I never thought that I would enjoy watching Euro 2008 so much. Because, after all, the England aren't in the competition and I always love to watch the lads in the major football championships either the World Cup or the European Championships. It’s a chance to dress up in my three lions shirt, go down to a packed out pub where everyone is your best friend even if you never met them before, drink beer at an alarming rate, shout xenophobic war mongering insults at the screen if we are playing Germany or Argentina, and go crazy with elation every time Owen, Rooney, or Beckham produce a moment of magic.
But let’s be honest about it. England always manage either to miss penalties or one of their most important players will kick someone and get sent off the pitch at a crucial moment. Or the other team scores a fluky goal, like that one by Ronaldinho or that bloomin’ hand of God. We can thrash Germany 5 – 1 in the qualifiers but still see them progress to the Final. Greece can win a Euro Championship when their whole squad costs less than one of our mighty players. England are the perennial under achievers and also rans. And so every competition is laden with hope and anticipation that this will be our time. But ultimately, we end up crying into our 6th empty beer glass asking ourselves why, oh why did they fail us again?
So it was when England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 at the last hurdle. But do you know what? It’s actually kind of nice not to have all the stress and anxiety of waiting for England to let us down again. I can sit back and enjoy a pageant of great football. Like the thriller on Monday between Holland and Italy. I’ve got a soft spot for both countries and while I was kind of rooting for gli azzuri I was still pleased to see the Dutch win it in spectacular fashion. Great counter-attacking football and what a talent that guy Wesley Sneijder.
You know, whenever England play in a major competition lots of people take time off work to watch all of their games so as to be able to see it live. We English have nothing to support in this competition. But there is no doubting that it is shaping up to be a great contest and it is almost impossible to tell who will ultimately win it. Oddly, I feel tempted to leave work early every day to catch the start of every game. Euro 2008 really is very exciting, even without England.
Wednesday 18 June
Pre-match
Tonight is the final night of qualifying before the quarter finals start in earnest. Group D. We already know that Spain have qualified, having beaten both Russia and Sweden so far. Tonight they will face Greece, who have lost both of their games so far. Greece cannot qualify, whatever the results of tonights games and I should imagine that Spain are going to play a B team like all of the other top teams have done so far. So Spain v Greece is not likely to be a lively and exciting encounter although I still predict that Spain will win.
All eyes will be on the game between Russia and Sweden in Innsbruck. The fitness of Swedish striker Ibrahimovic is in doubt as he has a swollen left knee thus reducing their attacking options. Russia however will have a pretty much full strength squad following a few injury scares and also suspensions. Sweden can qualify with just a draw on goal difference so Russia must win this match. Russia are likely therefore to be on the attack from the whistle and conversely Sweden are likely to play a very defensive game and try to stifle the Russian midfield and attack. So much like the Spain versus Sweden match this encounter is likely to be a scrappy affair which does not produce a lot of beautiful flowing football. The task for Russia will be to break through the Swedish midfield and defence which is as well organized as a sale at IKEA. Difficult to predict the outcome, although having seen England fail to beat Sweden many times a nil-nil draw would not surprise me!
Post match
Sorry for the delay in updating the blog folks, I was still feeling really sick yesterday although I feel much better today.
OK, so last night Russia finally raised their game and showed that they can play attractive football. Andre Arshavin’s return to the team after a two match suspension seemed to energise the Russians. They were fast and pacy and were running the Swedish defence ragged for much of the 90 minutes. This could in part be down to the fact that the Russian squad is the youngest in Euro 2008 and the Swedish squad the oldest. But I don’t think so. It seemed like Russia had finally found their game plan and confidence after their first game drubbing by Spain. Their first goal on 24 minutes following some fast, flowing build up. Roman Pavlyunchenko’s close range finish was crisp and you could see the joy in his celebration. Russia’s midfield star Arshavin increased the lead to 2 on 50 minutes following another great build up. Two great goals sealed a 2-0 win against a very flat looking Swedish side.
The result seemed a surprise following two solid performances by Sweden before this match (albeit one was a last minute loss to Spain). Was this a case of the Swedish just running out of energy after a long season on old legs? Swedish legend Henrik Larsson dismissed this suggestion immediately after the match. Certainly, the Swedes lacked real attacking options with Ibrahimovic not really looking fully fit after his knee injury. But ultimately, the game was won because the Russians had raised their game. They could typify the maxim that it is often better to start slow than to peak too early. Their quarter final on Saturday against the Netherlands should now be a real treat. If I have one criticism of the Russians is would be their finishing. They could have put 5 or 6 goals past the Swedes easily. They pumped in a lot of shots which flew miles wide of the goal. The Dutch will be much tougher opponents than the Swedes so they will need to have sharper finishing on Saturday because every goal will count.
OK the other game for the evening was Spain versus Greece. Neither team had anything to play for. Spain rain a B squad with 10 players changed from their last game against Sweden. It was an entertaining enough game with Greece going into the half time break surprisingly 1 – 0 up. De la Red and Guiza gave Spain the 2-1 win in the second half. But the Spanish star in this game was no doubt Xabi Alonso who kept the Greek keeper honest throughout the game with a number of challenging shots on goal. Spain will take on Italy in the Quarter finals on Sunday. Now that will be a much more exciting football spectacle than this evening’s mezze….
Tuesday 17 June
Pre-match
Ugh! PJ is sick with a fever today so will keep his pre-match comments short. Plan to curl up under a blanket with my anti-biotics and watch the footie tonight. OK the interesting thing about today is that no-one gives Romania any hope of progressing despite the fact that they have more points than Italy and France. Time will soon tell whether, like Croatia and Portugal, the Dutch field a B side to rest their key players. Let's see. I still predict the Netherlands to win but Romania have been able to stifle both France and Italy so they might just pull off some surprises. If they draw and France draw with Italy they would qualify. And I would judge that from the standard of their play to date, there is a strong possibility of a tense nervous draw between the French and Italians. It's all too difficult to predict. Will it be oh la la or meraviglioso? Catch up with you after the games.
Post match
It was the Italians! Secretly (or maybe not that secretly) I am very happy as Italy is one of my favourite countries in Europe to visit, although I do have a lot of respect for some for the French players, in particular Henry, who is a class act. The game was all but over as soon as Italy were awarded a penalty and Eric Adibal was sent off for fouling Luca Toni in the box. I think it was the right decision on balance as Toni was in a clear goal scoring position. But anyway, Pirlo converted the penalty with a smash of a shot which went high up into the right hand corner of Coupet’s net. To add injury to insult (!!) France also lost one of their star players, Ribery, early on with a nasty looking injury. After that the Italians sat deep for most of the game and barely got out of third gear, although they still managed to create lots of chances for Luca Toni who seemed determined not to convert any of them. A free kick which took a wicked deflection off Thierry Henry’s foot sealed the fate of the game at 2-0 to Italy.
Itally then relied on a good result from the Netherlands Romania game to qualify for the Quarter Finals. They needn’t have worried. Even though Marco Van Basten made 9 changes from the side which beat France, they still managed to cruise past Romania 2-0, a sure sign of their strength in depth.
Italy and the Netherlands therefore qualify. Italy will face a much tougher test against Spain in the Quarter Final on Sunday while the Netherlands will need to wait for the result of tomorrow’s games to see whether they will face Russia or Sweden in the quarters.
MY PREDICTION
OK with both Spain and Netherlands in this qualifying group, the most likely outcome is that they will face each other in the semi-final and I would predict that Netherlands win to go through to the final.
On the other side of the group, while Portugal and Croatia have some class players I still predict Germany to grind their way to the final. So my prediction is for a Netherlands v Germany final to this championship! Your read it here first!!
Monday 16 June
Pre-match
NEWSFLASH
TV Commentary has just started for tonight’s big match. Gary Lineker, our UK TV presenter, has just pointed out an interesting story. That animals at a zoo in Germany have so far successfully predicted each of Germany’s results so far in this competition through their choice of food. And, apparently…… the tamarind monkeys chose Austrian raisins today. So that’s it then.. The monkey has spoken. The Austrians will be ‘raisin’ their game today and are certain to win!!!! J
Get out your lederhosen and dust off your DVD copy of the Sound of Music chaps. Today is the ‘big one’. Germany play Austria in Vienna. Now at the start of the competition Germany were ranked as favourites and Austria were rated the worst team in the competition. But big competitions produce big surprises and tonight could be just one of those nights.
Of course it isn’t as simple as all that. We all know that Croatia have already qualified from Group B. But in theory any one of Germany, Austria or Poland could be the second team to qualify. Poland have what appear the longest odds at qualifying. They need to beat Croatia by at least three goals and for there to be a draw between Germany and Austria to qualify. A draw between Germany and Austria is always a possibility. But it really is very hard to see them beating Croatia, one of the form teams of the tournament, by three goals. So I, for one, bet that Poland will go out of the contest tonight. They just haven’t risen to the challenge of this contest. My bet is on Croatia winning.
Now that brings us do ray mee, do ray, mee. Oops, sorry. Wrong script. Ah yes. Germany v Austria. Now to qualify Austria need to beat Germany and for Poland to gain at most a draw from Croatia. And if Poland win (I can’t see it) they need to score less than Austria. So all the ingredients are there for a thrilling night of football for the Austrians. The extra ingredient that they have tonight will be home support in Vienna. They are playing in their own country, in front of their own people, against a historically fractious and at times unfriendly elder sibling, in Germany. There has been a lot of hype in the Austrian media about the match up against Germany. In all honesty, the Austrian team doesn’t have half the talent and class that the German team has. So it will come down to their desire, their passion and a lot of vocal support from their fans. They need the steel of Colonel Von Trapp and to bring the hills alive like Maria.
But actually, the German squad will be prepared and ready for this encounter. Unlike Portugal last night, they will know that they have everything to lose if they do not beat the Austrians. There have been so many thrilling matches so far in this contest that my heart tells me that an Austrian fairy tale would be wunderbar. But my head tells me that there will be no Sound of Music this evening. The only sound will be the distant cheers and celebrations in Berlin and throughout Germany. Germany to win by at least two.
Post match
Well, after a nervy first ten minutes where the Germans looked likely to over-run them, the Austrians settled into the game and actually put up a good fight in the first half. They managed to find a rhythm and were able to make some space on the German flanks several times. But they just like the US Rangers on Omaha beach, they were unable to find any easy way through and always found themselves bogged down before they reached their target, the goal. Their problems were magnified by the Germans playing their characteristic mix of well timed fouls and falling over easier than balsa wood houses (the Austrians deserved a penalty for one foul in the box). At one point, Podolski blatantly fell over when no one had touched him, a sign of the cynicism of the Germans, from time to time (we English know it well). But fair play to them, this is the reason the Germans get through to so many Championship finals; they grind down their opposition with robotic precision and organization, which makes up for their fundamental lack of flair. Anyway, on the half time break it was 0-0. No real signs of a goal but still hope for the Austrian players and fans. But not long into the second half, Michael Ballack, beloved of Chelsea fans, scored a rocket of a free kick which almost broke the back of the net! From that point the Austrians visible lost heart and the game was effectively lost. The game was a bland featureless Germanic contest until the final whistle mercifully blew and ended the Austrians hopes of Euro 2008 advancement. Germany qualified, irrespective of the result in the other game. The prediction by the German tamarind monkey was clearly incorrect on this occasion!
Elsewhere in Klagenfurt, the Croatians had fielded a second string side to take on the Poles. And they still looked the better side. In the end the final result was academic as the Germans guaranteed qualification with their win irrespective of the result in this game. But the Croatians still looked the sharper side and missed several good chances before Ivan Klasnic put them ahead just after the break. Klasnic’s goal was the culmination of a miracle recovery since he had kidney surgery in January 2007 and there was intense emotion in his celebration. The score remained 1-0 at the final whistle.
Croatia have cruised through the qualification stage and will now go forward to take on Turkey this coming Friday. That should be a sparky game if last night’s game between Turkey and Czech is anything to go by.
Meanwhile Germany, the second team to qualify, will go forward to face Portugal in the Quarter final. That should be another fascinating contest, neither team having really shone so far in this competition.
Sunday 15 June
Pre-match
3 hours before kick off. Today both games kick off at the same time, 20.45 hrs EU time (which is 19.45 here in England) because it is the last round of games in Group A. (I think the theory is that both matches should kick off at the same time to ensure fairness for all teams; no team can gain a psychological advantage by knowing the result of their competitor’s game before they have kicked off.)
Anyway, boring aside about regulations apart. Today will be a peculiar contest. On one hand a game between two teams with nothing to play for; Portugal have already qualified for the quarters and Switzerland have been knocked out. And on the other hand a game between two teams with everything to play for: both Turkey and the Czech Republic must win to guarantee qualification.
So if I have to pick a game to watch it will be Turkey v Czech. That’s where all the excitement and the fireworks will be, for sure. As for who will win, well that is much more difficult to predict. I think that like Croatia, the Czech Republic is a much under-rated team. They have arguably the Premiership’s best goalie after all in Petr Cech. But having said that Turkey showed amazing courage and determination in their rain drenched encounter with Switzerland on Wednesday night. This match off is going to be less about outright football skill than about belief, desire and team work. I really cannot predict who will win but I can’t wait for kick off. Should be a great match.
Portugal v Switzerland? Who cares is my initial reaction! But then again, Switzerland may want to leave the Euro 2008 with some pride. And the Portugese may go into the game without the same intensity as normal, hoping to save some energy for the quarter finals. In my heart, I would like to see Switzerland win. Give their clock a final cuckoo before it stops ticking on Euro 2008. And I am English. Much as I think the Portugese are a class outfit I still can’t forget World Cup 2006. Plus a defeat for them might force them to raise their game. I still don’t think we have seen the best from Ronaldo and co. Get set for another night of footie fun guys!
Post-match
Well after last night’s dull, unappealling Swedish / Spanish contest, tonight’s footie smorgasbord couldn’t be more different. Excitement, drama and real footie fireworks characterized the Czech Republic versus Turkey.
In the first half, the Czech’s looked the better team in an uninspiring contest. Turkey lacked an attacking cutting edge and it was no surprise when the veteran Czech striker Koller rose well to head in on 34 minutes. Turkey started the second half much better. But on 61 minutes, Plasil ran from deep to stroke the ball in the net beautifully on the half volley. The Turkish coach went mad as his team had been down to ten men following an injury and waiting to bring on their sub when the Czech’s scored. But this was the moment that brought the game to life.
On 74 minutes Arda Turan beat Petr Cech diving at full stretch to bring the score back to 2-1. Twelve minutes later, Hamit Altintop was left in acres of space on the Czech’s left flank and crossed the ball high. Petr Cech, one of the best goalies in the world, fumbled the ball, the Turkish Captain Nihat was perfectly placed to tap the ball in. Like the Turkey game against Switzerland, you couldn’t write a better script. Turkey coming back from two down to tie the match and lead the game to penalties? With under 4 minutes of normal time remaining, it was hard to imagine more drama in this topsy turvy game.
But no, the drama wasn’t over yet. Moments later, with four Czech defenders completely failing to notice his presence, Nihat was left in acres of space in the box. His curling side footed strike was too good for the hapless Petr Cech and crashed off the underside of the bar into the net. The Turkish team and fans went crazy. The Czech fans who three minutes before were chanting their team on to victory, fell silent. The drama was still not finished, with the Turkish goalie Volkan sent off for stupidly pushing Koller in injury time. But when the final whistle blew, everyone knew that they had seen an epic game which would be remembered in the annals of history. Congratulations to Turkey on stealing victory, literally, from the jaws of death. I wish them well in the next round. Who knows. With their passion they could be the surprise of this tournament.
Back to Basel for the Switzerland / Portugal game. Not surprisingly the Portugese rested most of their first team players, including Ronaldo for this match. Neither team had anything to play for. But ultimately the Swiss co-hosts had more pride at stake. The first half ended nil nil. On 70 minutes Hakan Yakin scored a much deserved goal. He has been a ray of light in an otherwise uninspiring Swiss team during this competition and his joy on scoring was evident. And at the death, the Swiss were awarded a penalty which Yakin converted powerfully. Swiss pride restored. The Portugese clearly now focusing their sights on the quarter finals.
Saturday 14 June
Morning
So today we have another chance to see Spain in action this time against Sweden. Sweden managed to work out a win against Greece 4 days ago but they are going to face a much tougher challenge today. David Villa made all the headlines in Spain v Russia. Fernando Torres hasn't got on the score sheet yet and from his performances for Liverpool it would be a brave man who bet against him scoring today. I am not going to try and predict the score for this game! But I do think Spain will win. At the moment, Spain are the only team which has produced the same quality football as the Netherlands. Let's see if they can keep up the momentum and brush the Swedes aside like they did the Russians.
Greece v Russia? It's hard to get excited about this game with the prospect of seeing Spain in action. Both teams need to get a result now. A win by Russia would give them a good short at qualifying in their final game against Sweden. It's hard to see Greece beating Spain in their final qualifier. But this competition has already sprung so many surprises. I still think that it is impossible to say which team will take the second qualifying place in this group, between Sweden, Greece and Russia. Assuming, as I am, that Spain will win the group! Get ready for another fun filled day of football!!
Post match
Well I was right about one thing. Fernando Torres knocked in a great ‘poachers’ goal on 15 minutes. Here we go, I thought, another 4 goal Spanish fiesta. But I was so very wrong.
Before the game an English TV presenter had commented that Sweden were efficient but dull. How very true. Every time I have seen England play Sweden the game ended up in an uninspiring draw. Sweden don’t win many competitions but they don’t lose many games either. They stick together like Swedish tourists round the swimming pool and hold their shape better than an Old Navy t-shirt after 50 washhes. And so it proved tonight.
The Swedish midfield and defence strangled the game and completely snuffed out the Spaniards’ cutting edge attack. Spain were left lacking ideas, lacking penetration and Torres, at the front, lacked service in the box. The Swedes leveled with another well taken goal by Ibrahimovic on 34 minutes. And on the stroke of half time, a candidate for bad referee decision of the competition: Spain were not awarded a penalty for a blatant foul on Silva in the box.
These events aside, the match was dull, dull, dull. I was starting to pinch myself to stay awake. But then that man David Villa produced a little moment of magic when it mattered. With the clock ticking down in injury time, he latched onto a long ball, shimmied round a defender and slid the ball in the bottom corner of the net. Don’t get me wrong. The game was still DULL! But Torres and Villa’s goals (sort of) made up for it.
Dull was to be the orde du jour for today’s footballing menu. Greece versus Russia was contest between two more teams that probably don’t have the legs to go beyond the first round of Euro 2008. Russia were undoubtedly the better side, but overall the game was unexceptional. The only goal of the game was a rather bizarre affair. The Greek goalie moved yards away from his goal leaving it wide open (his mind appeared to be focused on picking olives in Zakynthos). There was a freakish overhead cross into the centre of the box where Zyryanov gratefully tapped the ball into the wide open net. There’s really not much more of interest to say about this game.
Overall a pretty disappointing day of football after some great displays so far in the competition. Spain have dropped in my estimation now having so easily been closed down by the Swedes. The Netherlands are starting to look like the best team, but there is still a long way to go. Let’s see what tomorrow will bring!
Friday 13 June
Morning
Today the Italians will be out to make amends for their performance against Holland with Luca Toni, Antonio Cassano and Alessandro Del Piero no doubt champing at their pizza to score some goals. They will be playing the Romanians and on form alone they should be able to win the game easily. I predict a 2-0 win to the azzuri.
And then, allez les bleus! After the French drew 0-0 in a soulless match against Romania on Monday English TV commentators Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer (remember them??) remarked that it was the worst football match they had ever seen. They will need to shift up to top gear in their navy blue 2CV if they are to have any hope of beating the Netherlands who blew the Italians off the park. I predict the French will raise their game. But that it still won't be enough. Netherlands to win 1-0.
A lot will depend on which players the French can put on the field. If Thierry Henry can get over his injury and play today the French might just be able to produce something more surprising than a happy fairy cake from an Amsterdam coffee shop. This is called the Group of Death for a reason. Anything could happen!
Post Match
My comments above just prove that all predictions are up in the air in this competition! Two more stunning games.
I never thought I could say that a 1-1 draw was exciting, but today's match up between Italy and Romania had a bit of everything. Luca Toni's goal disallowed following yet another dodgy off side call. Then a constant barrage of fizzing shots on both goals which the respectives goalies Lobont and Buffon had the measure of. But then a dreadful defensive mistake by Gianluca Zambrotta allowed Mutu to pounce on the ball in the box. With only the goallie Buffon to beat he slammed the ball high in the top of the Italian net; great finish. Then one minute later, Panucci prodded the ball home at the other end to bring the score level at 1-1. This time Italy really did look offside but the goal was allowed. And then again, almost at the death, the Romanians were awarded a penalty. But in a moment of goal keeping magic, Gianluigi Buffon produced a miracle save, using his right hand and foot to keep the ball out of the net. 1-1 the final score.
All eyes moved to the evening match off between the fancied Dutch and the French. Quite simply, Holland were in a class of their own tonight. With legend Johann Cruyff looking on, they produced the sort of free flowing total football that the Dutch made famous in the 1970's. They kept their shape throughout the field, and kept catching the French on the break. Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt was the first on the score-sheet on 9 minutes, heading in strongly from a corner. The fans had to wait until 59 minutes for a truly special goal. Van Nistelrooy cleverly flicked the ball off the touch line into Arjen Robben, who made a great run down the left wing before putting a perfectly weighted cross into the box. Van Persie's finished well to put the Dutch two up.
The French played well and created chances but lacked the sharpness and flair of the Dutch. Their new hero Ribery failed to impress. Thierry Henry was the trusty Lieutenant who with guided the ball with characteristic panache into the Dutch net to bring the score back to 2-1. Game on again. But within a minute the Dutch had counter-attacked and Robben smacked the ball from a tight angle into the top of the French net. 3-1. Henry fell to his feet as if in despair. That really summed up the game. The French had no answer to the Dutch break and run tactics. And at the last gasp Wesley Sneijder produced another top goal. Outside the box. Waits, turns and leaves the defender stranded, whack. Ball just brushed the underside of the bar on the way into the top corner. You can't get much better than that. Netherlands 4 France 1.
Now all bets are off in this Group. The Dutch steamroller will confront Romania on Monday. It would be a brave person to bet against Holland failing to win their third game in a row. So although Romania lie second in the group, you would have to fancy either Italy or France still to qualify. So their repeat of the 2006 World Cup final this coming Monday will be another winner takes all game. Whoever wins will likely progress to the next round, assuming that Romania do not beat Holland. I can hardly wait!
Thursday 12 June
Morning
Today we have Germany versus Croatia and I can hardly wait. What a game that should be. Croatia are oddly seen as underdogs even though they have had an impressive record in the major competitions over the past 10 years and, of course, were responsible for dumping England out. Their charismatic coach Slaven Bilic seems to have the ability to bring the best out of his stars like Luka Modric. The Germans are as efficient and reliable and yet as boring as a Volkswagen Golf. But they are masters of grinding their way to finals. And there is no denying the talents of Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and of course Michael Ballack.
(I really felt sorry for the Polish team up against such a talented German team in a very one-sided encounter at the weekend. When you live in Southampton you come to have a great fondness for Polish people and I do hope that they manage to get at least one good result in the competition.)
Post match
Can you believe it? Croatia beating Germany 2-1. Actually, yes I can believe it. As I said above, it is odd that Croatia were seen as underdogs given their qualifying performance and their track record since 1998. They played with Croation class and conviction. And for all their firepower up front, the Germans displayed their achilles heel today; a weak defence. Both Croatian goals and a whole host of shots on goal resulted from shocking defending by the Germans. It was like the Germans were re-creating their own version of the World War 1 Maginot line - looks good on paper but easy to outflank and over-run! And so it came to pass. Congratulations Croatia. They thoroughly deserved the win and I hope they go on to greater things in this competition.
As for Austria versus Poland? Well neither happy holidays in Austria as a kid nor my fondness for the Polish people can change my judgement that both teams are below the standard required to progress to the next round of Euro 2008. It was an ok match, both teams playing for pride. Neither side deserved a win but then neither deserved to lose, so the 1-1 draw was about right. The Polish goal was clearly off-side while the Austrian goal came from a slightly dodgy penalty call, so it all balanced off in the end.
Austria versus Germany should still be an interesting final group game though. Hard to imagine the Austrians beating their teutonic elder siblings, but miracles can happen. And the Germans proved tonight that they are weak in certain areas of play. I don't predict another Anschluss on Monday!
Wednesday 11 June
Today we had the Czech Republic versus the Portugese. Attention had moved from Cristiano Ronaldo's flirtation with Madrid to Luiz Felipe Scolari's imminent take over of the Chelsea healm. And while Ronaldo scored a bullet of a goal in Portugal's nervy 3 - 1 win, the overall performance of his team lacked the finesse of what we have seen so far from the Spanish, Germans and Dutch. I wonder whether Portugal are a one trick pony? Or perhaps they will take a few games to get into their stride. Time will surely tell.
But what is clear is that the real excitement on Wednesday night was in the rain soaked needle match between Switzerland and Turkey. The Swiss bumped the Turkish out of the last World Cup qualifiers leading to an infamous post match punch up at the stadium in Istanbul. Last night, in almost unplayable conditions the two team paddled around the pitch with passion and purpose. It was great to watch, although the football was rough and unpolished. In the end, with less than two minutes of injury time to run, Arda produced a last gasp winner. The Turkish joy was unbound. Switzerland, co-hosts of Euro 2008 the first team knocked out of the competition by their arch adversaries. You couldn't have written a better script. Revenge, most certainly, is a dish best served cold (and wet).
Tuesday 10 June
On Tuesday we had the excitement of Spain v Russia. A great chance to see Liverpool’s star man Fernando Torres in action together, a fantastic talent, together with Cesc Fabregas and Xabi Alonso. But it was David Villa who shone with three classy goals in a 4 - 1 drubbing of the Russians. Spain must be a fancied team for the Championship after years of under-achievement. And then there was Sweden versus Greece, with many wondering if the Hellenic army might pull off another shock. But it wasn't to be, the Swedish star with a curiously eastern european name, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a stunner in their 2-0 victory.
Other blogs by me
English Football Championship: Final day thriller!
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/poomjai/2008/05/06/entry-1
English football: Premiership is Paragon; Championship is Chatuchak!
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/poomjai/2008/04/23/entry-1
Man U / Chelsea out – a hard lesson in FA Cup fighting spirit!
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/poomjai/2008/03/09/entry-1
OK, so England won, but one swallow doesn’t make a summer!
http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/poomjai/2007/09/10/entry-1
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