closer had Forest won at home on the final day!

I am a casual F1 fan, so the points brought up by seasoned fans are apt for sure. I also am not saying overtaking should be easy, but at least have the ability to challenge for a spot in a corner. There is no corner at Monaco where you can even challenge the car in front you. That is not entertaining at all. I don't think it would ever be taken out because of the prestige of the event and for reference I hate that Miami is a similarly dull track that was only created to mirror the same prestige event of Monaco-American style. Even as an American I find that to be a joke. I think Austin and surprisingly Vegas should be the only U.S. venues, I was stunned at how well Vegas turned out to be.

This race will always be a car parade until they do something to really shake things up.

Matches in June (with current group rank): Group A June 5th (3) UAE vs. (2) Uzbekistan (4) Qatar vs. (1) Iran (6) North Korea vs. (5) Kyrgyzstan June 10th (2) Uzbekistan vs. (4) Qatar (5) Kyrgyzstan vs. (3) UAE (1) Iran vs. (6) North Korea Group B June 5th (4) Oman vs. (2) Jordan (3) Iraq vs. (1) South Korea (6) Kuwait vs. (5) Palestine June 10th (1) South Korea vs. (6) Kuwait (2) Jordan vs. (3) Iraq (5) Palestine vs. (4) Oman Group C June 5th (2) Australia vs. (1) Japan (4) Indonesia vs. (6) China (5) Bahrain vs. (3) Saudi Arabia June 10th (1) Japan vs. (4) Indonesia (6) China vs. (5) Bahrain (3) Saudi Arabia vs. (2) Australia

Schedule for June (with current table rank): Matchday 15 (5) Paraguay vs. (3) Uruguay (2) Ecuador vs. (4) Brazil (10) Chile vs. (1) Argentina (6) Colombia vs. (9) Peru (7) Venezuela vs. (8) Bolivia Matchday 16 (8) Bolivia vs. (10) Chile (3) Uruguay vs. (7) Venezuela (1) Argentina vs. (6) Colombia (4) Brazil vs. (5) Paraguay (9) Peru vs. (2) Ecuador

There's outplaying the Celtics and there's we've had Porzingis ill, Hauser out, Brown on a bad knee, and Tatum now out with a season-ending, career altering injury.. Meanwhile, Knicks have been at full strength.

Oh Forest, that was a missed opportunity if I've ever seen one, with Chelsea losing and City only getting a draw vs Southampton.

I picked Arsenal, Man City, Forest, Newcastle. I tabulated predicted results and came up with: Arsenal 73 City 71 Forest 68 Newcastle 67 (on GD) Chelsea 67 Villa 65

Verstappen should have just given the position back, the team should've ordered it knowing it was going to be obvious penalty. At least he would've had a chance to get it back in that scenario. No chance when he has to give up time in the pits.

The tire degradation made things more entertaining than it could've been.

I was looking forward to England vs. USA in the 2022 World Cup, but that was far from a thriller.

Group A - This is going to be Egypt's, no denying that, but Burkina Faso will be trying to position themselves for playoffs. Group B - Big match in September when Congo DR hosts Senegal and winning that would go a long way to determining an upset qualification over the African powerhouse. Sudan could've really stuck in the race if they hadn't dropped points against their rival South Sudan. Three of their last four matches are on the road, but who knows they also have 12 points. Group C - South Africa is in the driver's seat. Winning at home against Nigeria in September would be the final steak in Nigeria's side to officially eliminate them for the first time in many years. Group D - It's all about that Cape Verde vs. Cameroon match in September, being played in Praia. Of course, they can't drop points elsewhere either. What a story it would be. Group E - zzz, see you in 2026 Morocco. Deservedly so though, they are the best team in Africa right now. Group F - Another big one. Gabon hosts Ivory Coast. If they want to produce a big surprise they'll need to win that match. to help their cause. Alot of great potential narratives brewing in Africa. Group G - Algeria should have this though Mozambique is mathematically in it still, but they lost both matches to Algeria already by a combined 7-1 so I don't think so. Algeria is looking closer to their 2014 form than have in recent years. Group H - Tunisia is up four points on Liberia & Namibia and hosts both nations in the fall. I think it's over. It will be more interesting to see if Namibia gets a playoff spot, since they've still enjoying their glory years right now. Group I - Ghana looked like they'd be left for dead early on, but they've righted the ship and I think they'll see it through. What is more of story is how Mali managed to screw this up and can they somehow rescue a playoff spot, though unlikely. Seems more likely that island darlings Comoros or Madagascar would do so. Predicted Qualifiers: Egypt, Congo DR, South Africa, Cameroon, Morocco, Gabon, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana Predicted Playoffs: Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Namibia

Group A - Uzbekistan just needs to win either match to qualify. The first one is away to UAE though and if they lose that then it becomes 17-to-16 in points and makes the last matchday a nail-biter. If Qatar and UAE lose their first match (home vs. Iran and home vs. Uzbekistan respectively) and Kyrgyzstan wins at North Korea then the Round 4 spots become very interesting, since Kyrgyzstan's last match is at home vs. UAE. Group B - This group was always in a blender and it continues that way. Having five Arab nations that always play each other closely was always going to end up being this way. I think South Korea will easily get it done, especially since their last two matches are pretty soft. Kuwait hosts Palestine and if either country wins the match it puts them in play for Round 4. Each matchday Jordan, Iraq, and Oman play each other so the second automatic qualifier hasn't been figured out at all. Group C - Indonesia's dream rests on whether they can manage to get the three points on June 5th at home vs. China. A winnable match. Then they'd go to Japan and hope Japan rests all their starters for a shock result and possible qualification (or at least Round 4). Australia has not finished the job either, they have to play against Japan and away to Saudi Arabia and don't want to leave it to that last match. Anyone slips up and Bahrain or China could sneak into the 3rd or 4th spot. Predicted Qualifiers: Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Japan, Saudi Arabia Predicted Round 4: UAE, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Oman, Australia, Indonesia