The Spanish team. Tiki-taka, their so-called style of playing. Their mastery in each of the last three major competitions in which they took part.
All gone after this match.
Spain was humiliated today by a team which they - some might say, luckily, - deprived of a World Cup title, just the last World Cup, in South Africa.
(Iniesta goal, minute 116, but, prior to that, two huge misses by Robben will be remembered from that World Cup final.)
For the first 40 minutes, everything seemed okay in the Spanish camp, however. Spain was even leading.
Penalty goal, by Xabi Alonso, in the 27th minute.
Then...
One word.
Casillas.
The first Dutch goal, too. Some people would say that was a wonderful strike by van Persie. But Casillas was certainly caught out in the middle of nowhere, too.
And, from there, the downfall...
Iker Casillas had not been the goalkeeper of choice at Real Madrid for the past almost two seasons, during the leadership of two very reputable managers, Mourinho and Ancelotti.
So, then, why did Vicente del Bosque use him? With Victor Valdes injured, why not Diego Lopez, the main Real Madrid goalkeeper?
Why Casillas, who was clearly (at least kind of) rusty?
And who was coming off a bad performance in the Champions League final, on May 24, which Real lost because he dropped the ball in a critical situation.
And Casillas, sure enough, made several fumbles in this match just as bad as that one.
The one fumble in which he lost the ball to Robin van Persie for the fourth Dutch goal was probably much worse than any mistakes he had previously done, even.
The Spanish defense was not too good, either. Casillas does not deserve all of the blame.
Nevertheless, four years ago, Spain bounced back from an opening-day defeat to Switzerland to win the whole thing. Now they were really slaughtered on opening day. But the scoreline is a little too harsh, though. And a defeat by just one goal is not much better than a defeat by four goals. We should expect Spain to bounce back again, and defeat Chile next matchday.
Highlights:
Netherlands 5:1 Spain FIFA WC 2014 Highlights
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Friday, 13 June 2014
Sunday, 1 July 2012
WTF Was That?!?
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:
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:
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
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)
Saturday, 23 June 2012
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:
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.
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Group C - Possible Scenarios
Here's what could happen on the final matchday of Group C:
1) Croatia wins & Italy wins:
Croatia 7p, Italy 5p, Spain 4p, Ireland 0p
2) Croatia wins & draw in the other match:
Croatia 7p, Spain 4p, Italy 3p, Ireland 1p
3) Croatia wins & Ireland wins:
Croatia 7p, Spain 4p, Ireland 3p, Italy 2p
4) draw in the first match & Italy wins
4-1. Croatia-Spain finishes 0-0:
Italy 5p, Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Ireland 0p
(Italy would win the group because of having the most goals scored in the head-to-head records against Spain and Croatia, while Spain would advance because of having a better goal difference than Croatia.)
4-2. Croatia-Spain finishes 1-1 and Italy wins by one goal or 2-0:
Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Italy 5p, Ireland 0p
(Spain would win the group because of having the best goal difference, while Croatia would advance because of having a better goal difference and/or more goals scored than Italy.)
4-3. Croatia-Spain finishes 1-1 and Italy wins by two goals but not 2-0 or by three goals or 4-0:
Spain 5p, Italy 5p, Croatia 5p, Ireland 0p
(Spain would win the group because of having the best goal difference or a higher UEFA national team coefficient than Italy, while Italy would advance because of having a better goal difference than Croatia and/or more goals scored than Croatia and/or having a higher UEFA national team coefficient than Croatia.)
4-4. Croatia-Spain finishes 1-1 and Italy wins by four goals but not 4-0 or by more goals:
Italy 5p, Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Ireland 0p
(Italy would win the group because of having the best goal difference or more goals scored than Spain, while Spain would advance because of having a better goal difference than Croatia.)
4-5. Croatia-Spain finishes in a higher-scoring draw:
Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Italy 5p, Ireland 0p
(Spain would win the group because of having a better goal difference than Croatia, while Croatia would advance because of having, just like Spain, more goals scored than Italy in the head-to-head records between the three teams.)
5) draws in both matches:
Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Italy 3p, Ireland 1p
(Spain would win the group because of having a better goal difference than Croatia.)
6) draw in the first match & Ireland wins:
Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Ireland 3p, Italy 2p
(Spain would win the group because of having a better goal difference than Croatia.)
7) Spain wins & Italy wins:
Spain 7p, Italy 5p, Croatia 4p, Ireland 0p
8) Spain wins & draw in the other match:
Spain 7p, Croatia 4p, Italy 3p, Ireland 1p
9) Spain wins & Ireland wins:
Spain 7p, Croatia 4p, Ireland 3p, Italy 2p
1) Croatia wins & Italy wins:
Croatia 7p, Italy 5p, Spain 4p, Ireland 0p
2) Croatia wins & draw in the other match:
Croatia 7p, Spain 4p, Italy 3p, Ireland 1p
3) Croatia wins & Ireland wins:
Croatia 7p, Spain 4p, Ireland 3p, Italy 2p
4) draw in the first match & Italy wins
4-1. Croatia-Spain finishes 0-0:
Italy 5p, Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Ireland 0p
(Italy would win the group because of having the most goals scored in the head-to-head records against Spain and Croatia, while Spain would advance because of having a better goal difference than Croatia.)
4-2. Croatia-Spain finishes 1-1 and Italy wins by one goal or 2-0:
Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Italy 5p, Ireland 0p
(Spain would win the group because of having the best goal difference, while Croatia would advance because of having a better goal difference and/or more goals scored than Italy.)
4-3. Croatia-Spain finishes 1-1 and Italy wins by two goals but not 2-0 or by three goals or 4-0:
Spain 5p, Italy 5p, Croatia 5p, Ireland 0p
(Spain would win the group because of having the best goal difference or a higher UEFA national team coefficient than Italy, while Italy would advance because of having a better goal difference than Croatia and/or more goals scored than Croatia and/or having a higher UEFA national team coefficient than Croatia.)
4-4. Croatia-Spain finishes 1-1 and Italy wins by four goals but not 4-0 or by more goals:
Italy 5p, Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Ireland 0p
(Italy would win the group because of having the best goal difference or more goals scored than Spain, while Spain would advance because of having a better goal difference than Croatia.)
4-5. Croatia-Spain finishes in a higher-scoring draw:
Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Italy 5p, Ireland 0p
(Spain would win the group because of having a better goal difference than Croatia, while Croatia would advance because of having, just like Spain, more goals scored than Italy in the head-to-head records between the three teams.)
5) draws in both matches:
Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Italy 3p, Ireland 1p
(Spain would win the group because of having a better goal difference than Croatia.)
6) draw in the first match & Ireland wins:
Spain 5p, Croatia 5p, Ireland 3p, Italy 2p
(Spain would win the group because of having a better goal difference than Croatia.)
7) Spain wins & Italy wins:
Spain 7p, Italy 5p, Croatia 4p, Ireland 0p
8) Spain wins & draw in the other match:
Spain 7p, Croatia 4p, Italy 3p, Ireland 1p
9) Spain wins & Ireland wins:
Spain 7p, Croatia 4p, Ireland 3p, Italy 2p
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Bye-Bye, Ireland!
Just like in the first match, Ireland conceded goals within the first five minutes, in both halves.
Only this time, they could not score even once.
Spain won 4-0, with Torres netting two (in minutes 4 and 70), and Silva (49) and Fabregas (83) scoring the other two.
You cannot have any hopes of advancing when you cannot allow any fewer than three goals in either of your matches played.
Too bad for the Irish fans.
The Irish players tried, but they just are not good enough to do well at a European Championship.
Could Estonia have done any better?
Fifteen teams left now.
See highlights here.
Only this time, they could not score even once.
Spain won 4-0, with Torres netting two (in minutes 4 and 70), and Silva (49) and Fabregas (83) scoring the other two.
You cannot have any hopes of advancing when you cannot allow any fewer than three goals in either of your matches played.
Too bad for the Irish fans.
The Irish players tried, but they just are not good enough to do well at a European Championship.
Could Estonia have done any better?
Fifteen teams left now.
See highlights here.
Sunday, 10 June 2012
4-6-0???
Spain had basically no strikers when they started the game against Italy.
Coach Vicente Del Bosque opted for an extremely crowded offensive midfield, with Xavi and Alonso supporting the more offensive Iniesta, Silva and Fabregas, to try and keep Italy always defending.
It didn't pay off as well as expected.
Italy had a very industrious game plan, and never were the Italians totally outplayed by the best-ranked team in the country-level rankings.
The most interesting moments came in the first twenty minutes of the second half.
Roughly 10 minutes after the break, Balotelli, the Manchester City striker, found himself in a very good position, almost alone on goal, but his pathetically slow run forward allowed Sergio Ramos to block his shot at the last moment.
Italian coach Cesare Prandelli replaced Balotelli, very soon after that, with Antonio Di Natale.
And, wouldn't you know it, two minutes after coming on, in the 60th minute, to be more exact, Di Natale scored. A perfect pass from Pirlo allowed Di Natale to get the better of Pique, and the Udinese striker beat Casillas with a nice shot around the keeper.
But Spain is the number one footballing country in the world for a reason.
Four minutes after the Italian goal, Fabregas made a very good run in behind the Italian defense, Chiellini could not track his move well enough, and the confusion resulted in a goal that was quite similar to the Italian one, in my opinion.
Very soon after this, Del Bosque decided to take off Fabregas and actually bring in a legitimate striker. But that striker was Fernando Torres, and, as most of us know, Torres hasn't really played at the highest level since 2008.
He had a few good chances after coming on, but his finishing touches left a lot to be desired.
Final score: 1-1. And an honourable mention should go to Italian goalkeeper Buffon, who had some very inspired interventions, especially towards the end of the match.
Highlights:
Spain v Italy by shmooot
Coach Vicente Del Bosque opted for an extremely crowded offensive midfield, with Xavi and Alonso supporting the more offensive Iniesta, Silva and Fabregas, to try and keep Italy always defending.
It didn't pay off as well as expected.
Italy had a very industrious game plan, and never were the Italians totally outplayed by the best-ranked team in the country-level rankings.
The most interesting moments came in the first twenty minutes of the second half.
Roughly 10 minutes after the break, Balotelli, the Manchester City striker, found himself in a very good position, almost alone on goal, but his pathetically slow run forward allowed Sergio Ramos to block his shot at the last moment.
Italian coach Cesare Prandelli replaced Balotelli, very soon after that, with Antonio Di Natale.
And, wouldn't you know it, two minutes after coming on, in the 60th minute, to be more exact, Di Natale scored. A perfect pass from Pirlo allowed Di Natale to get the better of Pique, and the Udinese striker beat Casillas with a nice shot around the keeper.
But Spain is the number one footballing country in the world for a reason.
Four minutes after the Italian goal, Fabregas made a very good run in behind the Italian defense, Chiellini could not track his move well enough, and the confusion resulted in a goal that was quite similar to the Italian one, in my opinion.
Very soon after this, Del Bosque decided to take off Fabregas and actually bring in a legitimate striker. But that striker was Fernando Torres, and, as most of us know, Torres hasn't really played at the highest level since 2008.
He had a few good chances after coming on, but his finishing touches left a lot to be desired.
Final score: 1-1. And an honourable mention should go to Italian goalkeeper Buffon, who had some very inspired interventions, especially towards the end of the match.
Highlights:
Spain v Italy by shmooot
Monday, 4 June 2012
Spain - UEFA Club Competitions Participants - 2012-2013
Real Madrid --> Champions League Group Stage
FC Barcelona --> Champions League Group Stage
Valencia CF --> Champions League Group Stage
Malaga CF --> Champions League Play-off Round
Atletico Madrid --> Europa League Group Stage
Levante UD Valencia --> Europa League Play-off Round
Athletic Bilbao --> Europa League Third Qualifying Round
FC Barcelona --> Champions League Group Stage
Valencia CF --> Champions League Group Stage
Malaga CF --> Champions League Play-off Round
Atletico Madrid --> Europa League Group Stage
Levante UD Valencia --> Europa League Play-off Round
Athletic Bilbao --> Europa League Third Qualifying Round
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