TWO matches to go for all players left in the tournament and the Kharine is a two horse race.
Pikov Scuminov (175 points – Sterling, Greizmann, Mertens) have the strongest hand with three attacking starters and at least one bound to appear in the ‘traditionally a goal fest’ third place game.
The manager of I Knew Sterling Would F*ck It Up! (168 – Strinic, Lukaku, Rashford, Dembele) relies on clean sheets and substitute appearances.
Kharine organiser the vice chairman has hinted there will only be cash prizes for first and second place, but this remains unconfirmed and four sides jostle for the honour of third:
- FC Testiculadew (147 – Pickford, Meunier, Lemar)
- Lubyanka B (146 – Vertonghen, Lingard, Kramaric)
- Lokomotiv Leeds (143 – Perisic, Giroud)
- Putin More Russian Puns (141 – Walker, Hazard, Mbappe, Mandzukic)
Since the vice chairman’s team Young Bolsheviks hasn’t been in with a chance of a podium finish since the start of the Kharine, remuneration for third place is solely expected to be kudos.
One remarkable similarity between the last four nations left in Russia is their disciplinary record. Not one country has seen red and aside from Croatia (12) yellow cards have been sparse for England (5), Belgium (7) and France (8).
In a recent football history where the French throw their toys out the pram and sulk on the team coach, an England player cracks under pressure at a crucial moment or Marouane Fellaini, can those remaining hold their nerve?
Conversely, while the England football team has committed the fewest fouls of the remaining nations, their supporters continue to prove their fellow countryman Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection with a series of celebration-related incidents.
@AskPaddyPower What are the odds of numbers of Englishmen to die in celebration-related injuries over the next seven days?
— Stix (@jeffkennaleague) July 9, 2018
Kharine table – post quarter finals
Full scores available from The Rub.
