Euro 2012: Match Thread (Group Stage, Quarters, Semis, Final)

[Sohel]

Spain will exasperate their Iberian cousins into submission. CR will huff and puff into defeat as his team watches the Spanish midfield play keep away.

The clash between the former Axis powers on the other hand is a toss up. But I have a feeling that Mario's disinterest in finishing easy chances would cost the Italians.

Spain would do what it does best in the final and win the Cup no matter which one of Franco's former allies they face there.

[F6_Turbo]

Not sure why people think England are over-rated? Overrated by who? Everyone I know was pleased England made it into the knockout stages...and to beat Italy last night would have been cruel.

England finished in the top 8, and that's about right...they are one of the top 8-10 teams in Europe, they usually get knocked out in the 2nd round in the WC, again...about right, one of the top 16 teams in the world.

Last night Italy were far the better team, England as they did the entire tournament, played without a midfield, and so looked like the crap team they are.

England have gone out of in 6 out of the last 10 tournaments via penalties...once it finished 0 - 0 , there was only going to be one winner.

[Jadukor]

It's not really the loss to Italy.. but the manner in which they ran away from Italy the whole match that seemed really ugly to me. I mean Italy in their current state is not that much of an intimidating team is it? If England had won the tie breaker here.. what would they have done against Germany... penalty box er thekei toh oder ber kora jaitona...

[F6_Turbo]

Originally Posted by Jadukor
It's not really the loss to Italy.. but the manner in which they ran away from Italy the whole match that seemed really ugly to me. I mean Italy in their current state is not that much of an intimidating team is it? If England had won the tie breaker here.. what would they have done against Germany... penalty box er thekei toh oder ber kora jaitona...

England have 2-3 players with any real quality. That's it, the rest treat the ball like a grenade - 'get it away from me ASAP'

Also, something that most overlook, John Terry is a huge negative for England(most would disagree after his performances this tournament, right?) WRONG. His lack of speed means, England have to play deep at the back, and that forces the midfield to compress and come back...thus opening up a huge gap with the forwards.

That is a negative two ways - 1st, when in attack, it makes England completely disjointed, second, when the opposition has the ball, it gives them acres of space to exploit(see how much time Pirol had last night - it was like he was strolling around the park).

All the good teams play with a high back line, Spain/Germany etc...Chelsea tried to play a high line with Terry this season(Villas Boas) but the results were disastrous, the manager fired as a reuslt, and Chelsea looked terrible defensively, they then went back to playing the old way towards the latter third of the season, and well the results speak for themselves.

You will see a much better England at the next world cup.

Welbeck - will learn from this experience, and he is a technically proficient player
Wilshere - injured, so missed the entire season, but he bossed the Barca midfielder as a mere teenager. Plays like a player from the continent
Cleverley - bit injury prone, but another player, who is wonderful at one touch football
Oxlade - Chamberlain - only 18, but again, good technical skills
Smalling - next great england defender

[al-Sagar]

Actually the Kick that Porlo took is knows as the Panenka Kick named after Antonin panenka of Czeckoslovakia (former).

here is article on top 10 Panenka takers

Goal.com Special: Top 10 Panenka Penalties

[patriot]

England's 4-4-2 massively backfires on the big stage yet again. It was beautiful seeing Pirlo dump on Gerrard from a great height (obviously the tactics dictated this somewhat but never mind that).

At least I don't have to read another article about Gerrard being the best thing since sliced bread. Data below shows how much of an influence Stevie Me Had . The less said about Ashley young and Wayne Rooney , the better .



Zonal Marking says this about Rooney.

"Rooney was much sloppier, and after half an hour when Pirlo’s dominance had become clear, Joe Hart was clearly heard shouting at Rooney to pick him up. Hodgson clearly wanted Rooney to do this, because for much of the game Rooney could be seen half-heartedly jogging towards Pirlo. It was reminiscent of the 2011 Champions League final, where he started off marking Sergio Busquets, before gradually leaving Manchester United outnumbered in midfield"

Impressed by Glen Johnson . He had his best game this Euro's last night.

[al-Sagar]

U CAN FIND THE VIDEOS IN THE LINK GIVEN IN POST 355

10. Mickael Landreau

What about a goalkeeper attempting a Panenka? That’s exactly what happened in the French League Cup final in 2004. Nantes captain and legend Mickael Landreau could have won it for his team if he scored. Amazingly, he went for a chip but Sochaux keeper Teddy Richert was up to it. Sochaux went on to lift the trophy.

9. Thierry Henry

Everything went smoothly for Arsenal in their record-breaking 2003/04 season, so their French superstar was confident enough to try a Panenka in a very tight and dramatic game against Newcastle at Highbury. With the score at 2-2 with 10 minutes to go, he fooled Shay Given and gave the Gunners the win. Well, those were times when Thierry could decide games without using his hands.

8. Djalminha

How about "Panenkaing" Iker Casillas? Moody Brazilian genius Djalminha wasn’t afraid to try crazy tricks when starring for Deportivo La Coruna, and he made fun of a young Casillas in a big top-of-the-table clash in February 2002. Los Blancos led 2-0 at that point, but Djalminha’s brilliance paved the way for a comeback, and it finished 2-2.

7. Giuseppe Mascara

The Sicilian fantasista scored some absolutely stunning goals in his career, so it was no surprise when he attempted an audacious lob against Julio Cesar, with the scores at 1-1. He scored, and Catania won 3-1 in one of the biggest sensations of last season. Maybe Mascara was the missing link in Marcello Lippi’s sorry Azzurri in South Africa? It’s a shame he was discarded after just one friendly in 2009.

6. Helder Postiga

Apparently you can beat England on penalties with your eyes closed, but why not do it in style? Helder Postinga might have been a big flop at Tottenham in 2003/2004, but it only made things worse for David James. The Portuguese striker scored a dramatic equaliser in in Euro 2004 quarter-finals, and went for a Panenka with his do-or-die kick in a shoot-out. Next up was Darius Vassell who duly missed against Ricardo.

5. Francesco Totti

Four years earlier, it was the great Roman who used a Panenka to beat Edwin van der Sar in the shoot-out, following 0-0 draw in Euro 2000 semi-finals. It was hardly a good day for the Dutch to take penalties, with Frank de Boer and Patrick Kluivert missing them in the regular time, with the very same de Boer, Jaap Stam and Paul Bosvelt doing the same after 120 minutes. Totti might have thought it’s a good idea to rub some salt into their wounds, but later in his career he also missed some Panenkas, most notably in a league game against Lecce.

4. Artem Milevsky

The Ukrainian scored a great Panenka in the 2006 World Cup second round game versus Switzerland, and his effort can be considered even more courageous because the goalkeeper, Pascal Zuberbuhler, didn’t concede a goal during the entire tournament. The only problem was the game was so dreadfully dull, that few viewers managed to stay awake to witness Milevsky’s effort.

3. Sebastian Abreu

The call him El Loco, he changed 20 clubs in his career, but 33-year-old Uruguayan striker is a born winner. His amazingly cool Panenka against Richard Kingson broke Ghana’s hearts, and his coach Oscar Tavarez claimed: “It wasn’t crazy. I call that class.” We definitely agree, and it’s not the first time he’s done it for his country. Abreu scored a brilliant Panenka against Brazil in the 2007 Copa America semi-finals, with Julio Cesar the victim, but that time Uruguay eventually lost.

2. Zinedine Zidane

There is no better occasion to try a Panenka than a World Cup final, and Zizou did just that against Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon in Berlin in 2006. His shot was a bit too high, however, and he almost missed, with the ball hitting the underside of the bar and landing just over the line. Contrary to Frank Lampard’s recent heroics, the referee was spot on to award the goal. France regret to this day that Zidane wasn’t on the field to take part in the penalty shoot-out.

1. Antonin Panenka

Well, the best Panenka will always belong to Panenka himself. In Euro-76 final against West Germany he was brave enough to do the trick on Sepp Maier. It was the first penalty shoot-out the Germans took part in, and it remains the only one they have ever lost. One wonders if Panenka would attempt his amazing effort these days, knowing that certain statistical record.

[Maysun]

Originally Posted by Sohel NR
Spain will exasperate their Iberian cousins into submission. CR will huff and puff into defeat as his team watches the Spanish midfield play keep away.

The clash between the former Axis powers on the other hand is a toss up. But I have a feeling that Mario's disinterest in finishing easy chances would cost the Italians.

Spain would do what it does best in the final and win the Cup no matter which one of Franco's former allies they face there.

Don't be so sure dude, the last time Portugal and Spain played against each other, a friendly, CR terrorized the Spanish defence.. and they went on to win 2-0.

[EDIT] It was in 2010 and the final score was 4-0 to Portugal. Check this out,

[al-Sagar]

Originally Posted by maysun
Don't be so sure dude, the last time Portugal and Spain played against each other, a friendly, CR terrorized the Spanish defence.. and they went on to win 2-0.

[EDIT] It was in 2010 and the final score was 4-0 to Portugal. Check this out,

yes, that was Spain's first game after winning the World Cup

[Maysun]

Germany past v Germany present - UEFA.com

[F6_Turbo]

not sure I'd put too much weight on the result of friendly fixtures. The mindset in a competitive match is completely different.

While Spain have been boring the world to death the past couple of tournaments, they have also barely conceded a goal in their last 8-10 tournament matches.

Spain will starve Portugal of possession, as they have with every other team, question is, can Portugal exploit Spain with pace, when Ronaldo and Nani get on the ball.

[rashed]

Portugal tomorrow lets go Ronaldo my love!!

[Jadukor]

Originally Posted by rashed
Portugal tomorrow lets go Ronaldo my love!!

I don't think he can commit to that date bro... he has an important match tomorrow

Sincerely hoping for Portugal to beat Spain... I want to see an exciting Final

[Sohel]

I'm getting ready for a clone of the Spain-France match with similar, if not exactly the same result. Then I'll get ready for more of the same against Germany. Things will be different if Italy makes it to the final instead.

To beat Spain, you need extremely intelligent and technically gifted two-way midfielders. Sadly for others, they all play for Spain.

[zinatf]

Come on Espana!! Iker

[Maysun]

[rashed]

Originally Posted by Sohel NR
I'm getting ready for a clone of the Spain-France match with similar, if not exactly the same result. Then I'll get ready for more of the same against Germany. Things will be different if Italy makes it to the final instead.

To beat Spain, you need extremely intelligent and technically gifted two-way midfielders. Sadly for others, they all play for Spain.

Seriously u think Italy is better than Germany??

[F6_Turbo]

Originally Posted by rashed
Seriously u think Italy is better than Germany??

Not better...but definitely better suited to play against Spain.

That German team is very young(youngest team in the tournament), the Italian team individually is not as talented, but I think they have the tactical discipline to sit and frustrate Spain, and when given a chance at the other end, the quality to get a goal. The Germans on the other hand will come at the Spanish...they won't sit back, and I think the space they'll leave behind them, will make life much easier for the Spanish.

[Kohli_Sox]

My Prediction:

Portugal 1- 0 Spain

[Night_wolf]

I am just thinking which one of todays teams will be easier for my team italy to beat in the final ....dont quote me saying italy isn't on the final yet..i know that!...but we all know what happens in Ger vs Italy semi in a world tournament

[Maysun]

If the Portuguese score, it will be through a counter. As it is, they didn't have much of the possession through out the tournament, so don't expect that to change today. Nani and Cristiano should be at their utmost best down the flanks to take whatever opportunity they're presented with. And it might be a blessing in disguise that Postiga isn't starting, hate that guy. Almeida, though past his prime and is close to retirement, is a lot better than the other dude.

Pepe has been magnificent throughout, people hasn't noticed much. But if I'm not wrong, he hasn't even been booked.. The only weak link is Coentrao, I say unleash Navas' pace on him, he gets caught often.. But don't see that happening at the starting either..

If the Portuguese score first, they will win it, else Spain 2-0 and Spain should start with Torres!

[Nocturnal]

can't wait to watch the 1st SF

[Maysun]

Negredo starts ahead of Torres, brave move. Negredo is a clinical striker and has a great physical presence, should be a great contest between him and the duo of Pepe-Alves!

[F6_Turbo]

Rumors are

Spain : Casillas; Arbeloa, Ramos, Piqué, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Silva and Negredo.

Negredo? He's had a great season...but starting this match? I'll wait for confirmation.


Portugal : Patrício; Pereira, Pepe, Alves, Coentrão; Veloso, Moutinho, Meireles, Nani, Almeida, Ronaldo.

Portugal lineup is as expected...

[Maysun]

Negredo's scissor kick goal in training