Austria found a way to build on a better than expected European Championship (competitive without being threatening) by beating France 3-1. Ironically their next match is on Wednesday against Lithuania who also pulled of a fantastic result by beating Romani 3-0 in Bucharest.
Lithuania had lost the previous seven international matches versus Romania and this win is arguably the biggest in the country’s history. Lithuania have one won away from home on numerous occasions but none of the wins have come against a country of Romania’s calibre.
A huge 1-0 away win for Uruguay against Colombia. The Villarreal midfielder Sebastian Eguren scored in first 15 minutes as Uruguay leapfrogged Colombia. The win put Uruguay third on Saturday evening pending the Sunday match between Chile and Brazil.
Andy Murray’s four set win over Rafael Nadal at the USA Open. A fantastic match and I am in total awe of how hard these players hit the ball and how well they get around the court. Tennis is a game in which if you are not mentally strong you are nothing. It puts into perspective some of John Terry's comments about England's millionaires lacking confidence. Confidence comes from knowing that you can execute under pressure and that comes from exceptional technical skills that have been honed over time and perfected.
Way back in my teenage years tennis was one of my summer sports and I played poorly in a number of junior tournaments around Scotland. It wasn't until a few months ago that I found out that Andy Murray's mum is Judy (then) Erskine whose name I remember from that time as she played in a number of the same competitions.
Best forgotten…..
Yes it was a win but by any criteria it was a labored and uninspired performance by England that needed two second half goals from Joe Cole to see off Andorra 2-0 in Barcelona.
The first forty five minutes of the home game against Paraguay was a nightmare for Argentina. Carlos Tevez picked up his second red card of World Cup qualifying but this only served to increase Argentina’s problems. Full back Gabriel Heinze had already put through his own goal and injured goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri in the process. The goalie had to be replaced and Heinze was substituted at the break. As it was a second half equalizer from Sergio Aguero salvaged a point.
Best goals….
Jason Garey had just set foot on the park and with his first touch he cushioned the ball and with his second he scored past Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis. It was the Columbus Crew’s third goal of the game in a match that would finish 4-0. It was the simplicity of the goal stood out. Chad Marshall broke up a Revolution attack in his own penalty area and played the ball forward. After a series of quick one touch passes the ball was played to the Crew’s Guillermo Barros Schelotto. As Schelotto attacked the Revolution defence Garey strayed offside forcing the Argentine to hold the ball. Eschewing an obvious pass out to the right Schelotto allowed Garey to get back onside before clipping a reverse pass to him. Garey did the rest.
A beautifully weighted pass from Cesc Fabregas was played through to Spain’s David Villa. His first touch took him wide and beyond the Bosnia goalkeeper but as the Valencia striker reached the ball it looked as if the final angle was too acute. Nevertheless despite being only a matter of inches from the byline Villa stroked the ball into the net to give Spain the win and to make up for a first half penalty that he had missed.
Best Players….
Antonio di Natale had a couple of goals on the opening day of Serie A last weekend and followed up with another pair, this time for Italy in a 2-1 away win to Cyprus. The second goal finished off a neat move involving Gilardino, Del Piero and Camoranesi and came in the 90th minute.
The Ramon Nunez playing for Honduras against Canada was unrecognizable as the player that formerly lined up for FC Dallas and Chivas USA in MLS. During the first hour Nunez was a bundle of energy, creativity and finishing. He was a source of discomfort to the Canadian midfield and scored twice in a ten minute period at the start of the second after Canada had led 1-0 at the break. The first goal he created from first running at the Canadian defence and moving the ball out to the left side. He then drifted towards the far post and unmarked gathered the return pass and slotted the ball home.
Austrian captain Andreas Ivanschitz set up the first two goals for his country through well delivered free kicks and he finished the job by scoring from the penalty spot to give Austria a 3-1 win over France.
Goal feast……
There were a total of twelve goals in the two CONCACAF Group 3 qualifying matches. Costa Rica thumped Suriname 7- 0 while El Salvador went nap on Haiti winning 5-0.
Biggest Howlers……
This one was not an on-field howler but well worth mentioning. Chivas goalkeeper Zack Thornton went down injured after a collision with Toronto FC’s Danny Dichio in the second half of Saturday’s MLS game. The referee called for the stretcher crew who then had to lift the 6’ 3” goalkeeper weighing a conservative 235 lbs. on to the carrier.
As the stretcher bearers turned at the corner flag it was patently obvious that Thornton’s attendants were struggling with their cargo. The camera then moved back to the action but only a few moments later CBC colour commentator and former Canadian captain Jas de Vos could not hold it in a moment longer.
Apparently the load had proved too much and the four man crew had dropped the Chivas keeper as they passed the bench area and it forced him to continue his trip to the dressing room under his own steam.
It was a miserable day for French central defender Philippe Mexes against Austria. France conceded two goals from free kicks played high into the penalty box and down the middle. The other came from a penalty conceded by Mexes as he dragged down Janko in full view of the referee. It was France’s first loss to Austria in nearly four decades.
New York Red Bulls’ Diego Jimenez sliced a clearance square across his own penalty area to a waiting Stephen King who scored the only goal of the game for Chicago Fire. I’m not sure what was more memorable – the awful clearance or match commentator Max Bretos who managed to work both “horror show” and “Stephen King” into the goal description.
Stat facts
Israel and Switzerland drew for the third straight game in World Cup qualifying. This time it was 2- 2 with Israel coming back from two goals down with 17 minutes to go. The Israeli fight back should have come as no surprise to the Swiss as four years ago Israel had to come from 2-1 down to draw. The Swiss also led 1-0 in the return game before giving up an equalizer.
It was France’s first loss to Austria in nearly 38 years.
WSC comments on this week's problems and departures at Newcastle and West Ham.
Simon Barnes tests his law – “anyone who buys a football club will end up looking an #### within a year and a bloody fool within two”.
Ian Plenderleithlooks at the opening of the NFL regular season and draws potential parallels with the Premiership.
Coming up this week…..
World Cup qualifiers continue with a more interesting schedule in Europe. Some of matches that catch the eye include: Portugal vs. Denmark; Russia vs. Wales (replay of Euro 2004 play off won by Russia); Turkey vs. Belgium; Croatia vs. England; France vs. Serbia; and surprisingly Lithuania vs. Austria.
In CONCACAF qualifying Mexico and the USA have a chance to all but wrap up a spot in the final round with Canada and Trinidad and Tobago providing the visiting opposition.
The most crucial game in South America might be Chile vs. Colombia.
I try to answer as many questions as possible but I know that I have missed a number over the last few days. As much as I would like to sit and blog most of the day, time is a problem and I am afraid that it is just not possible to answer every query that is posted.
UEFA World Cup Qualifying Another off day at the European Championships and an opportunity to look ahead at World Cup qualifying in Europe that will get underway in less than eight weeks when Kazakhstan plays Andorra. The bulk of the game day one fixtures go on September 6.
There are eight groups of six countries and one of five. The group winners will qualify for the finals. The eight best runners-up will be qualify for a play-off round in which there will be four two-leg ties and the winners will qualify to play in South Africa in 2010.
In deciding the best runners up spots the eight groups of six will not have the results against the countries finishing bottom counted.
Group 1 Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Albania and Malta
Group 2 Switzerland, Greece, Israel, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg
Group 3 Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia and San Marino
Group 4 Germany, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Wales, Finland and Russia
Group 5 Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Armenia and Estonia
Group 6 Croatia, England, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra
Group 7 France, Romania, Serbia, Austria, Lithuania and Faroe Islands
Group 8 Italy, Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro
Group 9 Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, Macedonia FYR, and Iceland
Based on what you have seen over the last three weeks has your views changed on who might qualify from Europe?
Prediction Update We are down to only two possible winners. LHJS currently has 36 points and Geniusatwork has 34 points. With ten points available to the tournament winner it comes down to Germany (LHJS) or Spain (Geniusatwork).
Whoever gets it wrong will drop down the standings as there are a significant number of people sitting with figures in the low 30s and with either Spain or Germany to win.
The unofficial prediction rabbit Carlos has fallen to the folly of allowing his heart to rule is head. He picked Portugal to beat Spain in the final and so he has stalled out at 42 points.
Comment of the Day “WSC statisticians are also compiling a report on behalf of a secretive but influential global organisation that we are not at liberty to name. Findings include: Simone Perotta's birth in Ashton-under-Lyne has been mentioned a total of 15 times by the two TV channels and national radio; the local TV directors have missed live action while running a slow motion replay 23 times; the BBC panel have offered truisms disguised as analysis on 65 occasions; Alan Shearer has appended “for me” to his half-time comments on 19 occasions, conclusively establishing that the views expressed are his alone rather than those of the entire BBC production team in Vienna, or Geordies everywhere.” – When Saturday Comes on television coverage in the UK.
Stat Fact The highest scoring European Championship final was in 1976 when Czechoslovakia and West Germany drew 2-2. In the penalty shoot-out Uli Hoeness’ spot kick cleared the crossbar with room to spare and then Antonin Panenka chipped the winner down the middle as Sepp Maier anticipated a shot to the corner.
True or False Uli Hoeness was the last German player to miss a penalty in a shoot-out at a major international championship?
Preview – Germany was my pre-tournament pick to win it all. Apart from a solid and sometimes impressive performance against Poland in their opening game this German team has failed to reach nights of the team of two summers ago.
Even though German coach Joachim Löw will be able to watch today’s game from the good seats he has more to worry about than the seating arrangements.
His team has a number of doubts with the injury to Torsten Frings the most pressing concern. Without Frings the German midfield will need to be shuffled with Ballack perhaps being asked to play deeper than usual. Either way the Germans need to find and execute a plan to contain Deco.
The biggest concern to Portugal might be Germany’s threat at set pieces. Carvalho and Pepe have been strangely hesitant on some cross balls in earlier games and that might be something Germany can exploit.
I’m not going to switch horses (better to be wrong once than wrong twice!) at this stage but would willingly concede that if Germany beat Portugal today it will run counter to the form book.
Misses next match if booked:
Portugal - Jose Bosingwa, Miguel, Jorge Ribeiro, Paulo Ferreira and Fernando Meira.
Germany - Michael Ballack and Jens Lehmann.
Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt, linesmen: Stefan Wittberg, Henrik Andren (all Sweden), fourth official: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
Match Report Portugal 2-3 Germany
If you’re looking for an example of why group form doesn’t mean very much when it gets down to the knockouts stage here was a great example. Germany overcame an indifferent start to the tournament and knocked out a Portuguese side that was favored to move into the last four.
Joachim Low overcame the loss of Torsten Frings to injury by matching Portugal’s 4-2-3-1 formation. Hitzlsperger and the thoroughly impressive Rolfes took care of the defensive midfield duties which allowed Michael Ballack to support the lone striker Miroslav Klose while playing between Schweinsteiger on the right and Podolski on the left.
The move by the German coach seemed to take Portugal by surprise as they struggled in the early going to control Ballock.
The first of the five goals came after a surging run from Podolski. He held off Bosingwa (great going forward but looks very dodgy defending) and he created enough space to slide a cross to the onrushing Schweinsteiger who had lost his marker Ferreira.
Within minutes Germany was two goals to the good when Portugal got their marking all wrong at a free kick. While Portuguese markers focused on Ballack and were then distracted by a great dummy run from Rolfes, Klose was left all alone to hit home. But even then there were few signs that the scoring had finished.
Portugal was finding it far too easy to find teammates with passes and they had lots of space to operate in. More goals just had to come and another did just before of half time. Ronaldo found space behind the German back four and although Lehmann made a good save Nuno Gomes knocked a loose ball into the net.
As the second half got underway it seemed to be only a matter of time before Portugal would equalize and perhaps even to go on and win the game. But too often the final ball into the penalty box or the shot on goal was poor.
Ultimately it was another free kick that was to be Portugal’s undoing. It was almost identical to Germany’s second goal and again the Portuguese defense was culpable in their marking… or lack of. This time the cross reached Ballack and goalkeeper Ricardo was caught in no man’s land as the ball rolled into the net.
However, it was not to be a worry free last 30 minutes for German fans (and for those of us who have picked Germany in prediction pools!!). Between while dying a thousand deaths on the bench, Scolari managed to throw on substitutes Nani and Postiga and it was the two subs that combined for the last goal of the game with three minutes left.
A massive disappointment for Portugal and Germany becomes the first team into the last four. Five goals, lots of action, some sloppy defending and some excellent entertainment. Here’s hoping that it continues.
Comment of the Day
"No17 Germany – 1m98, No13 – 1m88, Klose – 1m82, No21 – 195. I have to worry about that – and that my players are 115cm, 120cm." - Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Prediction Update
Nearly 20% of posters (too many to list) got the finishing positions of countries in group D spot on. It tightened things up at the top and Sounderfan has dropped down to second place. According to my calculations here is everyone currently with 20 points or more.The highest possible total after the group stage was 32 points.
One person who did not post his predictions on the blog but if he had he would be leading by a solid margin would be FSR anchor Carlos Machado. Carlos’ only missteps to date were switching the finishing order or Germany/ Croatia and Austria/Poland in Group B.
If he had posted his predictions he would be sitting on 28 points at the moment. Quite an impressive performance from Carlos who also took out time out to complete the Manitoba Marathon last Sunday in a little under four hours.
Questions
These two questions were posted yesterday.
1. So far, is this a better tournament than Euro 2004?
2. Without checking the statistics do you think Euro 2008 has produced more, about the same or less goals than Euro 2004?
My sense is that this is a better tournament than we saw four years ago. The pace is quicker, more teams are committed to going forward and attacking and there have been a number of more memorable performances to date.
I was surprised that there have been fewer goals in the group stage than there was in 2004. Perhaps my memory is clouded by day scarcity of goals in the knockout stage in Portugal. And who knows, there is a strong chance that goals will again be hard to come by once more in the knockout stage.
The cooler temperatures (slightly warmer temperatures in Austria – 26 goals, cooler in Switzerland –31 goals) are likely encouraging a faster pace game and rewarding the countries that are willing to go out and take the game to the opposition.
The Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Turkey (second-half anyway), Croatia and, despite what many knee-jerk stereotype dependant critics will tell you, Italy all benefited by adopting an aggressive approach.
The “what we have we hold brigade” (France, Romania, Poland, Greece and Sweden) are all on the way home. To date only Germany of the sides who have approached the tournament with containment in mind (to be fair it may be a case with Germany that they have just misfired badly) has made it to the knockout stage.
Total Football Revisited
On day eight I posted a comment about commentators who described the Dutch style of 2008 as a total football. I suggested that you should distrust any such description. Gabriele Marcotti suggests that you go a step further and punch them in the mouth!
For Croatia a
performance that just about encompassed everything that the Sunday game against
Austria was not. Comfortable, composed and confident Croatia was well organized
and prepared to largely stifle the Germans attacking options.
Germany may
have had the edge in play but it was Croatia that had the definite advantage in
clear chances. With Kranjcar moving into a more central role Germany had
trouble dealing with the numerical advantage that Croatia held in midfield.
Marcell
Jansen underwent a torrid time at left back and his failure to deal with Pranjic’s
cross (a reminder of how very few crosses we have seen so far in this
tournament) saw Srna turning the ball in at the back post for the first goal. Not
long after Kranjcar had another great chance but Lehmann pulled of####reat
reaction save.
Not
surprisingly Jansen was substituted at half time with Fritz dropping back to
right back and Lahm switching sides. Impact player Odonkor came on ............but failed
to make any impact. Croatia’s second goal (from Olic) seemed to have put the
game well beyond Germany reach only for Podolski to score a cracker. The effect
of the goal may have clouded how good a goal it actually was.
But with ten
minutes left and their lead halved rather than panicking Croatians moved into
what was their most impressive spell of the game. Playing in three and fours
with one touch passing Croatia killed off the game and left only enough time
for Bastian Schweinsteiger to get
himself sent off.
Croatia within a hairs breadth of qualification and Germany now has to
beat Austria and even then they may still have to keep fingers crossed.
Man of the match – Given a free role by Slaven Bilic Niko Kranjcar proved impossible for Germany
to control.
Austria 1-1 Poland
It was a match that delivered much more in the way of incident and excitement than might have been expected. Austria came away with a
share of the points after it looked as if their pressure – particularly in the
first half – was again destined to deliver nothing. A point each keeps both
countries in with a chance to advance but Austria could have had this one
wrapped up in bows before thirty minutes was on the clock.
The Austrians streamed
forward in waves with Korkmaz and Harnik raiding almost at will down the flanks.
As the Polish defence went AWOL it was Artur Boruc vs. Austria. The Celtic
keeper stymied Austria at least four times and he was the reason Poland was
still in the game by the time they took the lead.
The goal came completely
against the run of play as it so often does and it came from a
Southampton-Brazil combo accompanied by a hint of offside. Southampton’s Marek
Saganowski saw his “shot” find Brazilian import Roger Guerreiro who had no
trouble from close in.
The goal took the sting
out of Austria’s attack in as much as they stopped creating chances although
still enjoyed the edge in possession. The second half lacked the cut and thrust
from Austria as the Polish defence reasserted their position. Then with stoppage
time minutes ticking down and a second Polish goal on the break looking more likely
than goal from the co-hosts – finally a goal for Austria and from the penalty spot.
The old man of the
tournament Ivica Vastic put his foot through the shot and the valiant
Boruc went the wrong way.
Update – No group B tie breaker is possible. Croatia qualify
as group winners and will play Turkey or the Czech Republic. Germany will join them
with a win or a draw against Austria. An Austrian win combined with Poland not
beating Croatia will put the co-hosts into the last eight. However, in order to
finish second Poland needs to beat Croatia by a goal more than Austria beats Germany
by. So Germany or Austria or Poland will play a rested Portugal.
Comment of the Day
"People
often think coaches can predict results. Coaches are like you, they are very
bad at giving predictions.” - Arsène Wenger
Tie Breaker
There seems to be a fair bit of confusion regarding the tie breaker rule for the group stage.
Excerpt Competition
Regulations – 7.07 and 7.08
If two or more teams finish equal on points after
all the group matches have been played, the following criteria will be applied
to determine the ranking :
(a) Greater number of points obtained in the matches
between the teams in question.
(b) Goal difference resulting from the matches
between the teams in question (if more than two teams finish equal).
(c) Greater number of goals scored in the matches
between the teams in question (if more than two teams finish equal).
(d) Goal difference in all the group matches.
(e) Greater number of goals scored in all the group
matches.
(f) Coefficient of points from the last two
qualifying competitions for the final rounds of the 2006 World Cup and Euro
2008 (points gained and divided by the number of matches played).
(g) Fair Play conduct of the teams (final
tournament).
(h) A drawing of lots by the Organizing Committee.
Criteria (a) to (h) above are not applicable
under these circumstances :
If two teams meeting in one of the last group
matches have the same number of points, the same goal difference and the same
number of goals, and if this match stands at a draw at the end of normal time,
then the ranking of these two teams will be determined by kicks from the
penalty spot, provided no other teams within the group have the same number of
points on completion of all group matches.
Conventional wisdom would have had an early goal for Croatia offering up the platform for a resounding win. Conversely the Austrians would have been expected to fold given the form guide going into the tournament. As it was the early penalty kick turned into a curse for Croatia and a blessing for Austria.
The early goal (a dead-cert penalty decision) seemed to dull Croatia’s appetite for the game as they failed to string passes together in any meaningful way. Without Ivica Olic the Croatian attack would have been completely anemic with Petric utterly anonymous.
With Croatia showing little ambition to increase their early lead the Austrian’s slowly settled into the game, grew in confidence and from the 30th minute onwards they dominated large chunks of the match.
Croatia allowed Austria far too much space in midfield as time and time again the co-hosts were allowed time to look up and to pick out their targets. Modric and Srna were particularly culpable as Austria regularly found Martin Harnik on the right side with raking crossfield passes.
Substitutions by Croatia’s manager Slaven Bilic failed to turn the ever increasing tide of Austrian attacks while each change rung by opposite number Josef Hickersberger upped the pressure on the Croatian defence.
In the end Croatia played poorly but still took three points; for Austria a glorious loss.
Three games gone and no surprises - so far.
Germany 2-0 Poland
After an early goal in the first game of the day, we could have had two in the first five minutes of this one. The first chance fell to Poland after Lehmann chose to try and gather a cross under pressure rather than punching clear. The fumble dropped awkwardly to Jacek Krzynówek who shot over from just outside of the box.
Only a couple of minutes later Klose caught the Polish back four flat-footed and square and was left with a clear run on goal. Rather than shooting Klose opted to pass to Gomez who in arriving late had to stretch to make contact. It made for a weak connection and the ball rolled agonizingly past the post.
Both incidents were to be harbingers as the first half progressed. Krzynówek was the central focus of most of the Polish attacks, while Klose again beat a stagnant Polish defensive line to find himself one-on-one with Boruc.
Once more Klose opted to pass but this time it was Lukas Podolski who was in support and he potted the chance. By half time it could well have been 3-1 as Germans continued to press with purposeful play and although Poland continued to look shaky under pressure they still carved out a great chance for Zurawski.
Half time substitute Roger Guerreiro helped Poland to their best period of pressure in the first twenty minutes of the second half but after Podolski scored with twenty minutes left a German win was never in doubt.
Podolski produced the best individual performance of the tournament so far and it was not just down to his two goals. Starting on the left side of midfield Podolski worked hard getting up and down the park and was a constant irritant to Poland.
Germany will be happy with the result and satisfied with the performance. Poland can take something away from this game as well. The defence and midfield settled down after a wobbly start but they look to have same problem as a number of other countries at his tournament – no one to finish at the business end.
Comment of the Day
In my Spain preview I included this comment - "Spain’s soft spot might
be in midfield and that in turn may put the centre of defence under stress and
strain. In midfield tidy passing types pervade but they may turn out to be
lightweight over potentially three weeks of competition. Ball possession may
not be a problem but moving the ball quickly to the strikers could be".
Writing in The Times Gabriele Marcotti provided his thoughts on the Spanish dilemma and in the process he included some memorable alliteration.
"Cesc Fabregas may be the best
foreign midfielder not named Michael in the Premier League, but it holds little
stock with Luis Aragones, the Spain manager. His place with Spain is in serious
jeopardy which, frankly, seems extraordinary until you look at the midfielders
at Aragones' disposal. For whatever reason, Spain excels at producing
pint-sized pass-happy pixies: Xavi, David Silva and Andres Iniesta are all in
the same mould, creative little fellas who can pass the ball to death. The
problem is, you can only fit so many of them in your team.
Already Aragones is having to deploy
Iniesta and Silva wide, despite the fact that both are probably more suited to
a central role. And while deploying Xavi and Cesc together in the middle is a
sexy idea, Spain need at least one holding midfielder, otherwise they'll be
steamrollered. And that spot goes to Marcos Senna. Which means that Aragones
has two options: he can either go with a 4-5-1 formation (but that would mean
leaving out the in-form David Villa) or he can make a difficult choice between
Xavi and Cesc. And, in that case, Xavi would be favored by a mile. It's
debatable that he's a better player, less debatable is that he's more
experienced and plays his football in Spain which means that, if things go
horribly wrong, Xavi's exclusion is likely to haunt Aragones for far longer."
Before we gaze into the crystal ball here are some statistics collected from UEFA.com and other sources on the players, countries and club affiliations at Euro 2008.
Players Oldest – Ivica Vastica a midfielder for Austria will be 39 in September which makes him six weeks older than Germany’s goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.
Youngest – Swiss forward Eren Derdiyok will no longer be a teenager when he turns 20 in six days time.
Tallest – Czech Republic forward Jan Koller stands at 202 cms. which is little over 6 foot 8 inches. But beware Koller and other tall players have been known to grow during major tournaments. Commentators take it upon themselves to add half an inch here and there and so if the Czechs reach the final game don’t be surprised if Koller is over seven foot by June 29th.
Shortest – The player jumping up and down in the tall grass will be Romanian midfielder Florentin Petre who is nearly 5 foot and six and a half inches although he claims that the wall chart in kitchen shows six and five eighth inches.
Countries (average) Oldest Sweden 29.14
Italy 29.10
Greece 29.05
Youngest Russia 26.13
Switzerland 26.38
Spain 26.40
Countries with players 21 or under at the start of the the tournament - 21 Switzerland, Portugal, Austria and Turkey 3 each
Croatia, France and Poland 2 each
Romania, Czech Republic and Spain 1 each
Countries with outfield players 34 or over at the start of the the tournament - 16 Austria, Sweden, France, Croatia, Italy and Czech Republic 2 each
Poland, Italy, Germany and Turkey 1 each
Countries with the fewest domestic based players in their squad Croatia 2
Czech Republic 3
Countries with the most domestic based players in their squad Russia 22
Germany and Italy 19
Tallest (average) Croatia 184.91 (a smidgen under 6 foot 2 inches)
Germany 184.87
Switzerland 184.61
Shortest (average) Spain 179.61 (180 is 6 foot)
Turkey 180.35
Portugal 180.57
Players contributed by clubs Panathinaikos (Greece) and Lyon (France) 10 each
Galatasaray (Turkey) and Bayern Munich 9 each
Premiership clubs represented – 17 of 20. Arsenal and Chelsea 7
Liverpool 5
Manchester United 4
Highest representation of players by league Germany 56
England 43
Spain 41
Italy 36
Russia 30
For those making predictions don’t be to despondent should your “dead-cert can’t lose winner” get off to a slow start. There is ample evidence to show that countries can recover from a set-back or two at the group stage and still go on to the final or even win the Championship.
1980 – Belgium won only once in the group stage but went on to finish as runners-up to Germany.
1984 – Spain recorded just one win in three group games but qualified for the knock out stage all the same and finished as runners-up to France.
1988 – The Netherlands lost their opening game of the tournament to the Soviet Union but gained revenge when the counties met again in the final when the Dutch won 2-0.
1992 – Danish players were recalled from the beaches and golf courses of Europe to take the place of Yugoslavia. Denmark had a draw and a loss in their first two group games before beating France and moving into the last eight. From there the Netherlands were beaten in a penalty kick shoot-out and the Danes took the title beating Germany 2-0 in the final.
1996 – The Czech Republic lost their opening group game 2-0 to Germany but rebounded to make the final against the same opponent. However, Germany doubled the Czechs with a golden goal from Oliver Bierhoff.
2004 – Few would have predicted that the two countries that opened the tournament would also make it all the way to the final match. But that was exactly what happened. Greece beat Portugal 2-1 in the opener and then again 1-0 in the final.
However, few seem to remember that the opening game win was Greece’s only victory in group play. The second match was a 1-1 draw with Spain and Russia then beat the eventual winners 2-1. Portugal actually won group A while Greece only moved on based on scoring more goals than Spain having finished tied on both points and goal differential.
Predictions Before anyone jumps all over anyone's predictions there is one rule. No criticism allowed unless you also post your own predictions under the comments section. A scoring system can be found at the end of my predictions.
Group A 1. Portugal 2. Czech Republic 3. Switzerland 4. Turkey
Group B 1. Germany 2. Croatia 3. Poland 4. Austria
Group C 1. France 2. Romania 3. Italy 4. Netherlands
There has to be at least one surprise and for me this is it. I flipped between France and Italy not to qualify and the decision eventually swung on Cannavaro’s injury and the potential France have available from the bench. We will see.
Group D 1. Spain 2. Greece 3. Sweden 4. Russia
Quarter Finals Portugal to beat Croatia
Germany to beat Czech Republic
France to beat Greece
Spain to beat Romania
Semi Finals Germany to beat Portugal
France to beat Spain
Final Germany to beat France
Prediction scoring system 1 point for every group position picked correctly.
2 bonus points for getting 1st or 2nd position in the group correct
3 points for correctly predicting the winners of each of the quarter final matches
5 points for correctly predicting the winners of the semi finals
10 points for correctly predicting the winners of the competition.
By my calculation sixty-four points (64) constitutes the maximum score.
Austria Austria has never played in the Euro Championships Finals.
How they qualified It was an epic struggle that was played out in the soccer boardrooms, conference centres and bars of Europe. Along the way Russia, Hungary, four Nordic countries, Croatia and Bosnia, Greece and Turkey, Scotland and Ireland were all outmanouvered and eventually beaten by a unprecedented and overpowering display of power point presentations, computer animations, and scenic views of very large snow capped mountains.
The Coach Josef Hickersberger is in charge of the national team for a second time having helped Austria to Italia ’90. However, a shock 1-0 loss to the Faroe Islands in Euro ’92 qualifying brought his first spell to an abrupt end. This was the Faroe Islands first win in a competitive competition and the two countries have been drawn together in World Cup 2010 World Cup qualifying.
Key Players Former Sunderland and Chelsea goalkeeper Jurgen Macho looks set to start for Austria. Macho moved to Rapid Vienna for a short spell after leaving Stamford Bridge and then switched to Kaiserlautern in Germany before settling at AEK Athens last summer. Captain Andreas Ivanschitz is another Greek based player and is on a two year loan with Panathinaikos and generally plays in an attacking midfield role.
Great Euro Memory The announcement on December 12, 2002 by then UEFA President Lennart Johannsen that Austria and Switzerland would stage the tournament.
Synopsis Austria’s performances on the international stage have been so bad that at one point some fans raised a petition calling for the team to default and allow another country to take their place.
(Remenbering their success in 1992 after entering through the backdoor the Danes were excited at that prospect but nothing came of it.)
Unusually for a host nation expectations are at rock bottom. It is certainly a long way from the iconic Austrian side of the early 30s or even the team of Hans Krankl that went to the 78 and 82 World Cups. One win would be better than expected for this Austrian side.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying In Group 7 together with France, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania and Faroe Islands.
Croatia Croatia previously qualified for the 1996 and 2004 finals and made it to the quarter finals in 1996 before losing 2-1 to the eventual tournament winners Germany.
How they qualified As every English supporter can tell you Croatia won Group E with a game to spare and five points better than runners-up Russia. Eduardo da Silva was the man that led the scoring for Croatia with ten goals – only three behind David Healy of Northern Ireland who led all scorers with thirteen. Mladen Petric was next with seven goals.
The Coach Charismatic coach Slaven Bilic was in charge of the Under-21 side before stepping up to the senior team two summers ago. Bilic was member of the 1996 Euro side and also played two years later in the team that finished third at the World Cup in France.
As a player he plied his trade in Germany and in England with West Ham and Everton. A successful Euro 08 will only fuel the speculation that a managerial move to a Premiership team will come sooner rather than later.
Key Players The team is extremely well balanced although playmaker Luka Modric has received most of the attention to date. Modric has already signed for Tottenham Hotspur a next season he will play in the Premiership.
Croatia must get over the loss of top striker Eduardo da Silva who had his leg horrifically broken earlier this year while playing for Arsenal in the Premiership. Borussia Dortmund striker Mladen Pertric might pick up the slack.
Ivica Olic is more than capable of scoring goals as is Parma striker Igor Budan who enjoyed a good run of form towards the end of the Serie A season. The midfield is another area of strength with Niko Kranjcar a recognizable name to followers of the Premiership. The Kovac brothers Niko and Robert provide years of top class experience to the team both in defence and midfield.
Great Euro Memory After beating Turkey 1-0 in their very first finals game in 1996, Croatia followed the result up with an emphatic 3-0 shellacking of reigning champions Denmark. All three goals came in the second half with a double from Davor #### and he also set up the other for Zvonimir Boban.
Synopsis Croatia is considered to be a dark horse and one of the leading second tier contenders after the likes of France, Italy, and Germany. If there is a weakness in the side it may be in goal with Spartak Moscow keeper Stipe Pletikosa.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Will meet England once again as well as Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra in Group 6.
Over the next ten days the blog will be dedicated to the 2008 European Championships. Part 1 covers some of the history of the tournament and an outline of the groups, game-days, officials and some odds and ends. From there is will be a preview of two teams per day and on day ten will come the predictions.
History The idea of holding a European Championship came, like many other good sports ideas, from a Frenchman.
Henri Delaunay, who was head of the French FA, proposed a tournament for all European counties even before the first World Cup was held in 1930. However, it took until the formation of UEFA in Basle, Switzerland in June 1954 for the notion to take root.
Delaunay was appointed as UEFA’s first General Secretary but died in 1955. In recognition of his leadership and vision the European Championship trophy was named after him.
The tournament started out as the European Nations Cup in 1960 and consisted of group games with the winners moving on to a knock out round of eight. The winners at the quarter final stage would then play semi-finals and a final in the country of one of the final four.
This format continued until 1980 when all eight group winners competed in two groups with the group winners playing for the trophy and the two group runners up playing for bronze. Four years later in France a cross over semi final round was added and the format was maintained when West Germany hosted in 1988 and Sweden in 1992.
When England held the finals in 1996 the number of qualifiers expanded to sixteen countries and from that point onwards the competition became a cash cow for UEFA. It is now arguably the third most watched sporting event in the world after the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics.
The Groups and Games Days Group A Switzerland, Czech Republic, Portugal and Turkey – June 7, 11, and 15.
Group B Austria, Croatia, Germany and Poland – June 8, 12 and 16.
Group C Romania, France, Italy and Netherlands – June 9, 13 and 17.
Group D Spain, Russia, Greece and Sweden – June 10, 14 and 18. Quarter Finals Winner A vs. Runner-Up B – June 19, Basle
Winner B vs. Runner-Up A – June 20, Vienna.
Winner C vs. Runner-Up D – June 21, Basel.
Winner D vs. Runner-Up C – June 22, Vienna.
Semi- Finals Winner A or Runner-Up B vs. Winner B or Runner-Up A – June 25, Basel. Winner C or Runner-Up D vs. Winner D or Runner-Up C – June 26, Vienna.
Final June 29, Vienna.
The Stadiums St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Capacity 42,500.
The Officials UEFA has assigned 12 referees and 24 assistants (plus eight fourth officials) to officiate the games. Each referee trio is made up of a referee and two assistant referees from the same country. The trios have worked together as teams over the last year.
Referee - Konrad Plautz (Austria); Assistants Egon Bereuter & Markus Mayr.
Returnees The Netherlands, France, Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland, Croatia, Italy and Greece all appeared at the 2004 finals in Portugal. Missing from the 2004 line-up are Denmark, England, Bulgaria and Latvia.
Five coaches Luiz Felipe Scolari (Portugal), Lars Lagerback (Sweden), Karel Bruckner (Czech Republic), Kobi Kuhn (Switzerland) and Otto Rehhagel (Greece) return from 2004. Portugal, the Czech Republic and Greece all appeared in the last four in 2004.
Another Sunday, another draw. This time it is for the European Championship Finals. Here are some initial thoughts on the draw and what might be in store.
Group A Switzerland, Turkey, Portugal, Czech Republic
June 7 – Switzerland vs. Czech Republic, Portugal vs. Turkey June 11 – Switzerland vs. Turkey, Czech Republic vs. Portugal June 15 – Switzerland vs. Portugal, Turkey vs. Czech Republic
Summary The Czech Republic and Portugal will start as the favourites to move on but as one of the co-hosts Switzerland should not be easily discounted. The Czechs have a fine history in this tournament and made it to the final game in 1996, the semi finals in 2004 and were unlucky to be drawn together in a group with co-hosts the Netherlands and eventual winners France in 2000. However, the Czechs would have preferred not to have drawn the co-hosts in the opening game of the tournament.
Portugal is another country that has performed well at the last few European Championships. After going unbeaten at the group stage in 96 the Portuguese went out to the Czechs in the last eight when Karel Poborsky scored the only goal of the game. In 2000 they took winners France to extra time and it needed a golden goal from a Zidane penalty to decide the game. As hosts in 2004 their tournament got off to a poor start when they lost to Greece. Although they bounced back and made it to the final they again faced Greece and lost once more.
Turkey missed out on the 2004 finals although they qualified in 1996 and 2000. There appearance in 1996 was a first at the European Finals and they went winless in three games. Lessons were learned and four years later they made it to the quarter finals where they lost 2-0 to Portugal. Qualification for 2008 consisted of a series of highs and lows. A great start was highlighted by a 4-1 away win against European champions Greece. A series of poor performances and dropped points meant hopes of qualification were rapidly receding before two wins (including a come-from-behind win away against Norway) saved the day.
As co-hosts Switzerland will enter the tournament without the advantage of any competitive matches since the 2006 World Cup. However, Coach Kubi Kuhn will be hoping that his young side can build on a solid performance in Germany last summer. Switzerland made it to last summer’s World Cup after beating Turkey is an ill-tempered play-off game and memories of this are unlikely to have receded by next summer.
Keys Under manager Karel Bruckner the Czechs are the consummate team. Any side that knocks off the Czechs can look forward to going deep into the tournament.
Portugal will be difficult to break down but their progress might be largely dictated by whether or not they can find a reliable international goal scorer.
Which Turkish side will turn up at the tournament?
Switzerland went to the last sixteen in Germany last summer and was knocked-out without conceding a goal. Another strong defence showing – although in 2006 goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbueler seemed to more lucky than good! – and some opportunism in front of goal might generate the kind of momentum that leads to a shock or two.
Group B Austria, Poland, Germany, Croatia
June 8 – Austria vs. Croatia, Germany vs. Poland June 12 – Austria vs. Poland, Croatia vs. Germany June 16 – Austria vs. Germany, Poland vs. Croatia.
Summary Based on performances Germany will not be particularly concerned with their draw. However, with two traditional rivals in Austria and Poland this group will have a derby game flavour and that should be a cause for concern. A re-emerging Croatia side will also be looking to repeat their countries famous win over Germany at the 1998 World Cup in the knock-out stages.
Poland bounced back from a poor start in qualification to move on with room to spare. Surprisingly this will be Poland’s first appearance at the Euro Finals and they will be looking to make it to through the group stage of a major tournament for the first time since 1986. Poland pushed Germany all the way last summer before losing to a late goal. However, it was a poor display and a first game loss to Ecuador that was critical. A win over Austria is mandatory if they are to have a realistic chance to progress.
By knocking out England in group qualifying Croatia lost any chance of sneaking under the radar. Slaven Bilic has created a confident and competent side that should make it to at least the last eight.
Austria have already been labeled as the worst country (performance-wise that is) ever to host a major tournament. They are so bad that a group of Austrian fans started a petition that asked the team to withdraw in order to save face.
Keys Germany has a huge target on their backs and needs to meet their historical rivals Austria and Poland head-on. A slow start might be costly.
Poor starts have cost Poland dearly at the last two World Cups and they can ill-afford a repeat.
Expectations are so low that even one win in the group stage might be considered a success for Austria.
The schedule has been kind to Croatia with an over-matched Austria first. Next up is Germany before what might be a decider against Poland in the last group game.
Group C Netherlands, France, Romania, Italy
June 9 – Romania vs. France, Netherlands vs. Italy. June 13 – Italy vs. Romania, Netherlands vs. France June 17 – France vs. Italy, Netherlands vs. Romania.
Summary As soon as this draw was made the Group of D***h label was applied. No team can be overlooked here.
Romania only lost one game in qualifying and that was once they had guaranteed their spot in the finals. Along the way they beat Netherlands for the first time ever and now look to be fulfilling their potential of a few years ago.
France , insults, Italy, Materazzi, video replay, Zidane, revenge, head-butt, World Cup Final, sisters, Domenech saying something stupid – that is what we have to look forward to for the next six months. At least it won’t be go to penalty kicks – unless they hook up again in the semi final game!
The draw was not kind to the Dutch and then the schedule really put the boot in. Italy followed by France is not what the Dutch would have wanted. The 1988 European Championship remains the only major trophy won by the Netherlands. After this tournament it is unlikely that this will have changed.
Keys As the best-known Romanian players Adrian Mutu and Christian Chivu are going to garner most of the headlines but this squad has a lot more depth than just these two. In any other group Romania would have an excellent chance to move-on but ….
France made it the World Cup Final last summer with one of the oldest squads ever seen at the Finals. It is almost inconceivable that they can repeat while looking to the same core of veterans …or is it?
Italy won the World Cup with a squad of players that were almost all in the prime years of their footballing lives. Donadoni needs to squeeze out another round of great performances before moving on. If he can, then a World and European double is not out of the question.
Goal scoring was a problem during group qualifying and in a number of games the Dutch were only a goal way from embarrassment. Chances have to be converted on a more regular basis or the Dutch may be out of contention before game three.
Group D Greece, Russia, Spain, Sweden
June 10 – Greece vs. Sweden, Spain vs. Russia June 14 – Greece vs. Russia, Sweden vs. Spain June 18 – Greece vs. Spain, Russia vs. Sweden.
Summary This is probably the most open group and a lot of attention will be paid to the amount of grey hair in charge pulling the coaching strings.
The reigning European Champions Greece has bounced back after failing to make the 2006 World Cup Finals. A humiliating home loss to Turkey (4-1) was the only bump on the 2008 road which was then negotiated without too much difficulty.
Spain has now made it to the last fifteen of sixteen major finals and has generated a lot of momentum since starting poorly in group qualifying for 2008. But as we all know Spain’s problems normally start when they reach the finals of a major tournament. The squad is more than solid containing a number of players that could find a place in any team in the world. However, until they win a major final (1964 is so long ago and pretty much discounted) the doubts will remain.
There were a few hiccups along the way for Russia but major tournaments and Guus Hiddink seem to mix very well. Like Spain, Russia has (the Soviet Union did win the first European championship in 1960) rarely delivered on the world stage and one of Hiddink’s challenges is to instill a sense of believe in a squad that has considerable talent.
Sweden has a great record of qualification for major tournaments and is always a difficult opponent.
Keys There will be no element of surprise for Greece this time. The other fifteen countries will be well prepared should Otto Rehhagel opt for a repeat performance of stifling defence and opportunism in front of goal. What can the coach come up with this time?
Hiddink’s ability to chop and change on the fly as needs arise is almost without parallel. Spain needs to finally win a must win game. If they can do that then maybe years of disappointment will melt away.
If Sweden is to drive deep into the tournament then it is probably going to be on the back of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The talent has never been in doubt and from his early season performances for Inter he seems to have now achieved a level of consistency that has previously been missing.
Quarter Finals June 19 – Winner Group A vs. Runner Up Group B, (Game 25) June 20 – Winner Group B vs. Runner Up Group A, (Game 26) June 21 – Winner Group C vs. Runner Up Group D, (Game 27) June 22 – Winner Group D vs. Runner Up Group C, (Game 28)
Semi Finals June 25 – Winner Game 25 vs. Winner Game 26, (Game 29) June 26 – Winner Game 27 vs. Winner Game 28, (Game 30)
Final June 29 - Winner Game 29 vs. Winner Group 30.
