Let's say the truth, the Spain-Croatia match was a pain in the neck, with the two teams playing slow-motion until Italy scored. Croatia then went berserk but wasted its chances big time, a poor show but enough to scare a bad performing Spain, which passed in the end thanks to an offside goal, paired with a couple of unseen penalties for Croatia. Spain - probable winner of this European - must thank the referee big time for not being in the plane to Madrid.
Btw UEFA is said to be much relieved by the departure of the group of nasty Croatian nazi-hooligans who did their best to tarnish the reputation of a majority of peaceful people. Never in the story of humankind so few idiots did so much damage to so many fellow citizens.
A great bravo to the Irish team and to their great supporters, a true example of sportsmanship and civilization. And bravo to the Sweden team, who is dominating France despite they are already out.

Cheers!

Lovely...Sweden scores again!

lol France

Bravo Sweden and a giant Ibrahimovic as usual. Poor France will meet his fate with Spain, and good-bye. Italy-England will be an interesting match. My bets are on Italy, if Balotelli wakes up.

Don't forget to add IMO
really, it wasn't that bad...

England were riding their luck that first half, a better team would have spanked them. Ukraine played some nice football in spells but just weren't incisive enough.

Zlataaaaaan Ibrahimovic! Zlataaaan Ibrahimovic! Kongo-Kim! Taco-Svensson! Kung Olof! What a classy way to leave the tournament boys, Brazil 2014 here we come!

P.S Fasen vad man kommer sakna många av de "gamla" gubbarna nu när de lämnar. Alla kval och turneringar man följt de i över 10 år. Stående ovationer till Mellberg och Svensson. Sverige - Argentina VM 2002...remember.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8Dnk7v4nQ

Ukraine wasn't that bad, and England also owes a big thank you to the referee for that unseen goal scored by Devic and kicked out by Terry from 2 m behind the line. How could the line referee not see that clear goal, is a mystery.

wow, there were some HUGE fails from the Judges in this match!!

givne that, good 2nd half for both teams, it was a great match seeing both of them actually fightign for it (more of ukraine off course, but england did stand their ground without parking it too much)

Group phase is over, so far my guess is of a Spanish-German final, Cant tell who will win yet..... maybe portugal ;)

Same way the linesman didn't see that the Ukrainian player was clearly offside when the ball was played into the England half during the build up to it.

Of course it did blatantly cross the line.

All in all, shocking refereeing, yet again.

That's how Greece won it back in 2004! Well established fact is that teams that consistently win with below par performances are as dangerous as a team loaded with Skill, that have most of the possession, create more chances and yet still lose to a disciplined defensive side who can create one chance and take it. Chelsea v Barcelona/Bayern comes to mind.

England v Italy, I just hope it doesn't go to penalties........:grin:

Yes! And what a goal by Zlatan! It truly hurts that they could not get one point at least against England... And I don't want to think about the game against Ukraine...

Germany-Greece will be an interesting match, looking at the Greek revanche sentiment echoed by their newspapers ... :-D

Personally I would bet 5 euros on Greece.

Cheers.

PS: IMO. :-)

Probably something like this :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur5fGSBsfq8

I know were to get several containers full of crying towels cheap if Germany can't win.

i don't see England that weak, for me they're the strongest team physically along with Germany by far, and have really great stamina; besides they have some talent there, don't rule them out that easily.

It was at least a mile over the line, no, two miles! More like millimetres... If it had stood it would have been unfair as the person that passed the ball to the striker was offside when the ball was played through to him.

An engineer friend of mine says that a tiny sensor can be placed in the ball, with sensors fitted on a frame behind the posts, and if it goes in a green light can show - no need for review or Hawkeye etc.

Hood

ps come on England - win the thing if only to make the other European nations moan and whinge! :grin:

Best wishes to England, may them win this competition! :-)

PS: nobody blames England for the referee's mistake. Mistakes happen.

Ibrahimovic. The only guy in Euro 2012 that is never seen with just a single drop of sweat! When sweden plays, a sign saying "Beware, crossing pedestrians!" should be erected in some convenient spot :D
No, it was a nice goal indeed :)

And... maan, what a shame it would be if we really lose to Greece. The mere thought about it makes me shiver... I hope we don't figg up!

P.S.: Wow, England's leading again in "decisive" Wembley goals (or "ghost goals", as they are called on the island :rolleyes: )! It's 2:1 now - 1966 (1:0), 2010 (1:1) and now, 2012 (2:1). Marvelous! :D
Nah, I really like the English!. They are my favourite, apart from my home country! :) But Wembley 1966 still hurts! Oh, by the way: Is Rooney more aerodynamic now?

I think it would've been more controversial had it been allowed now knowing that the guy who assisted it was offside by 2 yards. I can't remember a single offside in the entire game and obviously the line ref didn't do his job either lol Looks like it was all down to the ref for that one.

I have to say that the standard of refereeing has been excellent in the tournament, they've pretty much ignored the guys diving for fouls and only booked for bad tackles and the most cynical. It has varied of course but at least it's been very consistent and concentrated on the game flowing.

When Sweden gave England a tough game I knew they'd be up for taking on France and give them a tough time. The French team are all tiny and had to deal with some big Swedes, great result Sweden.

I agree, the referees, with a few exceptions, have been great this tournament. The games have been great too, except Croatia vs Spain, what a ZZZZZZnoozer.

To be fair addman nobody has the ability of the Spanish so teams have to use tactics. The Croats played a fantastic game by shutting down their ability to play short quick passing into the box, and then played them on the break. I didn't find that boring, I found it exciting whenever Croatia broke out, and they were unlucky in the end - the real 'group of death', not the 'faux group of death' (Germany/Holland etc) ;)

England were pretty poor again but we're through. How the extra official didn't see the ball cross the line I'll never know- the chap who played the assist was offside and that was also missed by the linesman - I don't think that's why it wasn't given, just incompetence by the officials all around. Hopefully it will reignite the argument for goal line technology though.

Oh well, next up Italy

Yes, indeed, on a tactical level it was a brilliant game but for me personally, I like it when tactical football is combined with a little bit more pace.;)

P.S England - Italy, very hard to predict IMO. England is very unpredictable, sometimes brilliant sometimes comical. Italy is more consistent, score 1 goal and then put the defensive brick wall up. I wouldn't want to bet on that game but if I had to....Italy is Italy. :)

P.S 2 Hart has been too good so far in the goal, I bet he's gonna pull some David Seaman "save" and sink the whole team against Italy.

Hart looked somewhat bad in the first game imo. Perhaps, it was nervousness.

Agree with all this, especially about Joe Hart, but I think this is a game England will win as long as they can avoid all those Italians falling over in the penalty box.

Germany v. Greece tonight...mmmm....must not miss game I think. Time for another upset possibly? and lets not forget , Greece can score.

I like the political ramifications.

If Greece win, they can thank the Germans for bankrolling there football team:evil:

Don't be annoyed addman, all of that money they borrowed from Germany is being spent on German made products. The Greek people didn't do it but they have to pick up the bits. Still, that's politics, a much nastier than football.....

not tonight, its on friday!

Perfectly put Bounder,England were lucky,they know it,and we know it,they'll be no time to sod about with Italy,they'll nail us if we play like this again.

dammit.... one evening without football, what should I do with myself? :confused: :-)

Iron front's working for a few of the dangerdogz:cool:

http://dangerdogz.com/forums/uploads...7_5_149270.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89_IR...layer_embedded
:cool:

back to football:

GOOOOOOOO

POOOORTUUUUGAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL

http://betting.stanjames.com/sites/d...rtugalFans.jpg

Best wishes to Portugal also! I hope that you win the championship! :cool:

Against the Czech Republic you should manage, hehe.
Then again, stranger things have happend.

In the meanwhile it is more DayZ for me.

What a pity for Czech Republic! Visibly inferior and saved only by a great goalkeeper. Portugal was stably and comfortably installed in the Czech court for the whole second half. The only annoying defect of Portugal is the selfishness of some players.

Cheers!

Czech Republic parked their bus and hoped for penaltys, unfortunatly, who shoots a lot eventually scores, and Ronaldo did make an amazing goal, the way we switched from behind the defender too suddenly appear ahead of him was just WOW. It was after all 20 against 2 shoots.

And tonight we ahve Greece vs Germany. I think i rather see germany go to the next phase, but an opportunity to win against the greeks on the finals is interesting too ;)

lol, nicely put.

The game was not bad, but the Czech Republik rarely looked dangerous. Deserved win for Portugal, imho.

Tonight will be interesting for sure. Usually I'd say, no problem, we'll get them! But there are some particular circumstances surrounding that game. Lessee what happens.

Portugal sure deserved to win and Ronaldo sure deserved to be the one scoring - too bad he´s such a sissy ;)

Good luck in the semi... A game between Portugal and Spain would be nice!

For the first time in my life I actually want Italy to reach the finals as I'm going to Tuscany next week and will stay there until the finals :)

Well, reasonably i'd say i expect us (Greece) to lose. On the other hand, Greek football is totally random some times and some teams get unpredictable wins against much better European teams if they are motivated. I think it will depend on the kind of media coverage and public figures present in the field.

If fans and players are aware of what papers like Bild are publishing about the whole thing (ok, i know it's not considered a top of the line publication, more like a tabloid, but they are mixing politics with footbal in their articles and people here are reacting to the "trolling") and Mrs Merkel is in the stadium to watch the match, they will probably try much harder to win this one. Otherwise they might simply play this as a normal match, with lower levels of motivation.

I'm not really bothered either way.

I like the German Team but will be supporting Greece. Everyone expects Greece to lose (and they probably will) but I thought that back in 2004 for every game that eventually took them to the finals...........which they also won. After that I gave up predicting the outcome of any match. The Greeks will park the bus and that's about as much as I will predict.

Engalnd V Italy? I expect England to lose simply because I won't be disappointed if they do but footy is a funny old game and they seem to have come up Trumps with 'sketchy' performances!

Don't miss Siena and the magical Val d'Orcia!

Honestly, I do not expect anything in this game. In theory the german team should be better, but in theory the russian team should have been better, too. And never underestimate the factor "will". Especcialy if a Merkel is watching in person.
I am looking forward to a very intense game here.
As long both sides remember it is a game and not politics, however, that could become an awesome match =)

"More like a tabloid?" It is a tabloid incarnated and enjoys such a reputation that nobody ever admits to reading it. Obviously enough do, anyways. And it has a much greater influence on german public opinion then most would admit. Kinda like the Daily Mail in the UK, same level.

But I have hopes for the game. I think neither side wants to be the baddy and thus we may even see a fairer game then most.

Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs! Allez les grecs!

We all know how this is going to end :cool:

oh... a msistart? lol

lets go.. im hoping for a germany win, i still think russia desearved more to be playing today.... but victorys is what counts.

Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands,Allez les allemands.:-P

Yeah, at least the fans will be careful i think in order not to cause bad publicity for their teams :-P

P.S. We are losing 1-0 it seems. Maybe Merkel is not bothering them enough to do something about it :grin:

Never underestimate the annoyance factor where Frau Merkel is concerned

1-1 !!!!!!!!

Brilliant 1-1 LOL :)

Cheese

you got to be kidding......


1-1

if germany scores, they shoudl just park their Bus. Boring, but that would put an end to the match.

Goooooooooooaaaaaaaal ! Samaaaaaaaaaras!!!

ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

NOW: PARK THE BUS!!!! if you dont attack they wont score lol

watching Frau Merkel exulting is somehow worrying ... :-D

scratch that:

SLAUGTHER THEM! :evil:

:grin:

was thinking the same thing...:)

Ozil did a great plunge resulting in the third goal ... it does change nothing but simulation in this case is a bad bad game :-D

aaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnd its over.

GJ Germany, you did waht you had to do, and desearved a better result (5-0 would be fair)

The greek team fails to have my sympathy, They had to win, they parked their bus when on a tie and when loosing, showed no eager to win, and limited to enjoy the fails of the other team. Not saying the 1st goal was bad, because it was not, but it was a luck strike.

On the other hand, germany seems to be the favourite, its a good balanced machine both defending and attacking. They had their fair share off bad luck shooting, they missed some big opportunities.

PS.: yeah, nothing perssonal agiasnt you Greeks on this forum. After all the Coach is a Portuguese, and he is to blame for the "park the bus" tactic. Please dont ban me:grin:

So, what shall we see, Germany-England or Germany-Italy? Both great matches indeed. The second would be more entertaining though.

Well, that was brutal. I did not believe my eyes when Greece scored 1:1.
Great work, and luck is a natural part of the game, applies to "every" goal. And nicely executed penalty in the end. Luckily we had enough lead not to worry too much from then on, but still.....

Luckily, we managed to set the record straight :D

I'd like to see Germany-England simply for all the drama that would unfold in the british press, before and especially after, not matter if they win or lose, that alone is worth it :D

Some nice goals, well done Germany. Ray of hope at 1-1 but, as many said, Greece have one goal in them but one was never going to be enough against this German team.

Cannot see Portugal turning this German team over so Germany for the final is my bet.

Oh lordy, I can just imagine how arse cringingly embarrassing our tabloids will be if we get that far. Oh no, that also means our Prime Minister, a man who looks like he's got a condom pulled over his head, will be at that game. :evil:

Still, well done Germany. Can't tell who'll win yet but I predict it will NOT be Spain.

Poor France stands very little chances against this Spain. France is just the ghost of the mighty team they used to be between 1998 and 2006.

Cheers!

Heeheehee :) The first half is over. So far you are WRONG :rolleyes:

Sorry, my fault. I meant Spain will not win this competition. They lack a cutting forward edge (no David Villa) and they also lack Puyol in defence.

Big mistake by Laurent Blanc in setting his team + French players not aggressive and doing too many mistakes. Prandelli for instance found the right asset and Spain had quite a bad time against Italy, saving the match by the skin of a teeth.

Regards!

I'm afraid you are right, Spain is doing little against a very weak France, apart from keeping the ball and doing 300 passes in a row. Yawn!

well, they are doing it right, they are defending very well, and creating jsut the right ammount of chances, if they risk too much they may do more mistakes), and they are jsut scoring the right ammount of goals. Just the wya to go in my opinion, no need to overkill ,like germany did, tough that is more enjoyable.

I dont know if Portugal will make it agaisnt spain, but a good game is ahead for sure.

2-0 it's over. we await Spain in semi finals.

Worst game so far, boring as hell. Looks like France didn't really try and Spain just made the minimum.

Sadly, I have to agree with you :( Yet, who knows?

Spain and Germany Final..

Germany will win through Pens

uhm.... im betting on a german win, but not trough penaltys. that is from analytical point of view.

i would rather see a portugal vs Germany, with a portuguese win, or Spain win agaisnt germany.

Wednesday we will have a great match for sure. Im betting on a early score from the spanish, the the portuguese team wakes up and tries to flip the tables. Maybe we can win, maybe not. hope we do :grin:

9pm English time, I predict crying... ;)

The game yesterday was not overly inspiring, really. I am seriously curious how Spain will manage in the Semis. Germany "may" pull this off, but that was said last WC as well. Everything's open. If Portugal finds a recipe against that Tiki Taka play, the more impressive :)

But one after the other, let's see which team moves on tonight, England or Italy.
I suspect Italy will make it, but I am going for England here again anyways, hehe.

Tonight England and Italy will hopefully make for the football show that France and Spain missed so miserably, both for French shyness (or fear) and for Spain cynism to defend the 1-0. And their goal came at the very first opportunity with a giant mistake on the left defensive side. A gods gift.
IMO if Spain will make it to the final it will be only for the chronic individualism of the Portugal players, individually more talented but too much prima donnas. And football is a team game ...

Ehehe the Tiki Taka play reminds me of one of Sacchi's recipes: as long as you keep the ball possession the other team cannot score ...

Pressing - another piece of Sacchi's credo - is the countermeasure. Italy did it on the first half against Spain and closed 1-0. In the second half they defended the score - tiredness - and gave a chance to Spain to equalize.
And pressing is what France didn't do at all yesterday. Spain applied it and constantly doubled the men on the French ball bringer forcing them to loose the ball or fail the pass.

Cheers!

Yeah, same way Germany lost last WC. Too much respect for the Spanish. Though France did not only look too respectful, they also appeared to lack any will to win this. Tired playing by both sides.

Italy plays like it does for ages, bunker defence, attemtping to score in the counter attack. They are coherently good but a rather predictable team.
England adopted a similiar style here, but they lack the routine and professionalism of the italian team.
Then again that may make them more flexible, really depends on their determination. I have a feeling the english do not yet trust themselves enough to pull this off, but stranger things have happend.

Football is 50 percent psychology, will be interesting for sure.

So England, get your superiourity and inferiority complexes in control, develop some fun and deliver a great game! :D

They are not exactly like that. This was the case 25 years ago, now most of their goals aren't done in counter attacks. Look at Croatia-Italy statistics for instance: more shots, more corners, longer possession, less fouls.


Anyway Italy is a rather weak team nowadays and England stands better chances tonight.

Let's enjoy the match!

Just came home, 0:0 so far, anything notworthy until now?

Lessee how that goes, makes a rather dynamic and pleasant game for what I have seen so far.

They have played like that in the 2006 at least. Admittingly I have not followed Italy much since then, but in their game against Spain they did not look that dynamic, really. Rather more like the old ways.

1 aweswome chance for each team. quite a few chances for italy ruined by bollotelli. The draw reflects the effort of both teams, but italy is slightly more dominating. Anything can happen still.

That was a highly enjoyable first half!
England a lot better then I thought they would be, but coming under pressure later on. Half time came in the right moment.

Seriously, good game, back and forth, loved the english way of trying to use their chances at once the moment they got the ball. And Italy much more offensive then expected. And despite all the movement very fair play by both sides.

Two classic teams knowing how to deliver a show, by all means :D

Very enjoyable match, and very offensive Italy, as I expected. Too defensive and shy England apart from the first 15 minutes, which I didn't expect. Way too many chances wasted by Italy, and as they say you end up paying for it in the end. Hope not because Italy wouldn't deserve it for what they showed.

I am not so sure, Italy clearly the dominant team right now, but they botch one chance after the other. Eventually they will have to pay for that.

Usually it is as you say. but looking at the statistics ... Shoots 26-6, in the goal 14-2 ... What a waste!

Rarely seen such a defensive England and such a waste of chances by Italy. The show however repaid us of the boredom of yesterday, as I hoped.

That was some nice last minute action by England.

Oh well, overtime. Astonishing, it was such an open game, but no goals. And I am looking at you, Italy! Rooney gets praise for effort.

If the english can keep their cool and the Italians show to be wasted from their incredible pace so far, everything's still open.

Great game, highly enjoyable, overtime is propper here. :D

gah, another missed chance, this time from England. Whatever those two teams have, I hope it is not contagious.


U oh, England, this smells penalties.

bah, my nervers!

Can't even begin to imagine how our fellow englishmen must feel right now

Clear and total domination by Italy, but great defense by England. The winning team will be very tired and with a Germany with 2 days more of rest ...

Did I mention that I am thoroughly enjoying this match? :D

Best match so far. But played in one half of the field only ... :-)

Tirs au but! Naaaaaaaaaa! :-D

FFS Penalties... again... :(

Nah, played in one half was Greece vs. Germany. This one had some phases of real english offensives.

But they became way too defensive in the long run, not enough self confidence, they gave up too fast and let Italy get into their game.

Penalties now. I am not making predictions... :)

England-Italy.... absolutely the worst match so far. :/

Wow, Italy completely overcome England but cannot score. With this team tonight, England have played the best they can against a quality opposition. Good thing for us Balottelli is thinking more about his career on Wings of Prey XBox than football!

Penalties now; Come on England!!!!!!!

Well, good game, one of those classic matches. Thank you teams, for time not wasted :D

Sorry England....those penalities could have been yours.