Quarter Final Netherlands vs. Russia Preview - Guus Hiddink is looking to continue his fantastic run at major tournaments. He took the Netherlands and South Korea to the last four at World Cups in 1998 and 2002 and Australia to the last sixteen two summers ago in Germany. If he can take his young Russian side to the last four at Euro 2008 it will be a match for any of his previous achievements.
To reach the semi final Russia has to beat the Netherlands and players that Hiddink has more than a passing knowledge of. The teams have reached this stage in very different ways but both could be regarded as surprises based on their preliminary qualifying performances.
Russia seemed to have lost their chance when they lost away to Israel after hitting the post late in the game and then conceding a devastating winner to Israel only seconds later. They were left having to beat Andorra in their last game and praying for a win by Croatia at Wembley.
Despite having already qualified Croatia did beat England and Russia stumbled to a 1-0 win against tiny Andorra. Eighteen goals in twelve games was not overly impressive considering that the group included the likes of Andorra and Estonia. First and third place Croatia and England scored considerably more goals.
The Netherlands qualified as runners up to Romania and only a point ahead of Bulgaria. However, the one point gap is not a fair reflection of the degree of difficulty as the Dutch wrapped up a qualifying spot with two games to go.
But a lacks of goals was a common connection between Russia and Netherlands. The Dutch only scored fifteen goals in 12 games and struggled to 1-0 wins over Luxembourg twice.
There was no hint of the type of football we have seen over the last two weeks from either of these sides. Goals have flowed from the Dutch through devastating counter attacks executed at speed combined with lethal finishing.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has led the attack magnificently while Sneijder and van der Vaart who have generally operated just behind him have both enjoyed spectacular tournaments.
The defense has confounded critics having only conceded one goal to date. Based on their three performances and pedigree the Dutch come into this game as strong favourites.
Few would have thought that Russia would be in this position after an opening game loss to Spain. But the 4-1 scoreline was not a fair reflection of the play. Russia was severely punished (particularly by David Villa) for some sloppy defensive play while they were unable to take advantage of some less than stellar defending by Spain. In truth the game could have finished 5-3 or 5-4.
Since then Hiddink has tinkered with his back four (or back two as the full backs push forward) but has remained commited to Russia playing an aggressive, attacking and entertaining form of football. The return of Arshavin for the third game against Swede and his performance garnered the headlines but there were a number of other fine performances that day that bode well for the fixture against Netherlands.
Denis Kolodin has settled down at the centre of the Russian defence after a disasterous start against Spain. Zhirkov playing has a left back (he can play anyplace on the left side) is a fantastic player to watch while the other full back Anyukov seems to spend more time in the opposition penalty area than his own. In midfield Semak, Zyryanov and Bilyaletdinov have all caught the eye.
However, Russia does seem to missing a reliable striker. Roman Pavlyuchenko came on to score twice against England in Moscow and has scored twice at Euro 2008 but he does not score enough given the chances that come his way.
Referee: Lubos Michel, assistants: Roman Slysko, Martin Balko (all Slovakia), fourth official: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
Netherland 1-3 Russia (After extra time) I know it’s not new or original but I’m going to say it anyway “the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.” And in the process they are playing some fantastic football. We got to see an additional 30 minutes of it today but in truth Russia was so far ahead of the Netherlands that it should not have needed extra time.
The Dutch that had being so lethal in the group stage was blunted by a Russian midfield of Zyryanov, Semak and Semshov but this performance had nothing to do with negating Dutch strengths. It was about Russia playing to their own strengths.
And their strengths where a pleasure to behold. No frightened through football here. Composure on the ball, constantly working hard to provide an option to teammates in possession, beautifully timed runs and craftily struck passes. It was all on display and you were left wanting more. The only thing that was missing was a ruthless streak in front of goal during the first 90 minutes.
Russia took the initiative right from the kickoff and had the Netherlands on the back foot for most of the first half. It to the Dutch almost half an hour to mount any kind of sustained pressure and ironically it nearly cost them a goal. Russia was able to counter attack and the end result was a magnificent save by Edwin van der Sar from an Andrei Arshavin (does he remind anyone else of Michael Ladrup?) shot. The Dutch goalkeeper was called into action again shortly after and made another fine save this time after a long-range effort from center back Kolodin.
As half time drew near there was some encouragement for Dutch fans as Russia started togive away the ball more frequently. Nevertheless half time arrived without a goal. But within 10 minutes of the restart Russia was a goal up. Russia had been relentless in attacking down the left side and this time the ball was fed out to Semak alone on the left wing.
He swung in an inviting cross and Pavlyuchenko timed his run beautifully to beat the Dutch marker and Russia was a goal up. The Dutch were forced to push forward but Russia looked like the team more likely to score on the counter. But despite numerous chances and as the game appeared to to be entering the closing stages there was still only a one goal separating the teams.
The most consistent threat from the Netherlands had come from set pieces and from a free kick out on the left side they scored the goal that forced extra time. A deliciously inviting cross from Sneijder was swung in, Ignashevich was caught on the wrong side of Ruud van Nistelrooy and the Real Madrid striker stooped low to head home.
It was a goal that must’ve brought contradictory feelings to the neutrals watching. On one hand a Russian win that was truly deserved had been hauled from their grasp; conversely we had another 30 minutes of wonderful football to look forward to.
In the past Russian teams would have folded in the face of such adversity and injustice but not this one. They continued to dominate the extra 30 minutes and not surprisingly it was Arshavin who finally killed the Netherlands off.
He set up the winner for substitute Torbinski and then administered the coup de grace as he drilled the ball through the legs of Edwin van der Sar. A deserved win for Russia and the Netherlands again prove the early accolades to be premature.
Note: As the media jump on the Arshavin bandwagon regular readers of the blog will not be surprised at his impact. Back in the fall(?) I think it was craigy_f who first brought him to everyone’s attention when Zenit St. Petersburg played Everton in the UEFA Cup.
Comment of the Day “Much has been made of Van Basten's Holland rediscovering the joys of total football, but that is misleading. Yes, they are fluid and good to watch, but they are a more direct, counter-attacking side than their forebears of 30 years ago. Russia, arguably, given their commitment to attack, are rather closer in ethos to Michels' side, but the resemblance is largely superficial.
For one thing, neither side operates with a libero; for another, neither plays in the 4-3-3 (or, more accurately, 1-3-3-3) shape Johan Cruyff always insisted was essential for total football.
The context, equally, is very different. Part of the reason for the impact of Michels' and Lobaonvskyi's sides were that they were pressing and playing an aggressive offside trap in an era when nobody else was.
Everybody presses now. In their commitment to fluidity Russia and the Netherlands can probably claim to play a form of the game as close to total football as is possible in the modern age, but it should not be forgotten that for Russia that means pursuing their own tradition as much as adapting their approach to suit the heritage of their manager.” – Jonathan Wilson.
Prediction Update Not many picked Turkey while a good number of you had Croatia reaching the semi final. I have a feeling that the prediction league is going to be very close at the conclusion of the quarter finals.
Greece has appeared at two European Championship finals in 1980 in Italy and in Portugal four years ago.
How they qualified An impressive record of ten wins, a draw and only one loss brought Greece thirty-one points, the best points haul by any country in the qualifying rounds. The single loss was a humiliating one – 4-1 to Turkey in Greece – and it might of led to a meltdown in years gone-by.
Instead Greece rebounded with eight wins and a draw (Norway) while Turkey set off in a different direction with only one win in their next six games. Greece cruised through finishing seven points ahead of Turkey in Group C and eight ahead of Norway. Theofanis Gekas was Greece’s leading scorer with five goals including a hat trick against Malta.
The Coach Otto Rehhagel is now the longest serving and with a shadow of a doubt the most successful international manager that Greece has ever had. Not bad for a man who lost 5-1 to Finland back in 2001 on his debut. A sign of how far Greece has come under his management is the resilience of the team. Even failing to make it to the World Cup finals in 2006 was met with renewed vigour to make sure that as reigning European champions they would be on hand to defend their title in Switzerland and Austria this summer.
Rehhagel has been coaching since the mid-seventies although all his previous appointments had been in Germany where he accumulated all sorts of coaching records.
Key Players Theofanis Gekas has scored a lot of goals in the Bundesliga over the last two seasons and Greece’s progress may be dependent on his goal scoring exploits. Sotirios Kyrgiakos moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2006 after a season with Rangers and is a man-mountain of a defender who offers a threat at set pieces. Benfica’s Giorgos Karagounis is the driving force in the Greek midfield and a free kick specialist.
Great Euro Memory Well this is not a difficult one to pick. Four years ago Greece got off to a flying start beating the host nation Portugal in the opening game. Twenty-two days later they repeated the feat in the final after beating France and the Czech Republic in the knock-out stage with a smothering style of defense not seen for a couple of decades. Greece lifting the European championship was the biggest ever shock in European football.
Synopsis The current European Champions will not be slipping under the radar this time. Last time Rehhagel had the team primed and they executed his plan to perfection. Four years on he will again place his faith in many of the same players although he has found places for some younger talent. It is difficult to see how Greece can repeat but four years ago it seemed impossible that they could be crowned the Kings of Europe. But if there is one team that will play to maximum of their collective capabilities it will be Greece under Rehhagel.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Group 2 will also consist of Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg.
Russia - Under the guises of the Soviet Union and then the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1992 it is difficult to assign any lineage to Russia’s long term participation. However, they did compete as Russia in the 1996 and 2004 finals and at the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. However, they failed to move on from the group stage in any of their appearances.
How they qualified The group table tells us that Russia finished five points behind Group E winners Croatia and a single point ahead of third place England and Israel. However, that does no justice to the last game dramatics that saw Croatia going to Wembley having already secured a place in the finals and Russia traveling up a mountain to face Andorra.
After going two goals down to Croatia England drew level and were in a position to qualify if they could only hold on the draw. But Croatia scored again to break a 2-2 tie; Russia secured an unimpressive 1-0 win over Andorra and England’s players made plans to take a longer summer break. Aleksandr Kerzahkov scored six times for Russia including a hat trick against Andorra and a double against Estonia.
The Coach Guus Hiddink’s record in international competition is impressive. At France ’98 the Netherlands were unlucky to lose on penalties to Brazil; four years later he masterminded South Korea’s path to the last four; in 2006 he led Australia to a place in the last sixteen. Unfortunately for Hiddink the extraordinary is now expected and that is true for Russia. However, Hiddink has been trying to talk down the expectations surrounding Russia’s performance this summer preferring to cast the 2010 World Cup as the primary target.
Key Players Andrei Arshavin plays his club football for Zenit Saint Petersburg but he could be a big money transfer target this summer. Outstanding individual skills with great anticipation and has the ability to fill a number of different roles in midfield and attack – a real craftsman. There is however, one rather large problem – Arshavin is suspended for Russia’s first two matches after striking an Andorran player late in the last qualifying game.
The heritage of fine Russian goalkeepers seems safe. CSKA Moscow’s Igor Akinfeev at only 22 is one of the best young keepers in the world and will probably fight in out with Zenit St. Petersburg’s Viacheslav Malafeev for the starting spot.
Although Aleksandr Kerzahkov was Russia’s top scorer in the qualifying group stage he has been omitted from the Russian squad. Hiddink has a couple of other options in his back pocket in Roman Pavlyuchenko and Pavel Pogrebnyak – although as players with similar styles it unlikely that they will teamed together.
Pavlyuchenko came against England and scored twice to give Russia and come from behind 2-1 win while Pogrebnyak has scored four times in nine appearances for the national team and scored ten times in Zenit St. Petersburg’s successful UEFA Cup run just past. Pogrebnyak missed the UEFA Cup and he is battling an injury that has him doubtful for the Euros.
Great Euro Memory If you consider the Soviet Union’s participation then the greatest achievement is winning the first competition in 1960. Metreveli equalized for the Soviet’s just after half time following a first half goal from Yugoslavia’s Galic. The final went to extra time before Ponedelnik scored the winning goal with seven minutes left.
Synopsis Any side coached by Dutchman Guus Hiddink cannot be discounted although Russia was the recipient of a couple of fortunate breaks during qualifying. Replacing Arshavin for the first two games may be impossible and the lack of pace in defence may haunt Russia.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Wales, Finland and Germany will be the opposition in Group 4.
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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