Match Report Spain 1-0 Germany It is very rare for a country to make it through a complete tournament final (6 games in the European championships or 7 at the World Cup) playing almost flawless and entertaining football and in the end still lift the trophy. This Spain has done just that and there can be little doubt that they were the best team at Euro 2008.
Spain may have sputtered sporadically in some of the six games but at no time did the overall quality of their play slip below the opposition’s for 90 minutes or anything close to it.
Germany settled into the final match more quickly and for the first 10 minutes looked to be the most dangerous side. An early slip from Ramos allowed Klose half a chance but his control let him down.
Germany targeted the right side of the Spanish defense trying to split right back Ramos and center back Puyol with passes played into the space between them. A similar tactic would eventually bear fruit although it would be Spain that would prosper rather than Germany.
After some early nerves Spain settled in to their familiar pattern of short quick passes and constant movement in midfield. Halfway through the first 45 minutes a Fabregas to Ramos move finished with Fernando Torres leaping high above the German defense only to see his downward header rebound off the base of the post. With no one to take advantage of the rebound the danger was cleared.
As the first half progressed it became obvious that Germany was carrying a number of players who were just not up to the occasion and could not match Spain’s play. Just after the half hour mark Spain scored what would ultimately be the only goal of the game.
A Xavi Hernandez pass split Metzelder and Lahm. Lahm was guilty of worrying too much about Fernando Torres and not making a great enough effort to get to the ball first. Torres brushed the full back aside and clipped the ball over an advancing Jens Lehmann.
The half time introduction of Marcell Jansen after half time was the catalyst for Germany’s best spell of the game. Even then there was little threat that Iker Casillas would be beaten.
The introduction of Alonso for Fabregas swung any territorial advantage back Spain’s way and although Germany threw more players forward Spain was the team most likely to score.
With expectations raised for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa it will be very interesting to see how Spain reacts.
Ratings
Spain Casillas 7 – Lifting the trophy caused him more problems than the German attack.
Ramos 7 – Improved as the game progressed but mental errors are never far away.
Puyol 8 – Strong in the air and along with Marchena (8) presented a formidable barrier.
Capdevilla 7 – Had little to do but what he did do was accomplished with great effectiveness and efficiency.
Senna 9 – Another outstanding display of defensive midfield play but also exhibited great mobility and could have even scored in the last few minutes as he appeared in Germany’s six yard box.
Iniesta 9 – Enjoyed his best performance of the competition. If he put a foot wrong then I missed it. He was at the centre of most of Spain’s moves constantly prompting, passing and supporting.
Xavi Hernandez 8 - Just a smidgen off a 9. Played the through ball that Torres latched onto and scored from.
Cesc Fabregas 7 - Struggled to stamp any authority on the match.
Silva 7 – One of his quietest games of the tournament and was not as influential as we’ve come to expect.
Torres 8 – His pace and power a constant threat to the German defense. But even scoring the winning goal wasn’t enough to stop Aragones from substituting him.
Substitutes Alonso 7 – Helped Spain through the vital last half an hour.
Cazorla 7 – Brought on to replace Silva after he went head-to-head with Podolski. Did what he was supposed without being flashy.
Guiza 7 – With 12 minutes to go he had little time to establish himself but still delivered 100% effort in that time.
Germany
Lehmann 8 – Some may criticize him for the goal that was conceded but I wouldn’t. He never looked comfortable but he still pulled off three very good saves.
Friedrich 7 – Spain rarely attacked down Germany’s right and and for large spells of the game he was hardly noticeable.
Mertesacker 8 – Battled bravely and without him the the destination of the trophy would have been decided long before 90 minutes was up.
Metzelder 5 – The doubts about Metzelder’s readiness for this tournament were widely discussed in the lead up. Any problems he had in the previous games had not proven costly. It was not the case tonight. Nervous, indecisive and off the pace of the game.
Lahm 5 – At fault for the goal he only lasted 45 minutes.
Frings 7 – He fought the good fight and perhaps if he had better support in midfield the outcome might have been different.
Hitzlsperger 5 – Out of his depth. Lucky to last as long as he did.
Schweinsteiger 6 – A big disappointment. His set pieces were very poor and his hesitation to deliver early passes when the opportunity arose stifled a number of promising opportunities.
Ballack 7 – He was too occupied trying to contain the Spanish midfield and had little time to get forward and to support Klose.
Podolski 6 - Accomplished little and was never a threat.
Klose 6 – He never look comfortable, his touch was off and he strayed into off-site positions too often and too easily.
Substitutes Jansen 7 – He showed some of the form that was on display in the first game against Poland. A willingness to get stuck in and win some tackles provided a platform for some early German attacks in the second half.
Kuranyi 5 - He was given over 30 minutes to make an impact and he didn’t.
Gomez 5 – He spent as much time on the field has Guiza and delivered about 80% less.
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.
Germany (twice as West Germany) has won the European Championship in each of the decades since the seventies – 1972, 1980 and 1996. This is a last chance to keep the streak going.
How they qualified Germany was the first country to secure qualification through group play but finished as runners-up in Group D to the Czech Republic after drawing two and losing one of their last four games.
The Germans finished two points behind the Czech Republic but ten points ahead of the Republic of Ireland. Lucas Podolski scored nine times (five in one game against San Marino Nil).
In all Germany had twelve different scorers (plus an own goal) contributing to their total of thirty-five goals – the most by any country in the qualifying round.
The Coach The switch from World Cup boss Jurgen Klinsmann to Joachim Loew has been seamless – an improvement even. Given that the improvement came about from a willingness to experiment and to offer youth a chance means that Germany’s performances since Klinsmann moved on can be categorized under the heading of extremely impressive.
But with the improvement comes increased expectations and most German fans expect another European Championship this summer. A far cry from 2006 when the World Cup was being dreaded rather than anticipated.
Key Players Michael Ballack’s late season return to form is encouraging for Germany as an in-form and revitalized Ballack is pivotal to German hopes. The German defence looked wobbly in the early going of the 06 World Cup but matured into a solid unit.
Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen) and Christoph Metzelder (Real Madrid) will be likely be depended upon at the centre of the defence although doubts linger as to the Spanish based players fitness. Bayern full backs Philipp Lahm and Marcell Jansen enter the tournament as German’s first choice full backs.
David Odonkor will probably play the role of speedy substitute once again while Mario Gomez, Miroslav Klose and Kevin Kuranyi will rotate through the two striking positions.
Great Euro Memory With three European Championships and another twice as runner-up there are no shortage of memorable moments for German fans. However, the 3-0 destruction of the Soviet Union in 1972 can be considered special given that it ushered in a period of dominance for German football.
Runners-up to England at the 1966 World Cup and a beaten semi finalist to Italy four years later the 1972 tournament was a break through win. A Gunter Netzer inspired performance destroyed England in the first leg quarter final at Wembley and Gerd Mueller scored doubles in the semi final win over Belgium and again in the final against the Soviets.
A World Cup win followed in 1974 and West Germany became the first country to hold the two trophies at once. At the club level Bayern Munich completed a hat trick of European Cup wins in 1974, 1975 and 1976 while Borussia Moenchengladbach won the 1975 UEFA Cup.
Synopsis What do you do if you are 3-0 up against Germany? Make sure you score another goal that way you will at least get a draw. Such is the never say die spirit of Germany a country never to be discounted in a big tournament.
Germany looks to have more fire power than they did two summers ago and have received a favourable draw – but don’t they always. And you know that if penalty kicks are needed that there are few teams that will fancy their chances against the Germans.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Wales, Finland and Russia in Group 4.
Amazingly this will be Poland’s first appearance in the finals.
How they qualified Poland seemed to be suffering a severe World Cup hangover as they started with a home loss to Finland, a draw away to Serbia before a second half goal away to Kazakhstan gave them their first three points.
They then set off on a run of six straight wins before a three game stumble brought a loss and two draws. Nonetheless they recovered to win Group A and finishing a point ahead of Portugal and four ahead of third place Serbia and Finland.
Ebi Smolarek was Poland’s top scorer in qualifying with nine goals including a ten minute hat trick away to Kazakhstan after a power failure.
The Coach Leo Beenhakker broke an 85 year-old tradition of Polish born coaches when he took over from Pawel Janas after the last World Cup. For the sixty-six year-old Dutchman it is another stop on a road that has seen him manage more than twenty teams since taking his first coaching join in 1967 with Go-Ahead Eagles.
At the international level Beenhakker has coached the Netherlands and Trinidad and Tobago at 1990 and 2006 World Cups.
Key Players Ebi Smolarek spent time with Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund before moving to Racing Santander in Spain last summer. However, Smolarek can be a temperamental character who has been known to lose the plot from time to time.
Celtic’s Artur Boruc is currently the starting goalkeeper while Beenhakker is able to leave Jerzy Dudek out of the squad all together. Premiership-based keepers Lukasz Fabianski and Tomasz Kuszczak are in the Polish squad.
Great Euro Memory Polish fans will be hoping that the best is yet to come.
Synopsis A lack of consistency and quality has hurt Poland in the past and it may strike again. The final group game against Croatia may require a Polish win if they hope to move on to the last eight.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying The Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Slovakia, Slovenia and San Marino will provide the opposition in Group 3.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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