Spain - Italy -- The Euro 2012 Final...
But nobody expected what happened in this final, in Kyiv.
Del Bosque's team made the Italians look like complete amateurs.
And the Squadra Azzura played like shit, too, to help make the humiliation too easy for the Spanish to inflict.
Moreover, everything came perfectly into place for Spain. From the lucky sequence of events leading to Silva' goal, the first of the four, to the missed so-so chances for the Italians (at least one of which might have gone in on another, more lucky, night).
Some analysts would say "Oh, the Spanish neutralized Pirlo quite well", or "The Italians could not find each other as in previous matches, due to the Spanish passing machine".
All I can say is: Shame on the Italian team for being such a disgrace in this match!
Prandelli should have the decency to step down after such a pathetic performance!
Spain makes it three consecutive wins in the biggest tournaments: Euro, World Cup, Euro again.
How will they fare in Brazil, in 2014?
(If there ever was one European national team with a huge chance to win the World Cup on South American ground, it is Spain, now.)
Highlights:
Showing posts with label Euro 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Euro 2012. Show all posts
Sunday, 1 July 2012
2012.07.01 - The Result
EURO 2012: Final
20:45 -- Spain - Italy 4-0
14' David Silva
41' Jordi Alba
84' Fernando Torres
88' Juan Mata
20:45 -- Spain - Italy 4-0
14' David Silva
41' Jordi Alba
84' Fernando Torres
88' Juan Mata
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Italy Surprises Germany
What is wrong with Germany?
They were better off when they were West Germany, honestly.
All but one lucky European title (in 1996), in their trophy case, were won before the re-unification of the two Germanies.
I can't explain it, but they lost some of their strength, some of the spirit of football combat that made Lineker say "Football is a game for 22 people that run around, play the ball, and one referee who makes a slew of mistakes, and in the end Germany always wins", after there was no longer an East Germany.
Go figure...
But Italy played masterfully in this semifinal, too.
Except at the end, when they conceded a stupid penalty, that is.
Balotelli played the game of his career, probably.
There's not much more to say, except that Germany could not break down the Italian defensive force, and made a bunch of errors of their own, after Italy scored a first goal that came almost out of nothing.
And, after this match, and also considering how close Spain was to elimination at the hands of Portugal, I'm sure most people would say that Italy is now the favourite to win the trophy.
Highlights:
They were better off when they were West Germany, honestly.
All but one lucky European title (in 1996), in their trophy case, were won before the re-unification of the two Germanies.
I can't explain it, but they lost some of their strength, some of the spirit of football combat that made Lineker say "Football is a game for 22 people that run around, play the ball, and one referee who makes a slew of mistakes, and in the end Germany always wins", after there was no longer an East Germany.
Go figure...
But Italy played masterfully in this semifinal, too.
Except at the end, when they conceded a stupid penalty, that is.
Balotelli played the game of his career, probably.
There's not much more to say, except that Germany could not break down the Italian defensive force, and made a bunch of errors of their own, after Italy scored a first goal that came almost out of nothing.
And, after this match, and also considering how close Spain was to elimination at the hands of Portugal, I'm sure most people would say that Italy is now the favourite to win the trophy.
Highlights:
2012.06.28 - The Result
EURO 2012: Semifinal 2
20:45 -- Germany - Italy 1-2
[0-1] 20' Mario Balotelli
[0-2] 36' Mario Balotelli
[1-2] 90' + 2' Mesut Ozil (pen.)
20:45 -- Germany - Italy 1-2
[0-1] 20' Mario Balotelli
[0-2] 36' Mario Balotelli
[1-2] 90' + 2' Mesut Ozil (pen.)
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
2012.06.27 - The Results
EURO 2012: Semifinal 1
20:45 -- Portugal - Spain 0-0, 0-0 after extra time, 2-4 on penalties
USA: Major League Soccer
01:30 -- Montreal Impact - Toronto FC 0-3 (0-0)
Current standings:
Eastern Conference:
1 DC United 17 9 3 5 31-22 +9 30p
2 New York 18 9 3 4 31-24 +7 30p
3 Sporting KC 15 9 2 4 20-15 +5 29p
4 Chicago Fire 15 7 3 5 20-19 +1 24p
5 Houston 15 5 5 5 20-23 -3 20p
6 Columbus 14 5 4 5 14-15 -1 19p
Western Conference:
1 San Jose 16 10 3 3 31-19 +12 33p
2 Real Salt Lake 17 10 2 5 28-19 +9 32p
3 Vancouver 16 7 5 4 18-19 -1 26p
4 Seattle 16 7 4 5 19-16 +3 25p
5 LA Galaxy 16 6 2 8 22-23 -1 20p
6 Colorado 15 6 1 8 21-21 0 19p
20:45 -- Portugal - Spain 0-0, 0-0 after extra time, 2-4 on penalties
USA: Major League Soccer
01:30 -- Montreal Impact - Toronto FC 0-3 (0-0)
Current standings:
Eastern Conference:
1 DC United 17 9 3 5 31-22 +9 30p
2 New York 18 9 3 4 31-24 +7 30p
3 Sporting KC 15 9 2 4 20-15 +5 29p
4 Chicago Fire 15 7 3 5 20-19 +1 24p
5 Houston 15 5 5 5 20-23 -3 20p
6 Columbus 14 5 4 5 14-15 -1 19p
Western Conference:
1 San Jose 16 10 3 3 31-19 +12 33p
2 Real Salt Lake 17 10 2 5 28-19 +9 32p
3 Vancouver 16 7 5 4 18-19 -1 26p
4 Seattle 16 7 4 5 19-16 +3 25p
5 LA Galaxy 16 6 2 8 22-23 -1 20p
6 Colorado 15 6 1 8 21-21 0 19p
Ronaldo's Demon Within
For the previous two matches leading to this encounter, the Portugal team was able to rely on Ronaldo to make its overall effort even better.
But Ronaldo played for the team in both the game against Netherlands and the game against the Czech Republic.
He clearly played for himself, unfortunately for Portugal, in this match.
When that chance came, when Portugal was going forward on the counter-attack and had about two extra attackers than Spain, Ronaldo would have been well-advised to not go for glory right away, but to pick his head up and look for the best option.
Even if he had to shoot, where was that composure from the match against Netherlands, when he tricked the defender? Where was the finesse?
Ronaldo wanted that fourth goal, I'm sure, and that's why he was shooting whenever the opportunity presented itself. (Free kicks, too, which were all wasted because Ronaldo could not even shoot it low enough to keep it on target.)
And yet Portugal played very well. They would have been the more deserving side to win the match, after the 90 minutes.
In extra time, Spain played better, and had 3-4 chances to finish off the Portuguese, but Portugal showed good defending skills, too.
Iniesta, probably, should have scored in extra time, but Patricio did very well to block the experienced Spanish midfielder.
It was all decided on penalties, again, for the second consecutive match.
And there was an even better story, in this one.
Spain won the coin toss, and they decided to take the spot kicks on that side of the field where many Spanish supporters were sitting, behind the goal.
But Xabi Alonso, the first penalty taker, could not beat Patricio. It was looking good for Portugal, much like it had been looking good for England, three days prior.
And then it swung the other way.
Joao Moutinho did even more poorly, and Casillas saved. Still 0-0 between the two sides, after 120 minutes and two penalties.
Iniesta, Pepe and Pique all scored. And, then, Bruno Alves was walking to take his penalty kick. But Nani sprints to catch up to Alves, sends him back, and Nani takes the kick. He scores, but, still, what was that all about?
Sergio Ramos has the next kick, and he decides to do it much like Pirlo. He succeeds.
And now Alves is coming back to take his penalty. (Apparently, Ronaldo is the last taker of the five for Portugal.) He hits the ball with a lot of power, but, just like Ashley Young, the ball comes back out off the crossbar.
This all means, of course, that Fabregas, the next spot-kick taker, just had to score and Spain would win the match.
He does, but not without some emotions. The ball hits the post to the right of Patricio, and then trickles into goal way on the other side, behind the goalkeeper and the goal line, before hitting the net on Patricio's left-hand side to make it clear to the spectators, too, that Spain had won.
Here's how the shootout went:
-- Spain - Alonso - miss - 0-0
-- Portugal - Moutinho - miss - 0-0
-- Spain - Iniesta - goal - 1-0
-- Portugal - Pepe - goal - 1-1
-- Spain - Pique - goal - 2-1
-- Portugal - Nani - goal - 2-2
-- Spain - Ramos - goal - 3-2
-- Portugal - Alves - miss - 3-2
-- Spain - Fabregas - goal - 4-2 (and Portugal's last penalty kick becomes irrelevant)
But Ronaldo played for the team in both the game against Netherlands and the game against the Czech Republic.
He clearly played for himself, unfortunately for Portugal, in this match.
When that chance came, when Portugal was going forward on the counter-attack and had about two extra attackers than Spain, Ronaldo would have been well-advised to not go for glory right away, but to pick his head up and look for the best option.
Even if he had to shoot, where was that composure from the match against Netherlands, when he tricked the defender? Where was the finesse?
Ronaldo wanted that fourth goal, I'm sure, and that's why he was shooting whenever the opportunity presented itself. (Free kicks, too, which were all wasted because Ronaldo could not even shoot it low enough to keep it on target.)
And yet Portugal played very well. They would have been the more deserving side to win the match, after the 90 minutes.
In extra time, Spain played better, and had 3-4 chances to finish off the Portuguese, but Portugal showed good defending skills, too.
Iniesta, probably, should have scored in extra time, but Patricio did very well to block the experienced Spanish midfielder.
It was all decided on penalties, again, for the second consecutive match.
And there was an even better story, in this one.
Spain won the coin toss, and they decided to take the spot kicks on that side of the field where many Spanish supporters were sitting, behind the goal.
But Xabi Alonso, the first penalty taker, could not beat Patricio. It was looking good for Portugal, much like it had been looking good for England, three days prior.
And then it swung the other way.
Joao Moutinho did even more poorly, and Casillas saved. Still 0-0 between the two sides, after 120 minutes and two penalties.
Iniesta, Pepe and Pique all scored. And, then, Bruno Alves was walking to take his penalty kick. But Nani sprints to catch up to Alves, sends him back, and Nani takes the kick. He scores, but, still, what was that all about?
Sergio Ramos has the next kick, and he decides to do it much like Pirlo. He succeeds.
And now Alves is coming back to take his penalty. (Apparently, Ronaldo is the last taker of the five for Portugal.) He hits the ball with a lot of power, but, just like Ashley Young, the ball comes back out off the crossbar.
This all means, of course, that Fabregas, the next spot-kick taker, just had to score and Spain would win the match.
He does, but not without some emotions. The ball hits the post to the right of Patricio, and then trickles into goal way on the other side, behind the goalkeeper and the goal line, before hitting the net on Patricio's left-hand side to make it clear to the spectators, too, that Spain had won.
Here's how the shootout went:
-- Spain - Alonso - miss - 0-0
-- Portugal - Moutinho - miss - 0-0
-- Spain - Iniesta - goal - 1-0
-- Portugal - Pepe - goal - 1-1
-- Spain - Pique - goal - 2-1
-- Portugal - Nani - goal - 2-2
-- Spain - Ramos - goal - 3-2
-- Portugal - Alves - miss - 3-2
-- Spain - Fabregas - goal - 4-2 (and Portugal's last penalty kick becomes irrelevant)
Sunday, 24 June 2012
2012.06.24 - The Results
EURO 2012: Quarter-Final 4
20:45 -- England - Italy 0-0, 0-0 after extra time, 2-4 on penalties highlights
USA: Major League Soccer
23:00 -- Portland Timbers - Seattle Sounders 2-1 (2-0)
01:00 -- New York Red Bulls - DC United 3-2 highlights
[0-1] 1' Chris Pontius
[1-1] 20' Barklage B.
[2-1] 45' + 2' Barklage B.
[3-1] 55' Jan Gunnar Solli
[3-2] 66' Chris Pontius
Current standings:
Eastern Conference:
1 DC United 17 9 3 5 31-22 +9 30p
2 New York 18 9 3 4 31-24 +7 30p
3 Sporting KC 15 9 2 4 20-15 +5 29p
4 Chicago Fire 15 7 3 5 20-19 +1 24p
5 Houston 15 5 5 5 20-23 -3 20p
6 Columbus 14 5 4 5 14-15 -1 19p
Western Conference:
1 San Jose 16 10 3 3 31-19 +12 33p
2 Real Salt Lake 17 10 2 5 28-19 +9 32p
3 Vancouver 16 7 5 4 18-19 -1 26p
4 Seattle 16 7 4 5 19-16 +3 25p
5 LA Galaxy 16 6 2 8 22-23 -1 20p
6 Colorado 15 6 1 8 21-21 0 19p
20:45 -- England - Italy 0-0, 0-0 after extra time, 2-4 on penalties highlights
USA: Major League Soccer
23:00 -- Portland Timbers - Seattle Sounders 2-1 (2-0)
01:00 -- New York Red Bulls - DC United 3-2 highlights
[0-1] 1' Chris Pontius
[1-1] 20' Barklage B.
[2-1] 45' + 2' Barklage B.
[3-1] 55' Jan Gunnar Solli
[3-2] 66' Chris Pontius
Current standings:
Eastern Conference:
1 DC United 17 9 3 5 31-22 +9 30p
2 New York 18 9 3 4 31-24 +7 30p
3 Sporting KC 15 9 2 4 20-15 +5 29p
4 Chicago Fire 15 7 3 5 20-19 +1 24p
5 Houston 15 5 5 5 20-23 -3 20p
6 Columbus 14 5 4 5 14-15 -1 19p
Western Conference:
1 San Jose 16 10 3 3 31-19 +12 33p
2 Real Salt Lake 17 10 2 5 28-19 +9 32p
3 Vancouver 16 7 5 4 18-19 -1 26p
4 Seattle 16 7 4 5 19-16 +3 25p
5 LA Galaxy 16 6 2 8 22-23 -1 20p
6 Colorado 15 6 1 8 21-21 0 19p
When England Played Like Italy
This was the only quarter-final match-up that pitted against each other two unbeaten sides. England had two wins and a draw, and Italy had one win and two draws.
That, plus Hodgson's style of coaching his England squad, made the experts declare that, if there was a match that could get to penalties, this would be it.
And it was!
It was also the first match to end 0-0 at this Euro tournament.
But it did not happen because of a lack of scoring chances.
The first half, especially, was full of them.
Only 3 minutes in, for example, Daniele De Rossi had a great shot from about 25-30 metres out, which hit the post to Joe Hart's right.
Then Glen Johnson could not beat Buffon with a sitter from eight meters away, ten minutes into the game.
I should also mention Balotelli's weak run, after Pirlo's great pass allowed the striker a tremendous opportunity to advance through on goal, only to be blocked at the last moment. (Again!... Remember the Spain-Italy match, if you will.)
In the second half, there was another excellent opportunity missed by De Rossi, alone with the goalkeeper, but he probably hurried to kick the ball (and it did not even hit the target), because he thought he was offside.
There were many other scoring chances by the Italians, all squandered. (Italian efficiency was at its worst on this day, and many former Italian coaches were probably stupefied to see all these misses from Squadra Azzurra.)
England, on the other hand, played very much like Italy, defending very effectively and trying to hit on the break. But they also could not finish, as Rooney was not at his goal-scoring best, either. His attempt at a scissor kick proved that beyond any doubt.
Italy, on the other hand, did score once, with five minutes left in the second half of extra time, but it was offside.
So, the two teams remained unbeaten, and had to play penalties to determine who would advance to face Germany in the semifinals. The score, of course, stayed the same, 0-0, after 120+ minutes of game play.
The penalty shootout also seemed to have two different halves to it. There was the pre-Pirlo part, which contained the Italian miss and confident English penalty takers, and the post-Pirlo part, where the English completely lost their concentration. Andrea Pirlo scored a very gutsy, cheeky penalty, a la Panenka (from the Euro '76 final), which apparently suddenly made the Italians feel very confident, and had the opposite effect on the English. If Pirlo had missed, Italy very probably would have had to hope for a miracle to get the win, then.ww
And Pirlo's strike, of course, could have backfired on him, and it could have made him look really silly if Joe Hart hadn't dived too early. But it went in because the goalkeeper never anticipated something like that.
Here's how the shootout went:
-- Italy - Balotelli - goal - 1-0
-- England - Gerrard - goal - 1-1
-- Italy - Montolivo - miss - 1-1
-- England - Rooney - goal - 1-2
-- Italy - Pirlo - goal - 2-2
-- England - Young - miss - 2-2
-- Italy - Nocerino - goal - 3-2
-- England - Cole - miss - 3-2
-- Italy - Diamanti - goal - 4-2 (and England's last penalty kick becomes irrelevant)
Highlights:
That, plus Hodgson's style of coaching his England squad, made the experts declare that, if there was a match that could get to penalties, this would be it.
And it was!
It was also the first match to end 0-0 at this Euro tournament.
But it did not happen because of a lack of scoring chances.
The first half, especially, was full of them.
Only 3 minutes in, for example, Daniele De Rossi had a great shot from about 25-30 metres out, which hit the post to Joe Hart's right.
Then Glen Johnson could not beat Buffon with a sitter from eight meters away, ten minutes into the game.
I should also mention Balotelli's weak run, after Pirlo's great pass allowed the striker a tremendous opportunity to advance through on goal, only to be blocked at the last moment. (Again!... Remember the Spain-Italy match, if you will.)
In the second half, there was another excellent opportunity missed by De Rossi, alone with the goalkeeper, but he probably hurried to kick the ball (and it did not even hit the target), because he thought he was offside.
There were many other scoring chances by the Italians, all squandered. (Italian efficiency was at its worst on this day, and many former Italian coaches were probably stupefied to see all these misses from Squadra Azzurra.)
England, on the other hand, played very much like Italy, defending very effectively and trying to hit on the break. But they also could not finish, as Rooney was not at his goal-scoring best, either. His attempt at a scissor kick proved that beyond any doubt.
Italy, on the other hand, did score once, with five minutes left in the second half of extra time, but it was offside.
So, the two teams remained unbeaten, and had to play penalties to determine who would advance to face Germany in the semifinals. The score, of course, stayed the same, 0-0, after 120+ minutes of game play.
The penalty shootout also seemed to have two different halves to it. There was the pre-Pirlo part, which contained the Italian miss and confident English penalty takers, and the post-Pirlo part, where the English completely lost their concentration. Andrea Pirlo scored a very gutsy, cheeky penalty, a la Panenka (from the Euro '76 final), which apparently suddenly made the Italians feel very confident, and had the opposite effect on the English. If Pirlo had missed, Italy very probably would have had to hope for a miracle to get the win, then.ww
And Pirlo's strike, of course, could have backfired on him, and it could have made him look really silly if Joe Hart hadn't dived too early. But it went in because the goalkeeper never anticipated something like that.
Here's how the shootout went:
-- Italy - Balotelli - goal - 1-0
-- England - Gerrard - goal - 1-1
-- Italy - Montolivo - miss - 1-1
-- England - Rooney - goal - 1-2
-- Italy - Pirlo - goal - 2-2
-- England - Young - miss - 2-2
-- Italy - Nocerino - goal - 3-2
-- England - Cole - miss - 3-2
-- Italy - Diamanti - goal - 4-2 (and England's last penalty kick becomes irrelevant)
Highlights:
Saturday, 23 June 2012
2012.06.23 - The Results
EURO 2012: Quarter-Final 3
20:45 -- Spain - France 2-0 highlights
19' Xabi Alonso
90' + 1' Xabi Alonso (pen.)
USA: Major League Soccer
22:30 -- Toronto FC - New England Revolution 2-2 (2-0)
01:00 -- Philadelphia Union - Sporting Kansas City 4-0 (2-0)
01:30 -- Montreal Impact - Houston Dynamo 4-2 (2-2)
02:30 -- Chicago Fire - Columbus Crew 2-1 (2-1)
03:00 -- Dallas - CD Chivas USA 0-0
03:00 -- Real Salt Lake - San Jose Earthquakes 1-2 highlights
[0-1] 75' Alan Gordon
[1-1] 79' Javier Morales
[1-2] 84' Chris Wondolowski
04:30 -- Los Angeles Galaxy - Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 (3-0)
Current standings:
Eastern Conference:
1 DC United 16 9 3 4 29-19 +10 30p
2 Sporting KC 15 9 2 4 20-15 +5 29p
3 New York 15 8 3 4 28-22 +6 27p
4 Chicago Fire 15 7 3 5 20-19 +1 24p
5 Houston 15 5 5 5 20-23 -3 20p
6 Columbus 14 5 4 5 14-15 -1 19p
Western Conference:
1 San Jose 16 10 3 3 31-19 +12 33p
2 Real Salt Lake 17 10 2 5 28-19 +9 32p
3 Vancouver 16 7 5 4 18-19 -1 26p
4 Seattle 15 7 4 4 18-14 +4 25p
5 LA Galaxy 16 6 2 8 22-23 -1 20p
6 Colorado 15 6 1 8 21-21 0 19p
20:45 -- Spain - France 2-0 highlights
19' Xabi Alonso
90' + 1' Xabi Alonso (pen.)
USA: Major League Soccer
22:30 -- Toronto FC - New England Revolution 2-2 (2-0)
01:00 -- Philadelphia Union - Sporting Kansas City 4-0 (2-0)
01:30 -- Montreal Impact - Houston Dynamo 4-2 (2-2)
02:30 -- Chicago Fire - Columbus Crew 2-1 (2-1)
03:00 -- Dallas - CD Chivas USA 0-0
03:00 -- Real Salt Lake - San Jose Earthquakes 1-2 highlights
[0-1] 75' Alan Gordon
[1-1] 79' Javier Morales
[1-2] 84' Chris Wondolowski
04:30 -- Los Angeles Galaxy - Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 (3-0)
Current standings:
Eastern Conference:
1 DC United 16 9 3 4 29-19 +10 30p
2 Sporting KC 15 9 2 4 20-15 +5 29p
3 New York 15 8 3 4 28-22 +6 27p
4 Chicago Fire 15 7 3 5 20-19 +1 24p
5 Houston 15 5 5 5 20-23 -3 20p
6 Columbus 14 5 4 5 14-15 -1 19p
Western Conference:
1 San Jose 16 10 3 3 31-19 +12 33p
2 Real Salt Lake 17 10 2 5 28-19 +9 32p
3 Vancouver 16 7 5 4 18-19 -1 26p
4 Seattle 15 7 4 4 18-14 +4 25p
5 LA Galaxy 16 6 2 8 22-23 -1 20p
6 Colorado 15 6 1 8 21-21 0 19p
History Does Not Always Repeat Itself
Before this Euro 2012 quarter-final, Spain had never beaten France in a competitive match.
But France made more of the errors that plagued their performance in the match against Sweden. And Spain, naturally, punished the French.
Only 19 minutes passed before Malouda stopped paying attention, and Iniesta found Alba on the left-hand side, the latter crossed the ball perfectly, and Xabi Alonso headed an unstoppable strike past Lloris.
And then Spain did very well to control the ball, thereby limiting the French attacks to whatever could come from flashes of individual brilliance.
But Benzema, the attacker that the French were hoping could unsettle the Spanish, was extremely weak in this match. He was never able to wrong-foot the opposing defense.
Ribery was slightly better, but he only got about one or two half-chances in the entire match.
The best French occasions came from Cabaye, following a long-distance free kick, in the first half, and Debuchy, with a header, early in the second half.
(And none of these two guys are forwards.)
Nasri came on late in the game, but he was as good as absent.
The best substitution in this match was performed by Vicente del Bosque.
He put in Pedro Rodriguez, and the Barcelona player succeeded in getting a penalty kick, in injury time, after being fouled by Reveillere.
On his 100th appearance for Spain, Alonso was allowed to take the spot kick, and he scored his fifteenth for the national team. 2-0 for Spain, in the 91st, and everybody watching knew that there was no way back for the French, with 3 minutes left.
Spain will meet Portugal, on Wednesday, in the first semifinal. And the Spanish will be playing in Donetsk, again.
Highlights:
But France made more of the errors that plagued their performance in the match against Sweden. And Spain, naturally, punished the French.
Only 19 minutes passed before Malouda stopped paying attention, and Iniesta found Alba on the left-hand side, the latter crossed the ball perfectly, and Xabi Alonso headed an unstoppable strike past Lloris.
And then Spain did very well to control the ball, thereby limiting the French attacks to whatever could come from flashes of individual brilliance.
But Benzema, the attacker that the French were hoping could unsettle the Spanish, was extremely weak in this match. He was never able to wrong-foot the opposing defense.
Ribery was slightly better, but he only got about one or two half-chances in the entire match.
The best French occasions came from Cabaye, following a long-distance free kick, in the first half, and Debuchy, with a header, early in the second half.
(And none of these two guys are forwards.)
Nasri came on late in the game, but he was as good as absent.
The best substitution in this match was performed by Vicente del Bosque.
He put in Pedro Rodriguez, and the Barcelona player succeeded in getting a penalty kick, in injury time, after being fouled by Reveillere.
On his 100th appearance for Spain, Alonso was allowed to take the spot kick, and he scored his fifteenth for the national team. 2-0 for Spain, in the 91st, and everybody watching knew that there was no way back for the French, with 3 minutes left.
Spain will meet Portugal, on Wednesday, in the first semifinal. And the Spanish will be playing in Donetsk, again.
Highlights:
Friday, 22 June 2012
(Uninspired Coach + Sucky Goalkeeper) x Lack of Attention in Defense = Disaster Against Germany's B-Side
Greece's coach Fernando Santos could just as well have prepared this match while drunk.
This approach, that he decided to go with, might be worth studying in coaching schools when discussing what not to do in a quarter-final of a major tournament.
One of the two biggest mistakes, for sure, was allowing that pathetic excuse for a footballer, Sifakis, to play as goalkeeper. What, were both Chalkias and Tzorvas severely injured? I'm sure Chalkias would have made fewer wrong moves, even if he had been on crutches!
Sifakis has probably 30%-50% of the blame for the first two goals, and 80%-100% of the blame for the last two goals, by the Germans.
He has no idea where to place himself for long shots, and he's just a complete disaster when he's trying to anticipate moving forward from the goal-line.
(This is one goal-keeper who does not have a bright future. And he's already 27.)
Then, where the hell was the resolute defense from the matches against Russia and even the Czech Republic (excluding the first ten minutes of that second match)?
Sure, Germany is better than Russia and the Czech Republic put together, but not that good as to make the Greek players fall down like dominoes.
I mean, exactly when they needed to step it up a notch, the Greeks were losing the ball and then falling over themselves. Of course the Germans would take advantage, when the Greek defenders could not even stand up properly.
Thirdly, the one thing Santos cannot seem to understand, despite the fact that he has a pretty impressive coaching resume (Porto, AEK, Panathinaikos, Sporting CP, Benfica, PAOK... but, notice(!), no other national squad), is that the Germans like to shoot from far out. The Portuguese got that, the Danes got it, too, and even the Dutch seemed to be aware of it. Only the Greeks had no idea that Germany has players who can shoot well from outside the penalty box if given the chance.
Under these conditions, no wonder Germany scored four goals in this one encounter.
And lastly, I also must say, it takes a really weak coach to not be able to take advantage of what seemed like very good luck for the Greeks. They had some very lucky bounces in the first half, and, despite the goal by Lahm, the Greeks were still in it. What better example, than the way they tied it, through Samaras, in the 55th minute?
At 1-1 against Germany, a score that you certainly don't deserve, what do you tell your players? Do you tell them to keep it up, think they're all that, and to continue to leave large gaps at the back, or do you do something to tighten up the defense, first and foremost, so that the Germans would suffer for their relaxation?
Eventually, luck is going to desert you, of course, if you're stupid.
Germany played not so well, even though they went 4-1 up, from 1-1, in 19 minutes.
Joachim Low opted to introduce his second-string forwards. And he made some other weird substitutions, too. (A good, inspired team would have punished Germany on this day.)
But the Greeks should consider themselves lucky just to have scored the two goals; that's how dull they were in this game.
Really, though, when you score two goals against Germany, at a major tournament, you should go through to the next phase. Most of the time, you don't get to score two in such a match... The Greek team eliminated itself, through its own ignorance.
And most of this is Santos' fault.
(Oh, and Sifakis', too, of course. He would have been selected man of the match, if he had been in a German jersey.)
Highlights:
This approach, that he decided to go with, might be worth studying in coaching schools when discussing what not to do in a quarter-final of a major tournament.
One of the two biggest mistakes, for sure, was allowing that pathetic excuse for a footballer, Sifakis, to play as goalkeeper. What, were both Chalkias and Tzorvas severely injured? I'm sure Chalkias would have made fewer wrong moves, even if he had been on crutches!
Sifakis has probably 30%-50% of the blame for the first two goals, and 80%-100% of the blame for the last two goals, by the Germans.
He has no idea where to place himself for long shots, and he's just a complete disaster when he's trying to anticipate moving forward from the goal-line.
(This is one goal-keeper who does not have a bright future. And he's already 27.)
Then, where the hell was the resolute defense from the matches against Russia and even the Czech Republic (excluding the first ten minutes of that second match)?
Sure, Germany is better than Russia and the Czech Republic put together, but not that good as to make the Greek players fall down like dominoes.
I mean, exactly when they needed to step it up a notch, the Greeks were losing the ball and then falling over themselves. Of course the Germans would take advantage, when the Greek defenders could not even stand up properly.
Thirdly, the one thing Santos cannot seem to understand, despite the fact that he has a pretty impressive coaching resume (Porto, AEK, Panathinaikos, Sporting CP, Benfica, PAOK... but, notice(!), no other national squad), is that the Germans like to shoot from far out. The Portuguese got that, the Danes got it, too, and even the Dutch seemed to be aware of it. Only the Greeks had no idea that Germany has players who can shoot well from outside the penalty box if given the chance.
Under these conditions, no wonder Germany scored four goals in this one encounter.
And lastly, I also must say, it takes a really weak coach to not be able to take advantage of what seemed like very good luck for the Greeks. They had some very lucky bounces in the first half, and, despite the goal by Lahm, the Greeks were still in it. What better example, than the way they tied it, through Samaras, in the 55th minute?
At 1-1 against Germany, a score that you certainly don't deserve, what do you tell your players? Do you tell them to keep it up, think they're all that, and to continue to leave large gaps at the back, or do you do something to tighten up the defense, first and foremost, so that the Germans would suffer for their relaxation?
Eventually, luck is going to desert you, of course, if you're stupid.
Germany played not so well, even though they went 4-1 up, from 1-1, in 19 minutes.
Joachim Low opted to introduce his second-string forwards. And he made some other weird substitutions, too. (A good, inspired team would have punished Germany on this day.)
But the Greeks should consider themselves lucky just to have scored the two goals; that's how dull they were in this game.
Really, though, when you score two goals against Germany, at a major tournament, you should go through to the next phase. Most of the time, you don't get to score two in such a match... The Greek team eliminated itself, through its own ignorance.
And most of this is Santos' fault.
(Oh, and Sifakis', too, of course. He would have been selected man of the match, if he had been in a German jersey.)
Highlights:
2012.06.22 - The Result
EURO 2012: Quarter-Final 2
20:45 -- Germany - Greece 4-2 highlights
[1-0] 39' Philipp Lahm
[1-1] 55' Georgios Samaras
[2-1] 61' Sami Khedira
[3-1] 68' Miroslav Klose
[4-1] 74' Marco Reus
[4-2] 89' Dimitris Salpigidis (pen.)
20:45 -- Germany - Greece 4-2 highlights
[1-0] 39' Philipp Lahm
[1-1] 55' Georgios Samaras
[2-1] 61' Sami Khedira
[3-1] 68' Miroslav Klose
[4-1] 74' Marco Reus
[4-2] 89' Dimitris Salpigidis (pen.)
Thursday, 21 June 2012
0 Shots on Goal
Looking back at this match quarter-final match, you could see why the Czech Republic players were thumped 1-4 in their opening fixture.
They were very lucky not to concede quickly against Portugal, here.
Portugal was always pressing harder, and the Czech response was very weak by comparison.
Before scoring (in the 80th minute), Ronaldo hit the post twice. (I'm sure he's the player who hit the woodwork the most times at this tournament.) First, he did it in first-half injury time, when he made a couple of Czech defenders look like amateurs with his turn and then fired past Cech, and the second time was with a free-kick shot, early in the second half.
The goal was somehow unexpected, though, because the defender who was initially in front of Ronaldo, at the start of the cross by Moutinho, seemed to just stop and allow the striker to re-position himself in front, to be able to head the ball towards goal. It was truly that difference of class that separates winners from losers.
And, just like in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, Petr Cech again allows a goal from a headed effort that bounces in off the turf. But this one was a much more powerful header, and one can't really blame Cech.
But, unfortunately for him, it seemed impossible to even imagine the Czechs coming back from a deficit, because they always played for the draw. And, indeed, they could not do anything to tie the score after falling behind.
Even Jiracek was incapable of coming up with something worthy of praise, before or after.
Not even one shot on goal by the Czech Republic. There's no way you can expect to advance with that kind of low attack productivity.
Portugal is the deserving first semifinalist.
Highlights:
They were very lucky not to concede quickly against Portugal, here.
Portugal was always pressing harder, and the Czech response was very weak by comparison.
Before scoring (in the 80th minute), Ronaldo hit the post twice. (I'm sure he's the player who hit the woodwork the most times at this tournament.) First, he did it in first-half injury time, when he made a couple of Czech defenders look like amateurs with his turn and then fired past Cech, and the second time was with a free-kick shot, early in the second half.
The goal was somehow unexpected, though, because the defender who was initially in front of Ronaldo, at the start of the cross by Moutinho, seemed to just stop and allow the striker to re-position himself in front, to be able to head the ball towards goal. It was truly that difference of class that separates winners from losers.
And, just like in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, Petr Cech again allows a goal from a headed effort that bounces in off the turf. But this one was a much more powerful header, and one can't really blame Cech.
But, unfortunately for him, it seemed impossible to even imagine the Czechs coming back from a deficit, because they always played for the draw. And, indeed, they could not do anything to tie the score after falling behind.
Even Jiracek was incapable of coming up with something worthy of praise, before or after.
Not even one shot on goal by the Czech Republic. There's no way you can expect to advance with that kind of low attack productivity.
Portugal is the deserving first semifinalist.
Highlights:
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
How the Mighty Have Fallen
France looked very good, after beating the hosts, Ukraine, in a very decisive manner on the second matchday. And, knowing that they looked better than the English, on the first matchday, too, most people would have probably bet on Blanc's team to win the group.
But Ibrahimovic and his Swedes begged to differ.
In the other match, England was assured of going through with a draw or better. Ukraine needed a win.
All France had to do to advance was not lose by more than one goal. So, they were assured of progressing even with a loss by just one goal, no matter what happened anywhere else!
Sweden, of course, could not finish higher than fourth!
But Sweden really did show up to play for pride, and I guess that's their best incentive.
The best chance of the first half belonged to the Swedes, and came after roughly ten minutes. Toivonen rounded Lloris, after escaping on goal, and sent the ball towards the empty net from an acute angle, but his shot hit the post.
In the other match, Ukraine was pressing England. In the first 15 minutes, or so, Ukraine had 7 goal-scoring opportunities, England had zero.
There were no goals before half-time, in either of the two matches.
And then, 3 minutes after kick-off in the second half, one large defensive error by the Ukrainians, especially goalkeeper Pyatov, allowed the ball to bounce perfectly towards the far post where an unmarked Rooney had only to nudge the ball into the empty net, in characteristic Manchester-United fashion. (Let's admit it, we see quite a few Man.-U. goals like that.)
England was winning the group. And the Ukraine players were seeing their dream slip away.
Roughly ten minutes into the second half, Sweden scored, too. Ibrahimovic was the goalscorer, naturally. And this one was, and probably will be, the goal of the tournament. The Milan striker put the ball past Lloris with a wonderful volley, side-scissor-kick-like, from the edge of the French penalty area.
It wasn't as spectacular as some of the goals Marco van Basten used to score, but it certainly reminded older viewers of those amazing efforts by the Dutch forward.
France was still guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals at this score, though.
Going back to the match in Donetsk, Ukraine should have had their equalizer right after the hour-mark. Ukraine substitute Devic managed to kick the ball strongly enough to make it still go in even after Joe Hart's intervention, but Terry ran after it and saved right on the line.
Or did he?
Replays would show that the ball was actually inside the goal by a (small but reasonable) distance.
The goal was not awarded to Ukraine, though, for reasons unknown. (Maybe it was to compensate England for the refereeing error that helped eliminate them from World Cup 2010, because otherwise it's ridiculous that the entire stadium sees the goal but the referees and it's the referees' dumb decision that stands.)
What we do know is that these organizations, FIFA and UEFA, continue to defend their inability to guarantee 100%-correct refereeing, and continue to protect these inept referees too much.
I, for one, believe the referees who make a bad decision that influence a match that much should be punished by not being able to be a referee again (and make money from such a job) for a very long period of time, such as five years. And that should be for the first offense, mind you. Doing it a second time should be automatic lifetime ban from ever being an official referee again. That would teach them for playing God (or devil) with decisions that could hurt millions of people when they go wrong.
Anyway, though, despite the late introduction of injured Shevchenko, and despite playing better than England, Ukraine could not even get one point in Donetsk.
What a bad stadium and a bad city for Ukraine! Maybe they should have continued to play in the Ukrainian-speaking part of their country.
England, on the other hand, said "thank you very much" and won the group.
Yes, they won the group, because France lost.
But Sweden ended up winning 2-0, not just 1-0.
They had many chances of making it 2-0, but only in minute 90' + 1' did they finally succeed. Larsson was the one who thundered the ball into the French net after Holmen made the French defensive line dizzy with an effort that rebounded off the bar to Larsson.
Thus, the French were humbled.
In these conditions, it's interesting to note that, even if Ukraine had managed to turn around the result to 2-1, from 0-1, in injury time, considering the French loss by two goals, England would have still stayed in the competition. If the scores were 2-1 for Ukraine and 2-0 for Sweden, France would have gone home.
But, with the English win, despite the hard defeat, France still advances. They will have to play Spain now, though.
And England is going to play Italy, on Sunday, in Kyiv.
If they had finished second, hmm, the English would have stayed in Donetsk, for their quarter-final match, too. (But yeah, their team base-camp is in Krakow, so I guess it wouldn't have really helped them that much. And, speaking of team base-camps, another interesting fact is that the French will now play their quarter-final match in Donetsk, and their base-camp just happens to be in... Donetsk! Yes, where they won against Ukraine, their best match of the tournament. Hmm, again, one might say. Could that be a good sign for them?)
Highlights from England - Ukraine 1-0:
England Ukraine by anastasio7
Highlights from Sweden - France 2-0:
Sweden France by anastasio7
Oh, and, by the way, by "the Mighty" (that "Have Fallen"), I do mean the French, of course.
The English themselves admitted to having low expectations.
But Ibrahimovic and his Swedes begged to differ.
In the other match, England was assured of going through with a draw or better. Ukraine needed a win.
All France had to do to advance was not lose by more than one goal. So, they were assured of progressing even with a loss by just one goal, no matter what happened anywhere else!
Sweden, of course, could not finish higher than fourth!
But Sweden really did show up to play for pride, and I guess that's their best incentive.
The best chance of the first half belonged to the Swedes, and came after roughly ten minutes. Toivonen rounded Lloris, after escaping on goal, and sent the ball towards the empty net from an acute angle, but his shot hit the post.
In the other match, Ukraine was pressing England. In the first 15 minutes, or so, Ukraine had 7 goal-scoring opportunities, England had zero.
There were no goals before half-time, in either of the two matches.
And then, 3 minutes after kick-off in the second half, one large defensive error by the Ukrainians, especially goalkeeper Pyatov, allowed the ball to bounce perfectly towards the far post where an unmarked Rooney had only to nudge the ball into the empty net, in characteristic Manchester-United fashion. (Let's admit it, we see quite a few Man.-U. goals like that.)
England was winning the group. And the Ukraine players were seeing their dream slip away.
Roughly ten minutes into the second half, Sweden scored, too. Ibrahimovic was the goalscorer, naturally. And this one was, and probably will be, the goal of the tournament. The Milan striker put the ball past Lloris with a wonderful volley, side-scissor-kick-like, from the edge of the French penalty area.
It wasn't as spectacular as some of the goals Marco van Basten used to score, but it certainly reminded older viewers of those amazing efforts by the Dutch forward.
France was still guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals at this score, though.
Going back to the match in Donetsk, Ukraine should have had their equalizer right after the hour-mark. Ukraine substitute Devic managed to kick the ball strongly enough to make it still go in even after Joe Hart's intervention, but Terry ran after it and saved right on the line.
Or did he?
Replays would show that the ball was actually inside the goal by a (small but reasonable) distance.
The goal was not awarded to Ukraine, though, for reasons unknown. (Maybe it was to compensate England for the refereeing error that helped eliminate them from World Cup 2010, because otherwise it's ridiculous that the entire stadium sees the goal but the referees and it's the referees' dumb decision that stands.)
What we do know is that these organizations, FIFA and UEFA, continue to defend their inability to guarantee 100%-correct refereeing, and continue to protect these inept referees too much.
I, for one, believe the referees who make a bad decision that influence a match that much should be punished by not being able to be a referee again (and make money from such a job) for a very long period of time, such as five years. And that should be for the first offense, mind you. Doing it a second time should be automatic lifetime ban from ever being an official referee again. That would teach them for playing God (or devil) with decisions that could hurt millions of people when they go wrong.
Anyway, though, despite the late introduction of injured Shevchenko, and despite playing better than England, Ukraine could not even get one point in Donetsk.
What a bad stadium and a bad city for Ukraine! Maybe they should have continued to play in the Ukrainian-speaking part of their country.
England, on the other hand, said "thank you very much" and won the group.
Yes, they won the group, because France lost.
But Sweden ended up winning 2-0, not just 1-0.
They had many chances of making it 2-0, but only in minute 90' + 1' did they finally succeed. Larsson was the one who thundered the ball into the French net after Holmen made the French defensive line dizzy with an effort that rebounded off the bar to Larsson.
Thus, the French were humbled.
In these conditions, it's interesting to note that, even if Ukraine had managed to turn around the result to 2-1, from 0-1, in injury time, considering the French loss by two goals, England would have still stayed in the competition. If the scores were 2-1 for Ukraine and 2-0 for Sweden, France would have gone home.
But, with the English win, despite the hard defeat, France still advances. They will have to play Spain now, though.
And England is going to play Italy, on Sunday, in Kyiv.
If they had finished second, hmm, the English would have stayed in Donetsk, for their quarter-final match, too. (But yeah, their team base-camp is in Krakow, so I guess it wouldn't have really helped them that much. And, speaking of team base-camps, another interesting fact is that the French will now play their quarter-final match in Donetsk, and their base-camp just happens to be in... Donetsk! Yes, where they won against Ukraine, their best match of the tournament. Hmm, again, one might say. Could that be a good sign for them?)
Highlights from England - Ukraine 1-0:
England Ukraine by anastasio7
Highlights from Sweden - France 2-0:
Sweden France by anastasio7
Oh, and, by the way, by "the Mighty" (that "Have Fallen"), I do mean the French, of course.
The English themselves admitted to having low expectations.
2012.06.19 - The Results
EURO 2012: Group D
20:45 -- England - Ukraine 1-0 highlights
48' Wayne Rooney
20:45 -- Sweden - France 2-0 highlights
54' Zlatan Ibrahimovic
90' + 1' Sebastian Larsson
Final standings:
1 England 3 2 1 0 5-3 +2 7p
2 France 3 1 1 1 3-3 0 4p
3 Ukraine 3 1 0 2 2-4 -2 3p {2-1 versus Sweden}
4 Sweden 3 1 0 2 5-5 0 3p {1-2 versus Ukraine}
20:45 -- England - Ukraine 1-0 highlights
48' Wayne Rooney
20:45 -- Sweden - France 2-0 highlights
54' Zlatan Ibrahimovic
90' + 1' Sebastian Larsson
Final standings:
1 England 3 2 1 0 5-3 +2 7p
2 France 3 1 1 1 3-3 0 4p
3 Ukraine 3 1 0 2 2-4 -2 3p {2-1 versus Sweden}
4 Sweden 3 1 0 2 5-5 0 3p {1-2 versus Ukraine}
Monday, 18 June 2012
Honour, Luck and Costly Misses
2-2. That was the score that would have qualified both Croatia and Spain, had they reached it in their direct match, and that would have taken Italy out of contention.
... Again, that is.
In 2004, Italy had drawn against Denmark, 0-0, and Sweden, 1-1, and the two nordic countries made it such that their direct match ended 2-2. ("2-2 = nordic victory" was a famous slogan used by Scandinavian fans, at that time, in Portugal.)
And I'm sure so many Italians feared an arrangement like that one very, very much.
But history did not repeat itself.
Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque clearly said that Spain will play to win. And they did just that.
As a matter of fact, Spain could lose, too, because they made some errors in defense in the second half, but they were somewhat lucky, first, because the Croatians were not able to score from some great opportunities, and secondly because they scored after an attack which was very close to being offside (on two counts).
At 0-0 in Gdansk, if Italy was to win against Ireland, which was the most probable outcome in Poznan, the Italians would have won the group (even with the weakest victory, 1-0).
Yes, the direct-encounter tie-breaking criteria can be quite unfair sometimes on teams that play the better football overall.
But Italy needed to win, to have any chances of advancing. A draw would not do. And, unlike in their first two matches, Ireland did not concede any goals in the first 3-4 minutes. Italy had to work for it hard. Trapattoni was not handing the Italian team any gifts.
Italy was not playing great, but the goal did come. Somewhat like Shevchenko's second goal against Sweden, and Pepe's goal against Denmark, Cassano's effort sneaked past the goalkeeper, too.
Duff tried to clear it, but the ball had already crossed the goal line, and the referees got a good view of it.
Italy was up 1-0.
It was what the Croatians feared. At this point, they were still tied on points with the Spanish, but had a worse goal difference. So, Croatia would have been out, while Italy would have won the group.
Assuming Italy would not lose points against Ireland, especially as they were already leading, Croatia desperately needed a goal to advance.
Bilic's team really did play for that, against the world and European champion, much to their credit.
15 minutes before the end, Rakitic could, and maybe should, have scored after being left alone with Casillas, in a position to head the ball on goal.
But the Spanish goalkeeper made himself big that time, and the Croatians were to regret that big opportunity.
Meanwhile, Italy was living dangerously, too, as the Irish players were beginning to try powerful strikes from distance. Buffon had to save a dangerous-looking strike from Andrews.
The game in Gdansk was nearing completion, and it was still 0-0. Croatia was looking more dangerous.
But then the Croatian back line decided (or perhaps was instructed, and stupidly so) to play the offside trap against the Spanish midfield. It was the 88th minute.
Fabregas chipped the ball over the Croatians, to find Iniesta on-side, alone with Pletikosa. And having Jesus Navas right to his right, too. A perfect pass sideways, and the Croatian goalkeeper had absolutely no chance. Navas walked the ball into the net, practically.
This did not change much for Croatia, because they still needed to score, anyway. (Italy was still leading.)
But it did not help their morale. Why would you play the offside trap against Spain???
In the other match, as if knowing that Italy was still not yet assured of a spot in the quarter-finals (- and, as a matter of fact, the Spanish goal meant Italy was only one Croatian or Irish goal away from elimination, whereas at 0-0 in Gdansk the situation was looking better for the Italians -) Balotelli scored a spectacular goal with his back towards the goalkeeper, which helped ensure the Italian victory.
Italy, though, could have been eliminated if Croatia had tied the match against Spain. (They would have gone out because of scoring fewer goals than Croatia in their three matches.)
Luckily for Italy, Spain hung on, and Croatia had to admit defeat.
Well, Bilic was furious, but what could he do?
At 2-0, in injury time, Italy was going for the third goal. (That would have ensured their progress, even with a 1-1 draw in the Croatia-Spain match.) They did not want to leave anything to chance.
The Italians could not score that third goal, but they did not need to. One minute after their match was over, so was the game between Spain and Croatia.
It was very bad luck for Croatia, a team that posed a lot of problems to both Spain and Italy, and would not have advanced undeservingly if they had taken their chances better.
Ireland had the best fans, and Croatia perhaps the best coach, considering what he had to work with and the results he achieved, and they deserve to be praised for this. But, in the end, most people will feel that the best teams advanced from this group.
Highlights from Croatia - Spain 0-1:
See highlights from Italy - Ireland 2-0 here.
... Again, that is.
In 2004, Italy had drawn against Denmark, 0-0, and Sweden, 1-1, and the two nordic countries made it such that their direct match ended 2-2. ("2-2 = nordic victory" was a famous slogan used by Scandinavian fans, at that time, in Portugal.)
And I'm sure so many Italians feared an arrangement like that one very, very much.
But history did not repeat itself.
Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque clearly said that Spain will play to win. And they did just that.
As a matter of fact, Spain could lose, too, because they made some errors in defense in the second half, but they were somewhat lucky, first, because the Croatians were not able to score from some great opportunities, and secondly because they scored after an attack which was very close to being offside (on two counts).
At 0-0 in Gdansk, if Italy was to win against Ireland, which was the most probable outcome in Poznan, the Italians would have won the group (even with the weakest victory, 1-0).
Yes, the direct-encounter tie-breaking criteria can be quite unfair sometimes on teams that play the better football overall.
But Italy needed to win, to have any chances of advancing. A draw would not do. And, unlike in their first two matches, Ireland did not concede any goals in the first 3-4 minutes. Italy had to work for it hard. Trapattoni was not handing the Italian team any gifts.
Italy was not playing great, but the goal did come. Somewhat like Shevchenko's second goal against Sweden, and Pepe's goal against Denmark, Cassano's effort sneaked past the goalkeeper, too.
Duff tried to clear it, but the ball had already crossed the goal line, and the referees got a good view of it.
Italy was up 1-0.
It was what the Croatians feared. At this point, they were still tied on points with the Spanish, but had a worse goal difference. So, Croatia would have been out, while Italy would have won the group.
Assuming Italy would not lose points against Ireland, especially as they were already leading, Croatia desperately needed a goal to advance.
Bilic's team really did play for that, against the world and European champion, much to their credit.
15 minutes before the end, Rakitic could, and maybe should, have scored after being left alone with Casillas, in a position to head the ball on goal.
But the Spanish goalkeeper made himself big that time, and the Croatians were to regret that big opportunity.
Meanwhile, Italy was living dangerously, too, as the Irish players were beginning to try powerful strikes from distance. Buffon had to save a dangerous-looking strike from Andrews.
The game in Gdansk was nearing completion, and it was still 0-0. Croatia was looking more dangerous.
But then the Croatian back line decided (or perhaps was instructed, and stupidly so) to play the offside trap against the Spanish midfield. It was the 88th minute.
Fabregas chipped the ball over the Croatians, to find Iniesta on-side, alone with Pletikosa. And having Jesus Navas right to his right, too. A perfect pass sideways, and the Croatian goalkeeper had absolutely no chance. Navas walked the ball into the net, practically.
This did not change much for Croatia, because they still needed to score, anyway. (Italy was still leading.)
But it did not help their morale. Why would you play the offside trap against Spain???
In the other match, as if knowing that Italy was still not yet assured of a spot in the quarter-finals (- and, as a matter of fact, the Spanish goal meant Italy was only one Croatian or Irish goal away from elimination, whereas at 0-0 in Gdansk the situation was looking better for the Italians -) Balotelli scored a spectacular goal with his back towards the goalkeeper, which helped ensure the Italian victory.
Italy, though, could have been eliminated if Croatia had tied the match against Spain. (They would have gone out because of scoring fewer goals than Croatia in their three matches.)
Luckily for Italy, Spain hung on, and Croatia had to admit defeat.
Well, Bilic was furious, but what could he do?
At 2-0, in injury time, Italy was going for the third goal. (That would have ensured their progress, even with a 1-1 draw in the Croatia-Spain match.) They did not want to leave anything to chance.
The Italians could not score that third goal, but they did not need to. One minute after their match was over, so was the game between Spain and Croatia.
It was very bad luck for Croatia, a team that posed a lot of problems to both Spain and Italy, and would not have advanced undeservingly if they had taken their chances better.
Ireland had the best fans, and Croatia perhaps the best coach, considering what he had to work with and the results he achieved, and they deserve to be praised for this. But, in the end, most people will feel that the best teams advanced from this group.
Highlights from Croatia - Spain 0-1:
See highlights from Italy - Ireland 2-0 here.
2012.06.18 - The Results
EURO 2012: Group C
20:45 -- Croatia - Spain 0-1 highlights
88' Jesus Navas
20:45 -- Italy - Ireland 2-0 highlights
35' Antonio Cassano
90' Mario Balotelli
Final standings:
1 Spain 3 2 1 0 6-1 +5 7p
2 Italy 3 1 2 0 3-2 +1 5p
3 Croatia 3 1 1 1 4-3 +1 4p
4 Ireland 3 0 0 3 1-8 -7 0p
20:45 -- Croatia - Spain 0-1 highlights
88' Jesus Navas
20:45 -- Italy - Ireland 2-0 highlights
35' Antonio Cassano
90' Mario Balotelli
Final standings:
1 Spain 3 2 1 0 6-1 +5 7p
2 Italy 3 1 2 0 3-2 +1 5p
3 Croatia 3 1 1 1 4-3 +1 4p
4 Ireland 3 0 0 3 1-8 -7 0p
Group D - Possible Scenarios
Here's what could happen on the final matchday of Group D:
1) England wins & Sweden wins:
England 7p, France 4p, Ukraine 3p, Sweden 3p
(Ukraine would finish third because of the win against Sweden.)
2) England wins & draw in the other match:
England 7p, France 5p, Ukraine 3p, Sweden 1p
3) England wins & France wins
3-1. France wins by a larger margin than England or wins by the same margin as England or wins by a margin of one goal less than England's margin but scores at least two more goals than England in doing so:
France 7p, England 7p, Ukraine 3p, Sweden 0p
(France would win the group thanks to better goal difference and/or more goals scored.)
3-2. England wins by a margin larger by two goals or more than France's margin or wins by a margin larger by one goal than France's margin but France does not score more than the number of goals England scores plus one:
England 7p, France 7p, Ukraine 3p, Sweden 0p
(England would win the group thanks to better goal difference and/or more goals scored and/or higher UEFA national team coefficient.)
4) draw in the first match & Sweden wins:
England 5p, France 4p, Ukraine 4p, Sweden 3p
(France would advance because of the win against Ukraine.)
5) draws in both matches:
France 5p, England 5p, Ukraine 4p, Sweden 1p
(France would win the group thanks to better goal difference.)
6) draw in the first match & France wins:
France 7p, England 5p, Ukraine 4p, Sweden 0p
7) Ukraine wins & Sweden wins
7-1. France loses by a smaller margin than England or loses by the same margin as England or loses by a margin larger by one goal than England's margin but scores at least two more goals than England in doing so:
Ukraine 6p, France 4p, England 4p, Sweden 3p
(France would advance because of better goal difference and/or more goals scored.)
7-2. England loses by a margin smaller by two goals or more than France's margin or loses by a margin smaller by one goal than France's margin but France does not score more than the number of goals England scores plus one:
Ukraine 6p, England 4p, France 4p, Sweden 3p
(England would advance because of better goal difference and/or more goals scored and/or higher UEFA national team coefficient.)
8) Ukraine wins & draw in the other match:
Ukraine 6p, France 5p, England 4p, Sweden 1p
9) Ukraine wins & France wins:
France 7p, Ukraine 6p, England 4p, Sweden 0p
1) England wins & Sweden wins:
England 7p, France 4p, Ukraine 3p, Sweden 3p
(Ukraine would finish third because of the win against Sweden.)
2) England wins & draw in the other match:
England 7p, France 5p, Ukraine 3p, Sweden 1p
3) England wins & France wins
3-1. France wins by a larger margin than England or wins by the same margin as England or wins by a margin of one goal less than England's margin but scores at least two more goals than England in doing so:
France 7p, England 7p, Ukraine 3p, Sweden 0p
(France would win the group thanks to better goal difference and/or more goals scored.)
3-2. England wins by a margin larger by two goals or more than France's margin or wins by a margin larger by one goal than France's margin but France does not score more than the number of goals England scores plus one:
England 7p, France 7p, Ukraine 3p, Sweden 0p
(England would win the group thanks to better goal difference and/or more goals scored and/or higher UEFA national team coefficient.)
4) draw in the first match & Sweden wins:
England 5p, France 4p, Ukraine 4p, Sweden 3p
(France would advance because of the win against Ukraine.)
5) draws in both matches:
France 5p, England 5p, Ukraine 4p, Sweden 1p
(France would win the group thanks to better goal difference.)
6) draw in the first match & France wins:
France 7p, England 5p, Ukraine 4p, Sweden 0p
7) Ukraine wins & Sweden wins
7-1. France loses by a smaller margin than England or loses by the same margin as England or loses by a margin larger by one goal than England's margin but scores at least two more goals than England in doing so:
Ukraine 6p, France 4p, England 4p, Sweden 3p
(France would advance because of better goal difference and/or more goals scored.)
7-2. England loses by a margin smaller by two goals or more than France's margin or loses by a margin smaller by one goal than France's margin but France does not score more than the number of goals England scores plus one:
Ukraine 6p, England 4p, France 4p, Sweden 3p
(England would advance because of better goal difference and/or more goals scored and/or higher UEFA national team coefficient.)
8) Ukraine wins & draw in the other match:
Ukraine 6p, France 5p, England 4p, Sweden 1p
9) Ukraine wins & France wins:
France 7p, Ukraine 6p, England 4p, Sweden 0p
Sunday, 17 June 2012
2012.06.17 - The Results
EURO 2012: Group B
20:45 -- Denmark - Germany 1-2 highlights
[0-1] 19' Lukas Podolski
[1-1] 24' Michael Krohn-Dehli
[1-2] 80' Lars Bender
20:45 -- Portugal - Netherlands 2-1 highlights
[0-1] 11' Rafael van der Vaart
[1-1] 28' Cristiano Ronaldo
[2-1] 74' Cristiano Ronaldo
Final standings:
1 Germany 3 3 0 0 5-2 +3 9p
2 Portugal 3 2 0 1 5-4 +1 6p
3 Denmark 3 1 0 2 4-5 -1 3p
4 Netherlands 3 0 0 3 2-5 -3 0p
USA: Major League Soccer
23:00 -- Chicago Fire - New York Red Bulls 3-1
[1-0] 4' Patrick Nyarko
[1-1] 55' Dax McCarty
[2-1] 68' Gonzalo Segares
[3-1] 81' Chris Rolfe
01:00 -- Los Angeles Galaxy - Portland Timbers 1-0 (0-0)
Current standings:
Eastern Conference:
1 DC United 16 9 3 4 29-19 +10 30p
2 Sporting KC 13 9 1 3 19-10 +9 28p
3 New York 14 8 2 4 27-21 +6 26p
4 Chicago Fire 14 6 3 5 18-18 0 21p
5 Columbus 13 5 4 4 13-13 0 19p
6 Houston 13 5 4 4 15-16 -1 19p
Western Conference:
1 Real Salt Lake 15 10 2 3 25-14 +11 32p
2 San Jose 14 8 3 3 27-17 +10 27p
3 Vancouver 14 7 4 3 17-15 +2 25p
4 Seattle 14 7 3 4 17-13 +4 24p
5 Colorado 14 6 1 7 20-19 +1 19p
6 Chivas USA 14 4 3 7 9-17 -8 15p
20:45 -- Denmark - Germany 1-2 highlights
[0-1] 19' Lukas Podolski
[1-1] 24' Michael Krohn-Dehli
[1-2] 80' Lars Bender
20:45 -- Portugal - Netherlands 2-1 highlights
[0-1] 11' Rafael van der Vaart
[1-1] 28' Cristiano Ronaldo
[2-1] 74' Cristiano Ronaldo
Final standings:
1 Germany 3 3 0 0 5-2 +3 9p
2 Portugal 3 2 0 1 5-4 +1 6p
3 Denmark 3 1 0 2 4-5 -1 3p
4 Netherlands 3 0 0 3 2-5 -3 0p
USA: Major League Soccer
23:00 -- Chicago Fire - New York Red Bulls 3-1
[1-0] 4' Patrick Nyarko
[1-1] 55' Dax McCarty
[2-1] 68' Gonzalo Segares
[3-1] 81' Chris Rolfe
01:00 -- Los Angeles Galaxy - Portland Timbers 1-0 (0-0)
Current standings:
Eastern Conference:
1 DC United 16 9 3 4 29-19 +10 30p
2 Sporting KC 13 9 1 3 19-10 +9 28p
3 New York 14 8 2 4 27-21 +6 26p
4 Chicago Fire 14 6 3 5 18-18 0 21p
5 Columbus 13 5 4 4 13-13 0 19p
6 Houston 13 5 4 4 15-16 -1 19p
Western Conference:
1 Real Salt Lake 15 10 2 3 25-14 +11 32p
2 San Jose 14 8 3 3 27-17 +10 27p
3 Vancouver 14 7 4 3 17-15 +2 25p
4 Seattle 14 7 3 4 17-13 +4 24p
5 Colorado 14 6 1 7 20-19 +1 19p
6 Chivas USA 14 4 3 7 9-17 -8 15p
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