“I am in blood / Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more,

Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”

Or so said a certain dramatic Scottish monarch during the course of his short and tumultuous reign.  And long before his national side had been eliminated from going forward in the World Cup.

The Zionist’s Guide to the World Cup (ZGWC), having survived more than two weeks of group play, will continue, similar to MacBeth, in its tedious quest to pontificate on the knockout rounds.

Since the last ZGWC installment, there have been a total of twelve matches.  The ZGWC will not review all of these results, but will review how its favored pre-tournament picks performed and make some preliminary picks for the Round of 32.

But first, let’s revel in the agony suffered by the Iranian team and their miserable supporters.  Iran finished group play with three draws in Group G–against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt.  Team Melli had scored three goals and had allowed three goals.  They finished third in Group G and had to await the final matches to determine if they would go through as one of the eight third place teams to advance to the Round of 32.  As Saturday wore on and match results came in, it all........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)