UEFA Euro 2012

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• (August 06, 2008, 10:47:20 PM)

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WC Champ
Mitch!
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[Queensryche]

So, who's gonna be watching this? I know I'm gonna be watching replays when I get home from work.

The teams in the tournament and groups are as follows:

GROUP A
Czech Republic
Greece
Poland
Russia

GROUP B
Denmark
Germany
The Netherlands
Portugal

GROUP C
Croatia
Ireland
Italy
Spain

GROUP D
England
France
Sweden
Ukraine


In my opinion, I think once again Spain is the clear favorite to win, even with the players missing from their squad and the wear and tear on the players on the squad. I give Germany and The Netherlands a shot to win as well, though they're both in a brutal group that'll take a lot out of both of them. I also think they've got defensive deficiencies which will hurt them. Group A is wide open, and I have Russia as a dark horse for the tournament.

Anyone else gonna be watching?

[njbrock22]

GROUP A
Czech Republic
Greece
Poland
Russia

Greece is the odds on favorite in this group, more than likely it'll be Poland as the #2 with CZE and Russia finishing tied for 3rd

GROUP B
Denmark
Germany
The Netherlands
Portugal

Holland, followed by Portugul, Germany will give both a very good game but fall just short... Denmark is kinda everyone's whipping boy in this group.

GROUP C
Croatia
Ireland
Italy
Spain

Group of Death... ... ... the way Ireland has been playing reciently... i see them with a small chance of getting in as the #2 but that will take them upsetting either Italy or España to do so... #1 will be the winner of Italy and Spain's match on day 3 of the tournament, runner up will be more than likely Italy or España.

GROUP D
England
France
Sweden
Ukraine

until France proves otherwise... they're the bottom feeders of this group, England 1, Sweden 2, Ukraine 3, France 4


Greece vs Portugul
España vs Sweden
Holland vs Poland
England vs Italy

Portugul vs España
Holland vs England

Portugul vs Holland

Le Oranje

N.J.

[Queensryche]

I wouldn't be surprised if Ireland sneaks into the knockout stage. Plus, based on past history, they're capable of beating Italy.

Also, this may surprise some, but I have England as a dark horse as well. If the British tabloids would stop making fun of Roy Hodgson's speech impediment, they'd see he's a good manager and that the younger players he's chosen as part of the English squadron are dynamic, creative playmakers, which is what England lacked with previous squads.

Kinda surprised you're picking Holland to win the tournament. Any reason why you think it'll be them Brock? I think their defense is suspect (though not as much as Germany's).

[njbrock22]

of the 10 times i've seen Holland play in the last 4-5 years, the only bad game i really saw from them was when they epic failed against Spain, so eh... i see them as having a Good chance as long as they can put their past fails behind them, if i had to put money on it though i'd say they make it to the finals and SHOULD win it, i know they'd love to get revenge over Spain but i don't think Spain can sneak past a good Portugal team who has kinda had their number the last few times they've played.

N.J.

[Queensryche]

Picks for today:

Greece over Poland
Russia over Czech Republic

[rocky_iwata]

Greece wins by its default fashion, 1-0.

Either Russia wins by 1 or it will be a tie.

[rocky_iwata]

Poland vs Greece was pretty messy but enjoyable to watch. They both ended up a red card each. Poland couldn't hold on a 1-0 lead when they had 1 man advantage. Greece couldn't score a PK to give themselves a 2-1 lead and a possible comeback win. Well, they both suck.

Russia just steamrolled through Czech Rep. 4-1. They look very strong for a young team.

[Queensryche]

On Greece vs. Poland:

The referee's sending off of Papastathopoulos was a load of bull. He didn't deserve to be sent off, because neither of the bookings he got were warranted. Thankfully Szczesny screwed up, but Greece couldn't capitalize. I'll draw this one up to opening game jitters.

As for Russia, while they did look good, the Czech defense was an absolute joke. Petr Cech is a good keeper, but the defenders he has to back him up are AWFUL. They let up WAY too much space and several times screwed up in trying to draw Russia offside. If they manage to steamroll Greece and Poland, then I'll stop doubting.

[Queensryche]

Well then........

The Group of Death begins with a shocker, as Denmark manages to pull out a 1-0 victory over The Netherlands. Holland was able to control the flow and pace for long stretches, but Denmark made the most of a chance they had and managed to win.

The score would seem to indicate that Germany is back to its old ways of play (methodical and efficient), but their 1-0 win saw them able to attack a lot and press the advantage plenty. But much like Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, the Germans wasted a LOT of opportunities. Meanwhile Cristiano Ronaldo continues to be mostly a non-factor in major tournaments. But everyone in Group B is still in it.

[kbjone]

The Netherlands on the verge of elimination... they still have a decent shot at the next round, but I doubt anyone'll still consider them the team to beat now.

[Queensryche]

A true stunner for Group A: Greece beats Russia 1-0 (like Rocky said, there's no other score they win by) and the Czech Republic beats Poland 1-0, resulting in the Czech Republic winning their group and Greece advancing as well as runners-up.

True-to-form Greek football: swarm on defense, allow no quality shots, and pick the right opportunity to press the counterattack and score a goal. Russia looked so good in the first game, and now they're out.

[Queensryche]

And our quarterfinals is set! The matches are:

Czech Republic vs. Portugal
Germany vs. Greece
Spain vs. France
England vs. Italy

My picks:
Portugal
Germany
Spain
England

Now watch as I end up horribly inaccurate.

[LordFa9]

And our quarterfinals is set! The matches are:

Czech Republic vs. Portugal
Germany vs. Greece
Spain vs. France
England vs. Italy

My picks:
Portugal
Germany
Spain
England

Now watch as I end up horribly inaccurate.

*bets on Balotelli and Rooney having a pier 6 brawl in the middle of the field

I pick:
Portugal -they are finally hitting their stride
Germany -the Greeks depend too much on scoring that one lucky goal. Might end up going to penalties but I see the Germans going through
No call on France-Spain, it can go either way depending on who gets up on the right side of the bed
England-Italy would be fun and pretty tight, but I see the Italians winning an ill tempered match

[rocky_iwata]

Why all notorious goal-line controversies happen during England games?

[Queensryche]

Why all notorious goal-line controversies happen during England games?

Either it's coincidence, or it's the deal that England cut in exchange for winning the 1966 World Cup

I nailed three of the four predictions for the quarterfinal matchups. England once again lost on penalties, but the way the game was going, it was their best bet to get it there. Surprisingly, Rooney and Balotelli both kept their emotions in check, save for Balotelli kicking a goalpost. That though I'm willing to excuse because the way Balotelli was playing, if it had been another day, he would've had at least one goal.

Anyways, the semifinals are set, and they are:

Spain vs. Portugal
Germany vs. Italy

Prediction: A rematch of the 2008 Euro Final, between Spain and Germany.

[Queensryche]

And it's come down to this.

I got it half-right, with Spain beating Portugal, but Germany's shaky defense and Italy's opportunistic play led to two goals by Mario Balotelli to put L'Azzurri into the Finals.

For the Finals tomorrow, I'm sticking by what I originally said. Spain was the favorite coming in, and I'll continue to say Spain.

Match-fixing controversies occurred in Italy 1982 and 2006, and both times Italy won the World Cup. More match-fixing allegations, and Italy is in the Finals..........may be they should just continue the corruption, because the controversy seems to fuel them in some way.

[LordFa9]

Match-fixing controversies occurred in Italy 1982 and 2006, and both times Italy won the World Cup. More match-fixing allegations, and Italy is in the Finals..........may be they should just continue the corruption, because the controversy seems to fuel them in some way.

Spain is looking too wobbly to me, Italy could nick it, also the fact that they treat match fixing scandals back home like a +10 to their die rolls helps!

[Jazzaman]

I want Spain to win, because for some reason I enjoy watching greatness. It was the same with the Barcelona team this year. I wanted them to be the first team to defend the Champions League title. Just as I want Spain to be the first team to win 3 consecutive major international trophies.

I suppose when I'm older I can say, I saw that happen. Plus, my I support Ireland, so at least I can say we got trounced by the eventual winners 

However, if this tournament has taught me one thing, it's that Andrea Pirlo is the 3rd best player in the world right now after Messi and Ronaldo. He's been incredible. And for a 33 year old AC Milan cast off, that's saying something. The guy hasn't been on a losing team in all competitions since 2010 

Jay

[rocky_iwata]

Balo winning it would be awesome. 

[Queensryche]

Match-fixing controversies occurred in Italy 1982 and 2006, and both times Italy won the World Cup. More match-fixing allegations, and Italy is in the Finals..........may be they should just continue the corruption, because the controversy seems to fuel them in some way.

Spain is looking too wobbly to me, Italy could nick it, also the fact that they treat match fixing scandals back home like a +10 to their die rolls helps!

Spain finally was able to put it together today. Or maybe they were holding back so as not to tip their hand.

Spain demolishes Italy 4-0 to successfully defend their European Championship and emphatically declare they're still the world's best team.

This entire tournament, Spain conceded only one goal, which is a new record. And that goal was against Italy in their opening match. From that point onward, they allowed nothing. They won this tournament despite not having their top goal-scorer David Villa and despite missing Carles Puyol, whose unpredictability is a great asset for La Roja.

I think we can begin discussing whether this Spanish team is the greatest in history.

[Jazzaman]

I think the main argument against this team being considered the best is the 1970 Brazilian World Cup Winners.

But the way I look at it, I draw comparisons to the NFL. The Best single season team in the history of the league and the best team ever are too different things. This Spain side is a dynasty, much akin to the 49ers, Cowboys, Steelers and Patriots in their respective runs. And the Brazilian World Cup winners were the 85 Bears, the 72 Dolphins, the truly elite single season teams.

Depends how you wanna word the question when you ask if this team is the best 

Jay

[Queensryche]

I'm talking in dynastic terms. And this Spanish team is solidly in the argument. 1970 Brazil won the World Cup, then defended it successfully in 1974, so they're also in the argument.

This dominance by Spain has made the upset victories by the US in the Confederations Cup and Switzerland in the opening round of the World Cup even more of a mystery. Is there any explanation as to how they happened other than dumb luck?

[njbrock22]

USA beating España back in early 09 was just the USA deciding they had nothing to lose and going off on them... as for the game against the Swiss... ... ... i dunno i'm still looking for answers there...

speaking of the Confed Cup... looks like there will be a first time participant there out of the Ocean, Tahiti, and they had from what i saw quite an impressive performance out there... who knows will they be the first team other than Australia and the All Whites to make it to the World Cup?

N.J.

[rocky_iwata]

Spain winning is extremely anti-climatic IMO. 

[Queensryche]

Spain winning is extremely anti-climatic IMO. 

Yeah, I got the feeling this European Championship was going to really be about who got second place early on, even with how shaky Spain was looking. Sorta like how the NCAA Tournament this year was a bunch of games before Kentucky's inevitable coronation.

But hey, if nothing else, Mario Balotelli's given us a goal celebration that's already being copied.

"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupry