ZWF: A day of soccer for the ages
Zander's Weekend Facts #127: Sunday, July 14, 2024
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, the finals of the EUROs and Copa América soccer tournaments take place today, and a shooting injured former President Donald Trump at a rally on Saturday. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast! Episode 139 features a preview of this summer’s major international soccer tournaments, the UEFA EUROs and the CONMEBOL Copa América, with Zander’s Facts soccer guru Emma Adams. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, July 14, 2024:
EURO, Copa América finals set for Sunday Soccer Spectacular
The two major international men’s soccer tournaments that have captivated fans across the globe for the last month are finally coming to an end later today.
The finals of the UEFA European Championships and the CONMEBOL Copa America are set and ready to crown the champions of soccer in Europe and in the Americas.
In Berlin, Germany, both Spain and England are hoping to gain European glory in the final match of the UEFA EURO 2024.
In what has overall been a low-scoring and defensive-minded tournament, Spain’s offensive attack has shined bright. Led by Dani Olmo, Fabián Ruiz, and record-breaker Lamine Yamal, Spain have averaged a tournament-best 2.2 goals per match and lead the EUROs with 11.1 expected goals. Yamal has led the emergence of new and exciting young talent at this tournament, becoming the youngest-ever goal scorer at the European Championships at just 16 years old with his spectacular strike in the semifinals against France. Spain have emerged from the undoubtedly more difficult side of the bracket as favorites in today’s final, having beaten Georgia, Germany, and France to advance to the final.
England have shown nowhere near as much excitement as their final opponents in this tournament, yet keep finding a way to advance. A 95’ minute wonder goal from Jude Bellingham saved England from elimination against Slovakia in the Round of 16, stout penalty scoring allowed the Three Lions to squeak by Switzerland on penalties in the quarterfinals, and an added time goal by Ollie Watkins broke a deadlock against the Netherlands in the semifinals. In contrast to Spain, England are averaging one whole goal less per match (1.2). Yet, their passing metrics (second best in the tournament) and long ball creation (best in the tournament) have shown that they can maintain possession and create quality chances to score.
England have never been able to hold themselves up as European champions, and after losing the previous edition of this tournament’s final in London to Italy on penalties, they will be seeking revenge mixed with glory. However, their opponents have shown that they are the most well-organized, talented, and overall best team in this tournament. It will take an all-around masterclass to defeat the Spanish, and one that English manager Gareth Southgate has yet to show he is able to create in his eight years at the helm.
Zander’s EURO Prediction: Spain 3 - England 1
Match Info: Sunday - 3:00 pm ET - Fox / Univision - Berlin, Germany
The event that will take place tonight in Miami, Florida may be the hottest ticket in American soccer history (at least until the World Cup arrives in two years time) as Argentina will battle Columbia in the concluding match of the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024.
In the last three years, no nation on this planet has been better at the game of soccer than Argentina. The 2021 Copa América champions and 2022 World Cup champions, after years of trophies eluding them, Lionel Messi’s Argentina have finally proven capable of shining bright when the lights are at their brightest. This Copa América, however, has not exactly proven that Argentina are still world-beaters. An 88’ minute goal was necessary to secure a victory over Chile in the group stage, penalties were needed to advance past Ecuador in the quarterfinals, and injury concerns regarding Messi have seemingly hampered his output in this competition. Yet, they also haven’t shown that they can be beaten, as they’ve only lost once in their last 25 matches.
Columbia, however, can be perhaps the only nation in the world who can beat Argentina in that last stat. Since failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, Columbia has not lost a single match. That’s a 28 game unbeaten run (the longest active streak in the world and longest in team history), including outright victories in four of their five Copa América games. James Rodriguez’s six assists are already a record in a Copa América, and there’s still one match left to be played. Their route to the final included drawing Brazil in the group stage and topping them in the final group table, demolishing a Panama side that should not have been present in the quarterfinal, and holding on down a man to win the most grueling and physical match of this tournament so far in the semifinals against Uruguay. The ultimate test now awaits.
When these two nations met in World Cup Qualifying in 2021, Argentina won 1-0 in Córdoba, Argentina. That was the last time that Columbia lost a match. While this match won’t be in Argentina, it’ll be in the next best location of Miami, home to Messi’s MLS club team Inter Miami FC. But if there is any South American nation who could match Argentina’s fan output in the U.S., Columbia has proven they it can be them, with seas of yellow dominating every match they have played in the United States this year. (Including against the United States, themselves.) While compared to the EUROs, the Copa America has been much more physical and intense, expect a game that showcases the most technically gifted talent in the Americas and produces multiple jaw-dropping moments of brilliance.
Zander’s Copa América Prediction: Argentina 2 - Columbia 1 (After Extra Time)
Match Info: Sunday - 8:00 pm ET - Fox / Univision - Miami, Florida, United States
For more information on this week’s top story, here are articles from UEFA - Spain vs England EURO 2024 final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups | Copa América - CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ Final: When, where it is, who plays and all the details of the match
Shooting at rally injures former President Trump
Former President Donald Trump was injured in a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday in what is being investigated as an attempted assassination. Trump could be seen on video falling to the ground after reaching for his ear and was carried away by Secret Service agents with blood on his ear and face. Trump said on Truth Social that he was “shot with a bullet” in his upper right ear. One person died during the event, along with the shooter, and two others were critically injured. President Joe Biden said in live remarks on Saturday that “there’s no place in America for this type of violence.” According to the White House, Biden spoke with Trump after the former president had been released from a local hospital on Saturday night. The rally was Trump’s expected final public appearance before the Republican National Convention begins in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday.
Details were still developing as of Sunday morning, use the link below to get the latest updates.
Latest Updates: Associated Press - Live updates: Trump says he was shot in the ear during rally; one attendee and shooter are dead
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
President Biden: Uncertainty remains surrounding President Joe Biden’s candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Biden has continued to declare he will not leave the race, while several members of the Democratic Party have gone public with their calls for Biden to step out of the race. 19 members of Congress have asked Biden publicly to leave the race, although prominent Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders reiterated his support for Biden in a New York Times op-ed on Saturday. Biden appeared publicly many times last week, including at campaign rallies and press conferences surrounding the NATO Summit. The Democratic National Convention, where the party’s nominee will be formally selected, will not begin until August 19.
Republican National Convention: The Republican National Convention is set to begin on Monday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is unknown if the convention will be altered by the shooting that injured former President Donald Trump on Saturday, however, the Republican National Committee said that the convention would go on as planned on Saturday night. Trump is expected to be officially selected as the party’s nominee for the third consecutive presidential election. Trump has yet to publicly name his vice presidential nominee, although a reported shortlist includes North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. The convention will conclude on Thursday, where Trump will give his speech accepting the Republican nomination.
NATO Summit: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization celebrated its 75th anniversary during its annual summit last week in Washington, D.C. Ukraine was a focal point of the summit, with NATO continuing to show support for the country in its war with Russia, along with its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in attendance. China was also brought up during the summit, with indo-Pacific nations Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea attending. U.S. President Joe Biden was also watch closely and made a couple notable gaffes. While introducing Zelenskyy, Biden referred to the Ukrainian president as “President Putin”, the president of Russia before quickly correcting himself. Biden later mistakenly referred to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” during a press conference.
Congress Stock Trading: A bipartisan group of Senators reached a deal on congressional stock trading last week. The proposal, dubbed the ETHICS Act, would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from trading individual stocks while in office. The law would also apply to the sitting president and vice president. The proposal is the result of a years-long effort by members of Congress to ban congressional stock trading. The proposal will first be considered by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee on July 24.
Alec Baldwin: The highly publicized criminal case against actor Alec Baldwin was dismissed by a New Mexico judge last week. Baldwin had been charged with involuntary manslaughter after a prop gun he was holding went off and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie ‘Rust’ in 2021. The case was dismissed after it was found that prosecutors hid evidence that may have been linked to the shooting. Baldwin claimed he did not know the prop revolver was loaded and that it had accidentally discharged.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
Wimbledon: This year’s edition of The Championships, Wimbledon comes to a conclusion later today as the men’s final features a matchup between #3 Carlos Alcaraz and #2 Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz is the defending champion, having beaten Djokovic in last year’s final. Djokovic, however, has won Wimbledon seven times previously and has won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, the most ever. The match will begin this morning at 9:00 am ET and air on ESPN. In Saturday’s women’s final, #31 Barbora Krejcikova defeated #7 Jasmine Paolini in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, to win her first Wimbledon title and second Grand Slam.
NBA Media Rights: The National Basketball Association has reportedly agreed to new media rights deals that will triple the league’s annual income. The league signed deals with Amazon Prime Video, ESPN, and NBC Sports that total $76 billion over 11 years beginning in 2025. Amazon and NBC are new partners for the league, beating out incumbent partner TNT Sports during the negotiations. TNT is expected to have a five-day period where it can “match” one of the contracts, although the legal details of that process are murky. Under the new deals, ESPN will continue airing the NBA Finals, NBC will air games on the NBC broadcast network on Sunday nights after the conclusion of the NFL season, and Amazon will broadcast all games during the in-season NBA Cup tournament.
Gregg Berhalter: United States Men’s National Team manager Gregg Berhalter was fired on Wednesday after the U.S. failed to advance out of the group stage in the Copa América tournament. Berhalter had managed the U.S. team non-continuously since 2019, having been rehired in summer 2023 after initially not having his contract renewed. Berhalter took the U.S. back to the World Cup in 2022 after the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, losing to Netherlands in the Round of 16. The managerial change comes less than two years before the U.S. will host the 2026 World Cup along with Canada and Mexico.
MLB All-Star: The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas. The game will be highlighted by stars such as Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper, along with 37 first-time All-Stars including rookie pitcher Paul Skenes. The All-Star Game will begin just after 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday and air on Fox. On Monday, the MLB Home Run Derby will be the main event, featuring Adolis García, Gunnar Henderson, and Pete Alonso, who is looking to tie Ken Griffey Jr. for the most Home Run Derby titles with three. The Home Run Derby will begin at 8:00 pm ET on Monday and air on ESPN.
EA Sports College Football 25: The highly anticipated college football video game, EA Sports College Football 25, is set to be released this week. The game’s debut marks the first college football video game since NCAA 14 was released in July 2013. The introduction of name, image, and likeness compensation allowed for EA Sports to resume the game’s creation. For the first time in a college sports video game, athletes will have their real names used. The game will be released on Friday, with those who pre-ordered the deluxe edition able to play the game on Monday at 4:00 pm ET.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts Podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, July 21, 2024.
