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?
Romania took an ultra-extra
cagey approach to this vital match trying to ensure that they didn’t offer Netherlands
a chance to counter attack. By the end of the ninety minutes they had won the
battle but had categorically lost the war.
The safety first approach
worked in the first half as the Netherlands were forced to build their attacks rather
than benefitting from the super quick passing that had caused Italy and France
so much trouble.
However, Netherlands did
have chances with the best falling to Robben but he shot wide with only Lobont
to beat. Boulahrouz of all players was enjoying far too much space when
attacking down the Dutch right and more might have come from a couple of his raids.
Romania’s passing was
inconsistent with far too many sloppy passes or players being caught in
possession. Early in the second half any thoughts Romania may have harboured
about holding back and then pushing for a late winner were crushed when their
sloppy play infected the back four.
The Romanian defence
allowed Afellay to chase down an errant Robben cross completely unmolested. The
Dutch midfielder played the ball back into the box and again the defence failed
to deal with it. This time the ball found Huntelaar and Romania was in trouble.
Needing to up the tempo
Romania was unable to change gears as their passing deteriorated under the
pressure of now having to chase the game. Maruis Niculae who started in place
of his namesake Daniel was a willing front runner but sorely lacking the skills
to bother the Dutch defence.
Mutu was a sporadic
presence as the two received virtually no support from the midfield. The replacement of Maruis by Daniel made no
difference as the Dutch continued to deal with any Romanian threat with a
minimum amount of trouble.
Another goal from the
Dutch, this one from Robin van Persie, only served to highlight the gulf
between these two teams on the day.
Romania go home and leave thinking
of what might have been if only Buffon had been a split second slower or even
a fraction of a second quicker. But even then the game against the Netherlands offered up a second
chance to Romania and they bottled it.
France 0-2 Italy The share of the play
might have been even but Italy should have had France dead and buried before
half time. French supporters can look to the penalty kick awarded against Eric
Abidal and the red card he received as the turning point in this game but there
ominous signs before that moment for
France.
The injury to Franck
Ribery early in the game was another blow to France but even a fully fit Ribery
for ninety minutes would not have mitigated the problems caused by a porous
central defence and a ponderous in midfield.
The lead up to the penalty
decision was a microcosm of France’s early problems. A free kick in the centre circle
was played to Pirlo. With no pressure on him Pirlo had time to look up and clip
a 35-yard pass over the head of Abidal and onto the toe of Toni. Abidal attempted
a tackle was never going to finish up as anything but a dead-cert penalty kick.
Toni was giving the French
defence fits before Abidal’s sending off and he continued after the dismissal.
Grosso also hit the post from a free kick and Perrotta came close to breaking
through. French coach Raymond Domenech’s
decision to withdraw substitute Nasri (he had replaced Ribery) shortly after Abidal’s
red card will be a source of heated discussion amongst French fans. A more fateful
decision was perhaps taken before kick off in opting to deputize full back
Abidal as a centre back.
You can certainly argue
about the merits of centre backs Jean-Alain Boumsong and Sébastien Squillaci. But asking a regular full back to play centre
half when Domenech had two specialist centre-backs available begs the question
why did he bother picking Boumsong and Squillaci to start with?
Daniele
De Rossi’s deflected free kick was the clincher and put the game well beyond
10-man France. De Rossi was excellent throughout and his performance was a
reminder of Donadoni’s mistake in not playing the Roma midfielder against
Netherlands in the first game.
Comment of the Day
"That is the happiest
I have ever been after a match in which I didn't score," Ruud van Nistelrooy
after Holland beat France 4-1.
Prediction Update
LHJS, Sounderfan, knvoetbal
all recorded 100% scores is predicting the outcome of Group B. Sounderfan is
the only poster with a 100% record at the conclusion of the first two groups.
He leads everyone by at least two points.
This was an amazing and
enthralling match that hung in the balance right through to the final whistle. And
in the end Italy and Romania remain in contention for a place in the last eight
come the final round of group play next Tuesday.
Italy has Gianluigi Buffon to
thank for their first point of the tournament and making sure that they
maintained a fragile grip on continued participation. Panucci was got caught red-handed trying to hog tie Niculae for little apparent reason and with ten minutes left Romania got a chance to almost certainly send Italy home.
But the Italian keeper guessed right on a well struck but poorly directed penalty kick from
Adrian Mutu. Buffon got his right hand to the shot which then deflected onto
his trailing leg and clear.
Earlier in the second half
Mutu turned opportunist has he anticipated a header from Zambrotta back to
Buffon. By the time the Italy right back had realized what he had done Mutu had
struck a rising shot behind Buffon and high into the net. It was however a very
short-lived lead as Italy equalized with their next attack.
Giorgio Chiellini intelligently
opted to direct a header down and across the Romanian goal rather than go for
glory and Panucci snuck in at the back
post to tie the game up.
It was almost
inconceivable that this match could reach half time scoreless. Italy set off at
a cracking pace and keyed on the right side of the Romanian defense early.
Contra came in for special attention as Grosso moved forward to support the
Italian attack and Petre instead of playing in midfield found himself
augmenting Contra at right back.
It took fifteen minutes
for Romania to find any attacking intent but once they settled chances were
created in quick succession. Tamas and Mutu had shots well saved by Buffon while
Rat went narrowly wide from a long range effort and a deflected Chivu free kick
came back of the post with the keeper helpless.
The series of close
encounters reinvigorated Italy and the first half finished with Lobent making a
couple of fantastic saves before being beaten by a Toni header. Fortunately for
Romania the assistant referee’s flag went up for offside; replays showed that Toni
was not offside.
The best game of the
tournament so far in my book and the Group of Death, for once, has lived up to
the pre-billing.
France 1-4 Netherlands
It was the sort of day
that you want to bottle and preserve only to be opened when you need reminding
of how compelling, beautiful and thrilling this sport can be. While Italy and
Romania produced an opening act that threatened to one up the main attraction,
the Netherlands and France rose to the challenge and produced a display for the
ages.
A look at the final score
might lead you to conclude that this was a terrible performance by the French. But
rather this was a case of an astonishing performance from the Dutch. Think the
World Cup Final of 1970 when Brazil beat Italy 4-1. Was Italy that bad? The
truth is it didn’t matter because on that day Brazil was just so brilliant it
did not matter who wore the other jerseys.
And so it was today as the
Dutch put on a master class of passing, movement, shooting and finishing that was
quite breathtaking. While 4-2-4 made way for 4-3-3, then 4-4-2 and now 4-5-1 or
4-2-3-1 the basic premise of attacking and defending has remained stunningly
simple. When you attack you want to create space, when you defend you want to
shrink the space. A simple concept yes,
but something that is exceedingly difficult to pull-off - especially when the
opposition is constantly trying to counter.
It was concept that the Dutch executed today to perfection as they sliced open a
French midfield with a display of passing that was devastating. No ten yard
square passes to slow the tempo ala Makelele. The Dutch bypassed the French
midfield with passes that changed defence to attack in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile,
the French midfield with two anchors (Makelele and Toulalan), that should in
theory have been the perfect foil to the Dutch counter attack was left gasping
and chasing shadows.
Netherlands back to back
wins against the World Cup winners and runners up from only two years and by a
clear three goals each time is unprecedented in my memory. The question for the
Dutch is what do they do for an encore? France and Italy both
remain alive with the winner of Tuesday match also needing the Dutch to maintain
their undefeated streak when they face Romania in order to move on.
What a day.
Man of the match - Rafael van der Vaart. Amongst a number of very honourable mentions Ruud van Nistelrooy. Can't play as a lone striker? Hmmm.
Comment of the Day
"If someone talks about my
private life, for example, I'll give them a good punching. I'm not interested
in suing. I like to sort things out my way" - Luiz Felipe Scolari.
It was an ultra-cagey
first half with neither team willing to commit players forward in numbers
during open play. Free kicks and corners offered up the best opportunities but
even then the keepers were rarely tested.
You got the feeling that if France was
willing to up the pace and go after Romania that they would be rewarded. Tamas
and Goian looked very comfortable when balls were played high into the Romanian
area but there was a sense that the ball played quickly along the ground might
have provided them with a far greater challenge.
What's more Romania's goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont seemed at times to be intent on writing his own special chapter focusing on passbacks in the David James and Fabian Barthez best seller "Adventures in Goalkeeping."
The second half pretty
much replicated the opening forty-five minutes. France held an edge but Romania
defended with composure and opted to play the ball through the midfield once the
French had surrendered possession.
The French midfield cried out for a player
to quicken the tempo of the game but Makelele’s forte is to slow the pace down
not to speed it up and France rapidly ran out of attacking ideas. The French attack was not helped by a thoroughly badly balanced pairing of Nicolas Anelka and Karim Benzema.
The second half in
particular was close to a mirror image of the Scotland game in Paris last fall.
A well organized and motivated team comfortably holding off a French side that enjoyed a
significant edge in possession but was unable to change the flow of the game as
their attacking options weathered and died.
A draw means that no
matter the outcome of the second round of games both countries will enter the
final round with a chance of progressing.
Man-of-the-match
My pick would be left back
Razvan Rat. Tidy in possession and
quick in the tackle Rat not only kept Franck Ribery quiet but he also found
time to move forward to support the Romanian attack.
Italy 0-3 Netherlands
Italy is well known for
starting tournaments slowly but rarely has it cost them as dearly. This time it has and even though the opening goal was undoubtedly offside the Italians were
badly outplayed by a Dutch side was quicker in thought and in execution.
The second Dutch goal was
as beautiful as the first one was offside. The classic counter attack came after
van Bronckhorst had cleared what could have been own goal of the Dutch line and
fed the ball up the left touchline. A glorious 40 yard cross field pass was
headed down by Dirk Kuyt and Sneijder showed great composure and skill to hook
the ball passed Buffon.
A third could have come
before half time as van der Vaart played the pass of the tournament to date. He slipped awonderfully weighted pass
behind Materazzi who looked like he was running in sand to van Nistelrooy. This
time Buffon deflected the shot over.
Italy looked to be poorly equipped
to come back from a two goal deficit. A five minute spell from the 70th
minute, when first Toni and then Grosso got behind the Dutch defence and then
Pirlo was denied off of a free kick by van der Sar, was the best Italy could
offer.
Ironically the best
Italian spell of play ended with another Dutch counter attack and another key
contribution from Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Gio was smart enough to know that
Kuyt would not score one-on-one with Buffon and craftily positioned himself for
the cross that came after Buffon’s save. When Kuyt sent in the cross van
Bronckhorst had a free jump and the goal bound header was helped across the
line by Zambrotta.
A nightmare for Italy; a
dream for the Dutch. But remember……it is only the start.
Stat check – Italy’s worst
defeat at major finals since losing 4-1 to Brazil in 1970?
Comment of the Day
This was a description of
Croatia midfielder Luka Modric by Peter Mallett in Saturday’s Globe & Mail.
“Traditionally known for
tireless running, precision through balls and brute physical strength this
22-year-old midfielder personifies all that makes the red, white and blue
checkered shirts of Croatia revered.”
Hmmm - Brute strength? At a little over 5 foot 9 inches and 143
pounds soaking wet Modric might be considered a brute by an under-13 girl’s
team but that is about it.
Prediction Pool
Here is a breakdown of the
winners as predicted on the blog by Friday’s posters.
Germany 25.9%
Spain 19.5%
Italy 13.9%
France 13.0%
Portugal 12.0%
Netherlands 9.2%
Romania 2.8%
Russia
1.9%
Croatia 0.9%
Sweden 0.9%
Thanks to everyone who took the contribute their predictions and I will post the interim leaders at the completion of the group stage.
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.
This will make it six consecutive appearances for Netherlands at the European Championship finals. They won the tournament twenty years ago in Germany, made it to another four semi-finals (76, 92, 00, and 04) and lost at the quarter final stage in 1996.
How they qualified The Dutch relied on their wonderful home record in Euro qualifying that has seen them go unbeaten since losing to Luxembourg in 1963. Six wins and a draw in Group G extended the Dutch streak to 41 games without a loss over the last forty-five years.
Both losses in Group G came away from home with the set back against Belarus coming after qualification had been guaranteed. The Netherlands finished three points behind Romania (the other loss) and one ahead of Bulgaria. Robin van Persie scored four times for the Dutch.
The Coach Regarded by many as the greatest centre forward of all time Marco van Basten made sure that there was long pause between his injury enforced retirement and his return to the game as a coach.
The appointment as the national team coach after Euro 2004 was his first senior position after working with youth players at Ajax. After the tournament in Switzerland and Austria, van Basten will take over the coaching reins at Ajax and will be replaced by veteran Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk.
Key Players The conclusion of the tournament will see the Netherland’s most capped player goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar retire from the international arena. Captain of the Dutch team van der Sar is coming off of a European-Premiership double and his performances in qualifying kept the Ditch goals against to only five in twelve games.
Rafael van der Vaart is the pulse of Hamburg of the Bundesliga and if given the chance by van Basten his midfield promptings and an eye for a long range shot could prove valuable to the Netherlands.
With the likes of Robin van Persie, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink you would think goals would flow freely but a return of only fifteen goals in twelve qualifying games tells a different story.
Great Euro Memory With losses to the home nations at both the 1974 and 1978 World Cups fresh in the memory the Dutch finally won a major championship when they beat the Soviet Union 2-0 in the European Championship Final of 1988. No one who saw Marco van Basten’s goal will ever forget it – a classic.
Synopsis Many fans second favourite country in big tournaments based on the quality of the football they consistently deliver… up until the last couple of years that is. However, the Netherlands only have the 1988 European Championship to show for all their efforts hence the reason for Marco van Basten’s more pragmatic approach over the last few seasons.
The back four looks to be little more than competent while the midfield may turn out to be light weight. One of the big name forwards (that is not necessarily a reference to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink) has to be provided with quality service and hit a hot streak of form if the Dutch hope make it out of this GROUP OF DEATH let alone reach the last four.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Slotted into Group 9 alongside Scotland, Norway, Macedonia FYR, and Iceland.
Romania qualified for the finals in 1984, 1996 and 2000. They were knocked out by Hungary in a replayed quarter final in 1972.
How they qualified Romania’s only loss came against Bulgaria after qualification had been secured. Romania won Group G and finished three points better than the Netherlands and four better than Bulgaria. Adrian Mutu was their leading scorer with six goals.
The Coach Victor Piturca played most of his football for Steaua Bucharest and was part of the 1986 European Cup winning side. He was in charge of Romania during the qualifying stages for the 2000 European championships but was fired seven months before the tournament finals after a dispute over the distribution of bonus payments to players. He was recalled as the national team manager to replace Anghel Iordanescu in December 2004.
Key Players There are lots of very good players in this squad but Adrian Mutu who has resurrected his career with Fiorentina after a disastrous spell with Chelsea is the main man for Romania. Mutu often plays in tandem with pacey forward Ciprian Marica who moved to Stuttgart from Shakhtar Donetsk for big money last summer but a return of two goals from 28 appearances (13 as substitute) was poor.
Cristian Chivu made an impressive debut at Euro 2000 as a teenage left back before moving to a central defensive position. But lately Chivu has been providing defensive cover in midfield for the national team and has not looked out of place. Steaua Bucharest stopper Dorin Goian adds some steel at the back but can also pop up with goals at set pieces.
Great Euro Memory Romania failed to win a game at the finals in 1984 and 1996 and the first two games at Euro 2000 only brought a draw and a loss. Facing England in the final game of Group A play in Charleroi Romania needed a win to qualify as runners-up to Portugal while England needed only a draw to progress.
Alan Shearer opened England’s account from the penalty spot just before half time to tie the game at 1-1 after Cristian Chivu has put Romania into the lead. Michael Owen then popped up to give England an unexpected half time lead but right after the break Munteanu leveled the score.
With time running out Philip Neville fouled Moldovan in the penalty area and Ganea struck home the winner from the spot. Italy beat Romania 2-0 in the quarter final through goals from Totti and Inzaghi.
Synopsis This will be Romania’s first appearance at a major final since 2000 but this squad is a very good emerging side that must be cursing its luck after being drawn in the GROUP OF DEATH. However, Romania may be the banana skin that upsets one or even two of the other three teams. This is a side whose chances of making it out of the group should not be underestimated.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Drawn in Group 7 with Austria, France, Serbia, Lithuania and Faroe Islands.
Don’t mention anything about the romance of the FA Cup to Huddersfield Town manager Andy Ritchie.
An opportunity for our Liverpool fans to point out why Scott Murray is wrong.
For those looking to get right into the African Cup of Nations the All Soccer Africa website has a Nations Cup fantasy league feature. The site also has country-by-country previews and squad lists and it looks to be going all out to cover the 2008 edition.
It’s the third round of the FA Cup this weekend and this is where the big teams get involved. Here is a rundown of a few Championship vs. Premiership games followed by predictions. I don’t do weekly league predictions but I thought it might be interesting to follow the Cup from the third round on. If you want to give it a go then post your predictions (eventual winners only count no draws) and keep score – it’s on the honour system right through to the final in May.
Ipswich Town v Portsmouth These two met in the third round two years ago and Portsmouth won 1-0. This time we have a side with a fantastic home record (Ipswich) against Portsmouth who have won eight of twelve Premiership away games this season. Former Southampton midfielder Jim Magilton has Ipswich unbeaten at home in the Championship with eleven wins from thirteen matches and scoring 33 goals and only conceding 7. Contrast that with an away record on no wins, four draws and nine losses and you can see why it is a case of “no place like home” for Ipswich. It is not often you come across a team that simultaneously hold s the best home record and worst away record in a league. Ipswich currently sits 6th in the fizzy-pop Championship and beat league leaders West Brom 2-0 on Wednesday. Former Canadian captain Jason De Vos scored.
Bristol City v Middlesbrough Former Yeovil and Latvia manager (how is that for an exotic career) Gary Johnson has Bristol City third in the Championship and with only one loss in their last nine league games. This tie brings together two teams that needed penalty kicks to separate them last season in the 4th round – Boro eventually winning. Neither club has ever won the FA Cup but both have been runners up – Bristol City 99 years ago and Boro in 1997. Boro will be without Woodgate who is suspended and Robert Huth (remember him?) might get the call. Huth missed the first four months of this season before finally returning from injury at the start of last month.
Stoke City v Newcastle United With only one point out of a possible 12 over the holiday period and Joey Barton seemingly intent on starring in Mean Machine 2 things are bleaker than ever for Sam Allardyce and Newcastle supporters. A push for a European spot would require a monumental effort especially given Newcastle’s January schedule. They have Manchester City h, Manchester United h and a, Arsenal a, Aston Villa a, and the other two games are against Bolton and Middlesbrough at St. James’ Park.
Despite pronouncements from owner Mike Ashley that he is not currently looking for a new boss it is clear that it all could change very quickly. But the FA Cup does offer an escape route and a run deep into the competition might be enough to salvage this season. However, Newcastle have not been given an easy task in the third round. They face a Stoke City side that is currently in fourth place in the Championship as well as knowing a thing or two about managerial turnover.
Regarded as the second oldest football club in the world Stoke in their first 103 years had 16 managers. In the last 30 years they have gone through 24 and have averaged a manager a year since 1991. Tony Pulis returned for his second stint in charge in 2006 and engineered a solid late run of results that saw Stoke finish just outside the promotion play-off spots.
Pulis carries a reputation as a no nonsense boss and has a few Premiership players in his squad. Former Southampton striker Ricardo Fuller is Stoke’s leading scorer with 11 and former Sunderland player Liam Lawrence has 8 goals so far. Steve Simonsen was once an expensive teenage signing from Tranmere for Everton but he now keeps goal for Stoke. Dominic Matteo (former Leeds and Liverpool) and Salif Diao (Liverpool) are other recognizable names. Stoke rarely blow teams away and vice versa so Newcastle are going to be in for a tough time of it.
Chelsea v Queens Park Rangers This is the seventh successive time that FA Cup holders Chelsea have been drawn at home in the FA Cup. Their opponents this time might as well be called “Mini-Chelsea”. With Chelsea backed by Abramovich’s billions, Queens Park Rangers have the financial clout of the world’s 5th richest man (Lakshi Mittal owns 20% of the club) as well as Formula One’s Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone. Former Napoli and Siena manager Luigi De Canio was appointed QPR boss in late October after John Gregory was sacked and has been given money to spend – and potentially there is lots more of it.
From his initial dealings the focus appears to be to generally upgrade the team rather blowing money on Premiership calibre players right from the off. One loss in the last seven league games has helped move QPR out of the relegation zone and it looks as if the ownership group is opting to build for long term success rather than risking a flame-out. It has been six seasons since QPR reached the 4th round and they are unlikely to improve on that this season. But there is every chance we are going to hear a lot more about the team in years to come.
FA Cup 3rd Round - predicted winners in bold Saturday - Aston Villa v Man Utd; Barnsley v Blackpool; Blackburn v Coventry; Bolton v Sheff Utd; Brighton v Mansfield; Bristol City v Middlesbrough; Charlton v West Brom; Chasetown v Cardiff; Chelsea v QPR; Colchester v Peterborough; Everton v Oldham; Huddersfield v Birmingham; Ipswich v Portsmouth; Norwich v Bury; Plymouth v Hull; Preston v Scunthorpe; Southampton v Leicester; Southend v Dagenham & Redbridge; Sunderland v Wigan; Swansea v Havant & Waterlooville; Swindon v Barnet; Tottenham v Reading; Tranmere v Hereford; Walsall v Millwall; Watford v Crystal Palace; West Ham v Man City; Wolverhampton v Cambridge Utd. Sunday - Burnley v Arsenal; Derby v Sheff Wed; Fulham v Bristol Rovers; Luton v Liverpool; Stoke v Newcastle.
MeanSucka - I know I may be late on this one - what do you think of Michael Owen saying that the England need to rethink psychological preparation for matches: "When fear takes over, you start to do things wrong and take the easy option which in our case is lumping the ball forward to the front men. I’m not absolving myself from blame… What must be addressed as much as anything is our psychological preparations."
Do you suspect that McClaren was playing a DVD of Shrek to motivate the team?
Bobby – As late as a Robbie Savage challenge. I think Owen has a point. The way England plays at times it does look like they are racked with fear. But fear can be generated from a number of sources and having a manager who was indecisive and seemed more concerned about his image would not have helped.
CIAO - Here is to MILAN!!! I hope they prove Marcotti wrong! Haven't writers yet learned not to write off Italians?
Bobby – I guess it stings more when it as an Italian writer writing off Milan.
CIAO - Can you please give us your early predictions for the EURO 2008?
Bobby – It is far too early to start looking at a crystal ball. I’ll keep my thoughts until next summer.
Getz76 - Is Sam Allardyce in trouble? I am completely indifferent on the topic and to me it looks like they are performing much like they were last season; was he expected to get to European competition in the first season?
Bobby – Yes. Newcastle fans are so frustrated after years of false dawns and a revolving manager’s door that they do probably have unrealistic expectations. However, having unrealistic expectations is one thing but I think you nailed it with your comment “to me it looks like they are performing much like they were last season.” With the money that has been spent – again – and to see a team that is no better must be soul-destroying.
CIAO - So I just search the World Cup in Wikipedia. 1930 was the first WC. Won by Uruguay, runner up was Argentina. Third place it listed as USA and 4th Yugoslavia. Is this correct? Was the US really 3rd?
Bobby – It was a thirteen tournament with one group of four and three groups of three. The USA was drawn in pool IV along with Paraguay and Belgium. The USA beat both 3-0. They lost 6-1 to Argentina in the semi final although they were only losing 1-0 at the half and conceded three goals in the last nine minutes of the match. I can’t find any record of a third place game so it they finished third it might have been due to a better goal average than Yugoslavia who had also lost 6-1 to Uruguay in the other semi.
European representation was limited to France, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Belgium – even at that they only decided to travel less than two months before the tournament. However, it would be unfair to make too much out of the few European teams that travelled given that Argentina and Uruguay had also contested the Olympic Final in ’28. Uruguay won both finals. The European teams that were missed the most were probably Austria, Scotland and England.
According to “The Story of the World Cup” by Brian Glanville (a book that every fan of international football would enjoy) the USA was actually seeded top in their pool. To quote Glanville – “At this time there was still professional football of a sort in the States, the rump of the attempt by such as Bethlehem Steel to put sports on its feet in the 1920s. The American team managed by Jack McColl of Brooklyn Wanderers, was made up largely of British and Scots pros: Alec Wood, James Gallacher, Andrew Auld, James Brown and Bart McGhee from Scotland, George Moorhouse from England. They were powerfully-built men whom the French players nicknamed the “shot-putters”.”
Gregz-Q1. Jamaica rehired Rene Simoes to try to recapture the '98 glory? Won't it be harder for him this time around? Q2. Which country from the CONCACAF region do you see having a good chance of qualifying for WC 2010 other than Mexico and the United States of course.
Bobby – Q1. I think it will be harder this time around. Greater expectations, CONCACAF is probably stronger than 10 years ago and they have a tough qualifying group.
Q2 Based on past performances you would have to give Costa Rica a nod as one of the countries with an excellent chance. On paper Honduras as a good squad but they have a habit of folding under pressure. Canada is in with a shout but they need to win at home and hope that a few of their more creative and attacking players stay healthy.
Milan4Ever - Is it just me or are there a lot more own goals being scored in football these days? Could it be because of the increased pace of the game or the extra pressure on defenders? or maybe even both..?
Bobby – Good question and the answer is yes and no. I went back to the last two seasons and compared the average goals scored in six of Europe’s domestic leagues with the average so far this season.
Here are the statistics by country and season (2008, 2007 and 2006).
England (2.66, 2.45, 2.48) Italy (2.52, 2.55, 2.61) Spain (2.68, 2.48, 2.46) France (2.24, 2.25, 2.13) Germany (2.76, 2.74, 2.81) Holland (3.19, 2.99, 2.98)
In some cases there are more goals being scored but in others less. There is nothing to indicate that any systemic type change leading to more goals is underway. What you might be seeing is more blow outs than normal. For example the Portsmouth/Reading and Everton/Sunderland games have increased the goal average by 0.10 based on these two results alone.
Pgaijar - Fantastic hearing about the development of football in India, earlier this year in January I was in India, and was surprised by the amount of cricket Indians watched. They took days off to watch a test match, and hopefully in the years to come India will embrace footy just as much as cricket. But one thing troubles me Bobby do you think corruption which has disrupted much of the development in India will cause problems?
Bobby – It doesn’t seem to have affected FIFA so India should be ok.
Indahaeri - There is an interesting story in Inter-Milan that is under the surface. It looks to me that there is lack of cooperation between Ibrahimovic and the new attackers that Inter signed this year.
As I watched the second half of Inter and Fiorentina this past weekend, I saw terse statements exchanged by Ibrahimovic and Suazo. I also see that Ibrahimovic seems to intentionally play better with Cruz than either with new big signings - Suazo or the Argentinian. I saw several times in that game when Ibrahimovic delayed passes to Suazo or slowed down leaving Suazo to hold the ball longer than supporting him (when Suazo had the ball).
Bobby – Ibrahimovic has always been a prickly character. I have trouble believing that a player intentionally plays better (or worse) depending on who he is playing with. Who is the big Argentine signing?
Craigy_f - Favour if you could; I have a point to prove - check out my Liverpool v Bolton game summary and give some indication of (in your opinion) of it's veracity and bias. You can just laugh at the second one!
Bobby – Let’s just say that you can’t be accused of seeing things through red-tinted glasses.
Wiegs9 – I was wondering if there are certain experience, successes or personality traits which might suggest someone would be good int'l manager for a bigger nation like Scotland, England or Ireland? I ask b/c it seems like success at a club doesn't necessarily equate to int'l success, though I wondered if you had seen any trends. Thanks!
Bobby – I don’t think there is necessarily an identikit that can be constructed as there will always be exceptions. But successful international managers tend to be older (check past winners of the World Cup and Euros) and have enjoyed some success at the club level.
The other international manager niche is coaches who graduate through the national system (working with age group teams) and work their way into a job after building trust along the way with players, the media, and the national associations. Media savvy is critical, as is the ability to get on with club managers.
Ulsterson – I didn't get to watch the game yesterday (Work) so I was hoping someone could tell me why Evra was subbed in the 47th?
Bobby – It was reported as illness.
Henry14 - Q1 Don't you feel that Jose is a risk , okay the media wants him to be paid $12m and won't it be a risk that he is given a job and Barca, then and scoop him when the fa is sending money on his blue print of facilities and before World Cup.
Q2 Tottenham could be in bottom half by February, if you look at their fixture list what do you make of that fact.
Q3 Liverpool are playing well do you see them challenging for the title given they still have to go to Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd. and they lost all those games
Bobby – 1. Find me a manager who is a sure thing.
2. As so could three quaters of the Premiership.
3. I said at the beginning of the season that I could see a four-horse race and I stick by that.
Henry14 - Milan are a poor side.
Bobby – Perhaps but remember the same or similar was said last season around this time and they finished up as the Champions of Europe.
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. Howe
