Days 9 & 10: Groups A and B resolved

Firstly, my apologies for not covering Day 9 yesterday – I’ve been busy setting up my new laptop. Hooray for me. Anyway, here’s a double-header to make up for it.

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So on Sunday it was the first of the simultaneous group wraps, with Turkey completing a stunning comeback to beat the Czech Republic 3-2 in one of the strangest fifteen minutes I’ve seen for a long while. The first half was a bore, the Czechs running the game without any real Turkish resistance at all. When Jaroslav Plasil made it 2-0 I was sure that was game over, and considered switching over to the Switzerland-Portugal game. Thankfully my decision to stick with it was worth it – first Arda Turan confirmed his growing reputation with the Turkish opener, then, more sadly, Petr Cech confirmed that he hasn’t been the same keeper since Stephen Hunt kicked his head in a year or so ago. That really was a first-grade howler – the Cech of two years ago would have caught that cross 100% of the time, no question. A real shame, but what made it more painful was the exquisite winner two minutes later, Nihat breaking the offside trap with ease and powering a fantastic shot in off the underside of the crossbar. Brutal.

As if that wasn’t enough, Turkish goalkeeper Arslan Volkan decided that it was a good time to blatantly push Jan Koller over in the penalty box. The most obvious red card you’ll ever see, you have to wonder what the hell he was thinking – and if I was Fatih Terim, I’d seriously consider not bothering to pick him after his ban even if they get past Croatia into the semi-finals. Luckily, I’m not Fatih Terim – I have no desire to be a Turkish Terry Venables any time soon. So, the Czechs were knocked out and Croatia-Turkey looks like being an interesting quarter-final.

As I said, I didn’t see any of the Swiss-Portugal game, aside from one replay of the disallowed goal (not enough for me to make a judgement on whether or not it was offside), and the two Swiss goals. I mean, seriously – what the hell were Portugal doing losing 2-0 to that side? I know they made 8 changes and were already through, but surely those 8 players wanted to earn a place in the quarter-final line-up? Difficult to argue with the heart of the Swiss performance, though, by the sounds of it. They’ve certainly given a better account of themselves than their co-hosts.

So on to last night’s action, where Germany qualified courtesy of Michael Ballack’s free-kick goal (the first decent free-kick of the tournament, I might add) in a 1-0 victory over Austria, who made a mockery of the nostalgia-fest covering their famous victory in Cordoba all those years ago by showing just how useless they are, particularly, again, in the opponent’s half. Despite the ineptitude of their opposite numbers, Germany weren’t great either, and again it was the strikers who were the issue. Miroslav Klose did pretty much nothing all night, though at least he did nothing wrong per se, which is more than can be said for his partner Mario Gomez. Having been hyped by everyone pre-tournament, including yours truly, he topped his anonymous first two performances by being actively bad last night, missing a tap-in nearly on a par with the easiness of Hakan Yakin’s puddle-aided goal last week. His confidence is clearly shot and I doubt we’ll see him start a game again in this tournament.

Meanwhile, what on earth went on between Jogi Low and Josef Hickersberger, the two managers, on the touchline shortly before half-time? I didn’t catch all of what was happening (more laptop fiddling) at the time, so am still quite clueless about the whole thing – but it looked surreal, Hickersberger not once but twice strolling into the German technical area and harassing the staff for no apparent reason, then as the two managers continued bickering, ignoring the referee’s attempts to get them to stop, they were quite rightly sent to the stands. Then, Low had the cheek to go and get his jacket first, before the two managers shook hands on the way out. What on earth was all that about?

In other news, Croatia top the table with 9 points having beaten Poland 1-0 thanks to Ivan Klasnic’s goal. That is all I know about the match, having seen none of it. Sounds like Croatia did pretty well despite playing a second team. I tell you, they’re going to the final.

Day 8: Spain qualify and Greece go home. Ah, justice.

So after two games in each group, we already know all four group winners. While it’s impossible to deny that Portugal, Croatia, Holland and Spain deserve to have gotten through, I can’t help feeling that the new preference for head-to-head results over goal difference makes the groups less exciting than they could be. As a result of this, today’s potentially interesting Switzerland-Portugal game has been made completely irrelevant, and it could have been more had results changed just slightly over the draw as a whole.

But let’s not dwell. Spain secured their first place in the group by beating Sweden 2-1 thanks to a late, late goal from David Villa. Sweden will be disappointed but over the course of the game Spain were definitely the better side, having created much more than the Swedes and being refused what looked like a clear penalty for a foul on Silva just before half-time. Silva in particular was impressive, stepping up while Xavi and Iniesta failed to extend quite as much influence as they had over Russia, and the two strikers continued to work hard but without the top-quality service they’d gotten before. I was glad to see Fernando Torres score as I’d felt he’d deserved a goal against Guus Hiddink’s team, and while it wasn’t particularly pretty, his finish from a free-kick was clever under pressure. Iker Casillas didn’t have much to do in the Spanish goal but should have stopped Ibrahimovic’s goal – he got a hand on it but definitely had time and room to make more confident contact. Villa spared his blushes somewhat.

I’d been worried that Greece v Russia later that evening would be another terminal bore after the Greek showing four days previous, but to their credit they tried to attack…a bit more. Remaining for the most part tedious, unimaginative, and plain ineffective (witness Angelos Charisteas’ woeful attempt to head the ball in from Basinas’ wonderful free-kick), they should have been roundly thrashed by a superior Russia side, who were strong in defence and industrious in midfield, but nearly suffered by way of having all the finishing of this sen

So with Spain winners, Sweden and Russia will play in four days’ time for the right to meet Holland in the quarters. That could be a real cracker, and I’ve got a feeling now after the disappointing Sweden showing so far that, with Arshavin back, Russia could sneak that one. Today, Group A draws to a close, but with the simultaneous kick-offs I won’t be able to cover both games completely. I’ll be focusing on Czech Republic v Turkey, as it’s the only meaningful game being played, but will have to try to balance a bit more later in the week.

David Pleat Watch

To his credit, ol’ Pleaty had one of his better days watching Spain and Sweden, though he was denied a perfect outing by suddenly turning the Spanish right-back into a Russian, Sergei Ramos. His companion in the box, Jon Champion, was a worse offender by virtue of being a smart-arse. Trying to be clever with his Spanish pronunciations, he got David Villa right by interpreting the double L as a Y sound, but then got a bit too cocky and started referring to the left-back as ‘Capdeviya’. Unfortunately, the one-L’ed Capdevila is pronounced as it reads. Nice try, though.

Day 6: Croatia shock Germany and Austria rescue a point

That’ll teach me for losing the faith. I’d thought before the tournament that Croatia would make the semis and now it looks like they probably will. Beating Germany 2-0 makes them group winners courtesy of the Austria 1 – 1 Poland result, so they will face either the Czech Republic or Turkey in the quarters – two teams that on this evidence they should beat well. Croatia were absolutely first-class against Germany yesterday, showing the discipline and organisation that was lacking from their second half against Austria. The switch to 4-5-1 definitely helped, though I was slightly disappointed by Niko Krancjar in the playmaker role – normally reliable in front of goal, he missed two relatively easy chances, which would have put the Germans out of sight. He worked hard though, as did every Croatian on the pitch, who in the end thoroughly deserved the win.

For me, actually, this was the perfect result. My Croatia prediction looks much better, and now the Germans can take a morale-boosting win over Austria in the final game (don’t pretend it won’t happen) and then beat Portugal in the quarters. They’re too good not to come back from this, and happily, the Prancing Prat will be the one to suffer for it. Then Croatia can beat them again in the semis and half of the table will be as I have foreseen.

A quick word on the Austria-Poland game – neither team played particularly well. Artur Boruc, who I’ve always thought of as one of the world’s best goalkeepers, played outstandingly well, but even accounting for his heroics the Austrian finishing was abysmal. They should have been 3-0 up within 15 minutes and Boruc should have been given no chance at all to deny them that. Instead, Christian Leitgeb and Martin Harnik (twice) made tame efforts and were punished for it by Roger Guerreiro’s goal. OK, it was marginally offside, but it was exactly what they deserved for being so impotent at the other end of the pitch. Three cheers for Southampton’s Marek Saganowski for getting the assist, carrying the torch for the mighty Saints at these championships while Rudi Skacel rots on the Czech bench.

I was glad to see Howard Webb give the Austrian penalty at the end of the game – it was a clear foul, but the kind that gets flagged up so rarely that it looks controversial. If more refs gave those decisions the game would be better for it.

Everything is falling into place. See you tomorrow.

Day 5: Swimming with the Swiss and Scolari to Chelsea

Czech Republic 1 – 3 Portugal. A decent enough game that was flattered somewhat by the two early goals – it was exciting without either team ever playing that well. The Czechs deserved more than they got – their midfield, and, shockingly, Milan Baros, were very hard-working and did well to bounce back from Deco’s early goal. Portugal will be praised for their attacking verve, but it’ll be blind praise based on reputation rather than substance – they weren’t that good at all yesterday. Deco did his best to fluff the first goal, and he would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for that pesky Marek Jankulovski. Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal was the only noteworthy thing he did all game, Galasek and Grygera having done an excellent job of keeping him quiet for vast periods of time. Quaresma’s third was fair enough, but I’ll be bitter about it anyway. On this evidence, the Czech-Turkey group finale should be a good match, but I think the Czechs will come out on top.

Speaking of the Turks, what a brilliant game their 2-1 European Swimming Championships win over Switzerland was. I was anticipating an utter bore, but thanks to the monstrous downpour the match was given atmosphere, drama, and its fair share of comedy. If they hadn’t been on such a tight logistical schedule the game would have been abandoned, but I’m glad it wasn’t. Hakan Yakin’s goal was hilarious, the pass from Derdiyok slowing to the speed of continental drift over the goalmouth puddle, giving him the easiest tap-in of all time.

Yakin also got the second easiest tap-in of all time later in the game – but he missed that one, which is probably why Switzerland are now out of the tournament. It’s a shame for the co-hosts, but an inevitable one. Nul points, here we come. Glad to see my pick for Turkish Man to Watch, Arda Turan, get the winner – albeit fortuitously. When he got on the ball he played excellently, a real achievement considering the conditions. They’ll need him at his best if they want to get past the Czech Republic.

But the biggest story of the day was from the Portugal camp – but not for much longer. Big Phil Scolari’s the new Chelsea manager! WOOHOO!

I can’t tell you how excited I am. My dad, a Chelsea fan, isn’t so keen, but I can’t wait – this man is the best possible alternative to the Special One for comedy value. His English isn’t great but his journalist-punching is, and to be able to watch his touchline antics every week is great news. Bring it on!

Day 4: Spain set the standard and Greece get what they deserve

As impressive as Holland’s performance against Italy was, it was mostly their superb defending and opportunistic counterattacking two or three times a half that made them the team to beat in this competition. They’ve now been overtaken by Spain, whose 4-1 win over Russia yesterday afternoon came from entire halves of scintillating attacking play that for sheer quality outshone the Dutch resourcefulness. Yes, Russia were poor, but they were made to look worse than they were by the partnership of David Villa and Fernando Torres, which lived up to all our lofty expectations. It does make you wonder why Torres was withdrawn ten minutes into the second half, though. (I told you Aragones was mad.)

We’ll probably have to wait until the quarter-finals to be sure if Spain are the real deal, as I don’t see Sweden or Greece giving their centre-backs the test they still need, particularly after having seen their stale game last night, which Sweden won 2-0. It was a very dull game, lit up briefly by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s great goal from the edge of the penalty area (still second to Sneijder, but a worthy runner-up), but no amount of fireworks could make the Greek ‘football’ interesting. It was defensive to the point of incomprehensibility – spending 3 full minutes passing it between the three centre-backs at 0-0 thirty minutes in? Do they really intend to draw all three games to make it through? Mind you, they did look very limited in attack, but Charisteas, Gekas and Samaras were given so little opportunity to attack the defence that you have to wonder whether Otto Rehhagel is orchestrating this for a bet.

Greece got exactly what they deserved, and it will be a very tall order for them to get out of this group now. They may well beat Russia in their next game, who looked out of ideas without Arshavin and Pogrebnyak, but Spain in the final game? Not a chance. Good riddance.

Today we’re back to Group A, with Portugal-Czech Republic and Turkey-Switzerland. I’ll have a guess at 2-0 and 1-1 respectively, but I don’t expect any classics. Here’s hoping.

Day 1: Czechs and Portugal win

Switzerland 0 – 1 Czech Republic. Snore.

Actually, that’s a bit unfair. It was a fairly interesting game in patches, particularly the opening fifteen minutes or so but neither team really had the quality up front to turn that promising start into an actual contest of any great interest. I was surprised that Jan Koller was playing up front on his own, given that the Koller-Baros combination has been so incredibly successful in the past, and having seen Portugal and Turkey playing the later match, I think they’ll need that kind of firepower to beat those two.

Switzerland were, of course, completely useless, as we all knew they were going to be. Alexander Frei tried his best before suffering what looks like ligament damage – his tournament’s over, but then again it was only going to last two more games anyway. After he left the pitch the Swiss were pretty much devoid of ideas, though they should have had two penalties. I’ve no idea how Tomas Ujfalusi got away with both of those blatant handballs, but I wish he’d teach me the trick.

So let’s not dwell too much on that game, as Portugal 2 – 0 Turkey was a far more entertaining affair. You may sound surprised that I’m saying that, as I’m on record as being one of the world’s leading Cristiano Ronaldo haters, and by proxy his national team as well, but I see it this way: Portugal win, Ronaldo looks good, and Real Madrid throw all the money in their piggy bank at Man United in order to take him away from the Premiership and out of my sight. Brilliant! And, of course, there were some delightful moments during the game in which the Prancing Prat fluffed his lines, shot hilariously over the bar, hit the post, etc., followed by endearing close-ups of the poor dear on the verge of tears. How satisfying.

The game itself was pretty good, as I say, though Turkey never really looked like pulling up any trees. On this evidence Portugal will definitely walk the group. Colin Kazim-Richards was probably the standout for the Turks, looking composed and comfortable on the ball throughout. Rumour is he’ll be moving back to England this summer, so he could be a good bet for one of the newly-promoted Premiership clubs, maybe.

David Pleat Watch

Erstwhile ITV “expert” David Pleat will no doubt be treating us to a whole host of pronunciation mishaps during the tournament, and he started in fine style last night trying to get his head around Chelsea’s new right-back Bosingwa. “Bosinger”, “Boswinger” and my personal favourite “Botsingwa” all made an appearance. Thank heavens they put him and Tyldesley on together, I might have to kill myself if they shared the incompetence around.

Euro 2008 Preview: Group A

So, welcome to the CDB Pod, the sister blog to the CDB Desk, that will be focusing entirely on the world of sport from now until (maybe) the end of time. Over the next four days I’ll be previewing all the teams taking part in Euro 2008, which kicks off in exactly one week’s time. Without further ado, let’s have a look at Group A.

Team: Czech Republic

Manager: Karel Bruckner, who’s been in charge of the Czechs forever, and looks like it too. Has done well to keep the team playing well following the retirements of members of the older generation like Poborsky and Nedved.

Strip: Red shirt, white shorts, blue socks. Second strip is all white with red trim.

Captain: Tomas Rosicky, yet to achieve his full potential at Arsenal but the real crux of Czech tactics before and since Nedved’s retirement.

Form: Topping their qualifying group, the Czechs look menacing, having at one stage beaten Germany 3-0 in Munich. A 2-0 friendly victory over Lithuania tells us little, other than that two-goal man-mountain Jan Koller is just as good as he ever was – which is quite good.

Man to Watch: How can one man be so incompetent at club level yet an eternal marvel for his country? Yes, it has to be Milan Baros, top scorer at Euro 2004, whose 31 goals in 59 caps mark him out as a dangerman.

Prediction: They’re always a good tip to do quite well, but barring any miracles in Group B they’ll be playing Germany or Croatia in the quarters, and I’d fancy both of those teams to beat Bruckner’s men, win in Munich or no.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Petr Cech (Chelsea)

16. Jaromir Blazek (Nurnberg)

23. Daniel Zitka (Anderlecht)

Defenders

2. Zdenek Grygera (Juventus)

6. Marek Jankulovski (Milan)

12. Zdenek Pospech (FC Copenhagen)

13. Michal Kadlec (Sparta Prague)

21. Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina)

22. David Rozehnal (Newcastle)

Midfielders

3. Jan Polak (Anderlecht)

4. Tomas Galasek (Nurnberg)

5. Radoslav Kovac (Spartak Moscow)

14. David Jarolim (Hamburg)

17. Marek Matejovsky (Reading)

18. Tomas Sivok (Sparta Prague)

19. Rudi Skacel (Southampton)

20. Jaroslav Plasil (Osasuna)

Forwards

7. Libor Sionko (FC Copenhagen)

8. Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt)

9. Jan Koller (Nurnberg)

10. Vaclav Sverkos (Banik Ostrava)

11. Stanislav Vlcek (Anderlecht)

15. Milan Baros (Lyon)

 

Country: Portugal

Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari, a manager who punches journalists – I love him already. His always-entertaining touchline antics and occasionally mad press conferences belie his brilliant international record. Lost in the final four years ago, World Cup semi finals two years ago, after he won the 2002 competition with Brazil. Felipăo knows his stuff.

Strip: Maroon with green and gold trim. Second strip is white with red and green trim.

Captain: Striker Nuno Gomes, who apparently is only 31. That can’t be true. Past his peak, he’s been getting slower and slower by the week. Probably his last tournament leading the line.

Form: Only lost one game in qualifying – but they came second to Poland overall, which is not exactly a ringing endorsement of their potential. Their campaign included a 1-1 draw with…wait for it…Armenia. Yet to play a pre-tournament friendly, they face tricky (by their standards) Georgia today.

Man to Watch: Of course it won’t be Ronaldo, he’ll be overshadowed by the hype again – there are far more interesting faces in the Portugal squad. I’ll be watching the two Sporting midfielders Miguel Veloso and Joao Moutinho (who captains the Lisbon team aged just 21), who are both being linked with big moves abroad. The former is a talented holding midfielder while the latter is more box-to-box. They’re pushing for starting places against the more experienced Deco and (imminently retiring) Petit.

Prediction: It’ll be close between them and the Czechs in Group A, but again, I see both Germany and Croatia overcoming Portugal in the quarters.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Ricardo (Real Betis)

12. Quim (Benfica)

22. Rui Patricio (Sporting)

Defenders

2. Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea)

3. Bruno Alves (Porto)

4. Bosingwa (Chelsea)

5. Fernando Meira (Stuttgart)

13. Miguel (Valencia)

14. Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista)

15. Pepe (Real Madrid)

16. Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea)

Midfielders

6. Raul Meireles (Porto)

8. Petit (Benfica)

10. Joao Moutinho (Sporting)

18. Miguel Veloso (Sporting)

20. Deco (Barcelona)

Forwards

7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United)

9. Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)

11. Simao (Atletico Madrid)

17. Ricardo Quaresma (Porto)

19. Nani (Man United)

21. Nuno Gomes (Benfica)

23. Helder Postiga (Panathinaikos)

 

Team: Switzerland

Manager: Jakob “Kobi” Kuhn, the only teddy bear currently in international management. Stepping down after the tournament, cuddly Kobi knows his side are huge underdogs but will be trying to pull the same magic trick that got his side past the World Cup group stages in 2006.

Strip: Red shirt, white shorts, red socks. Their second strip is the inverse.

Captain: Tall striker Alexander Frei, surprisingly successful at international level with 33 goals in 56 appearances. Switzerland need him firing.

Form: Not having to qualify, the Swiss played a number of friendlies, with very mixed results – a 2-1 win over Holland and even a 1-1 draw with Argentina counterbalanced by losing 2-1 to their inferior co-hosts Austria and in general losing more than they won.

Man to Watch: Right-back Phillipp Degen has just signed for Liverpool, and it’ll be interesting to see why. The former Dortmund man has talent on the offensive as well as in his own half.

Prediction: Rock bottom of Group A. There’s no way they’re getting out of this group. Nul points is likely.

Full Team List:

Goalkeepers

1. Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg)

18. Pascal Zuberbuhler (Free agent)

21. Eldin Jakupovic (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Defenders

2. Johan Djourou (Arsenal)

3. Ludovic Magnin (Stuttgart)

4. Philippe Senderos (Arsenal)

5. Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lille)

13. Stephane Grichting (Auxerre)

17. Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt)

20. Patrick Muller (Lyon)

23. Phillipp Degen (Liverpool)

Midfielders

6. Benjamin Huggel (Basel)

7. Ricardo Cabanas (Grasshopper Zurich)

8. Gokhan Inler (Udinese)

10. Hakan Yakin (Young Boys)

14. Daniel Gygax (Free agent)

15. Gelson Fernandes (Man City)

16. Tranquillo Barnetta (Leverkusen)

19. Valon Behrami (Lazio)

22. Johan Vonlanthen (Salzburg)

Forwards

9. Alexander Frei (Dortmund)

11. Marco Streller (Basel)

12. Eren Derdiyok (Basel)

Team: Turkey

Manager: Fatih Terim is in his second spell as national team manager, and he’s had success before, masterminding Turkey’s first-ever qualification to the Euros in 1996. Known as ‘The Emperor’ in Turkey.

Strip: All red with a white stripe across the chest. Second strip is white with blue socks and shorts.

Captain: Newcastle midfielder Emre Belozoglu, one of that brilliant group of midfielders classified so diplomatically by FIFA as “combative”. Has been pushed into the limelight on Tyneside by Joey Barton’s antics, so presumably will be looking to reclaim his “Most Annoying Little Man” title this summer. He’s better going forward than Barton, though, and keeps his team together well.

Form: Started the qualifiers well with three wins followed by a 4-1 victory over Greece, but then stuttered, losing 3-2 to Bosnia & Herzegovina and drawing 2-2 with lowly Malta – then sinking even lower and drawing away with Moldova. Managed, barely, to scrape through one point ahead of Norway. Their two pre-tournament friendlies yielded a loss to Uruguay and a win over Finland – so nothing special here, then.

Man to Watch: 21-year-old winger Arda Turan had a magnificent season with Galatasaray and is being chaed by numerous top European clubs. One of Turkey’s most exciting players.

Prediction: Last time they played Switzerland they lost in the World Cup qualifying play-off, but I can see them getting one over the co-hosts. That should be it, though, as the Turks look too fragile in defence to get past the Czechs and Portuguese. 3rd in the group.

Full Team List:

Goalkeepers

1. Rustu Recber (Besiktas)

12. Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor)

23. Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahce)

Defenders

2. Servet Cetin (Galatasaray)

4. Gokhan Zan (Besiktas)

13. Emre Gungor (Galatasaray)

15. Emre Asik (Galatasaray)

20. Sabri Sarioglu (Galatasaray)

22. Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders

3. Hakan Balta (Galatasaray)

5. Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle)

6. Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray)

7. Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce)

10. Karadeniz Gokdeniz (Rubin)

11. Tumer Metin (Fenerbahce)

14. Arda Turan (Galatasaray)

16. Ugur Boral (Fenerbahce)

17. Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough)

19. Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray)

Forwards

8. Nihat (Villarreal)

9. Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce)

18. Colin Kazim-Richards (Fenerbahce)

21. Mevlut Erdinc (Sochaux)