[jon boy]

surprised that the czech republic went down by so much. i think russia could be the dark horse of this tournament.

[_slavo_]

czech republic have a really shit squad this year. Cech and Pilar are the only two good players.
they won't make further than the group.

[demonrail666]

Czech Rep really disappointed me. I wasn't expecting them to beat Russia but I wasn't expecting it to be that one sided either. Russia did really impress me, though. Dzagoev and Arshavin look awesome. They look pretty much nailed on to top the group but I do think any of the remaining three could make runners up, although I'd probably make Poland slight favourites, if only cos Lewendowski looks more capable of scoring than anyone I've seen so far for Greece or the CR.

I actually can't believe Greece got to within a penalty miss of beating Poland. Even the draw was a bit ridiculous. It was the first real chance I'd had to see Lewendowski and he looks great, although a bit wasted in a team that's obviously not up to his level. Greece's sending off was ridiculous but, as often happens, they seemed to play a lot better after it happened. It's a shame that we won't know how good Russia really are until the knockout phase when they face some genuine competition.

[SonicBebs]

arshavin looked incredible. nothing like the player he was at arsenal. Russia looked really good all round

so far Euro 2012 wins!

[demonrail666]

He really did but, as you say, Russia seem pretty strong all round. I can only imagine what the score might've been had Kershakov been a bit better in front of goal.

[h8kurdt]

If the Dutch don't get a goal in the next 30 mins then I'll be shocked. They've been pretty much handed too many chances. Especially Van Persie's slip just as he was about to hit what would've been a screamer.

[!@#$%!]

uauza. total surprise. and denmark was rated last in likelihood to win this?

[demonrail666]

Even with the missed chances I think Holland were really disappointing. Midfield they seem really disconnected. Robben was wasteful and far too selfish. He gets away with that when he scores but when he doesn't he becomes a bit of a problem. Even if they'd got a goal or even won I'd be doubtful of them progressing much further. It'll be interesting seeing Portugal in a minute. They must really fancy their chances of going through, now, even if they lose against Germany.

Well done to Denmark though. They defended really well, especially Jacobson and seemed far more organised than Holland - even if they rode their luck at times. I can't see them qualifying but both Germany and Portugal will do well to break them down.

[!@#$%!]

yes demoño but on espn3 ballack was reminding people of this:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...o-2012-group-h

so you don't really know until you know

[!@#$%!]

ps just before that last-minute corner kick i started to think "fuck, portugal could win this"

the german attack is fucked. gomez is standing there like a wooden pole. bring in klose i say.

[demonrail666]

I'm glad Germany nicked that, if only because of how frustrating it was seeing Portugal so obviously play for the draw. I don't think Germany did anything particularly wrong I just think for 3/4 of the game, Portugal made it almost impossible for them. Although I'm a bit surprised Loew took so long with his substitutions.

[h8kurdt]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

ps just before that last-minute corner kick i started to think "fuck, portugal could win this"

the german attack is fucked. gomez is standing there like a wooden pole. bring in klose i say.

Haha I was watching the game with a friend of mine who through pretty much the whole game was just yelling "BRING KLOSE ON!".

Even though he was barely noticeable through the whole game Gomez's header was a cracker.

So far this Euro has been great. Especially when you compare it to the beginning of the last World Cup which was just dulldulldull.

[!@#$%!]

nice first half, pretty even, a slow warmup pace but italy has been surprisingly good considering the expectations. i love their passing game. spain's attack is a bit pussed out--too much fucking passing in the area. who was teh guy who returned the ball when he was all alone?

my only complaint would be that the ref let the fouls get a little bit out of hand until the yellow card for balotelli-- then people calmed down. the card should have gone to the guy who fouled casillas, whatshisname, and that would have tamped the abuse earlier.

[demonrail666]

I loved that. My fave game of the tournament so far. Good to see Italy have a real go at Spain and for large parts I thought they were the better team. Spain look great in the areas we'd expect but I do think they might struggle to score against more defensive-minded teams.

El Symbols, have you sorted out your login on the Fantasy Football site?

[h8kurdt]

What the HELL was Balotelli doing when he was fannying around with the ball on his own in the penalty box? That could've easily been a goal till he pretty much let Ramos have the ball. Bloody idiot.

All in all a good game.

[Bertrand]

Good game and good result (suspense wise).
The goals were fine, some attempts beautiful to watch (Giovinco for Di Natale), and there's those misses from players who haven't had that good a year (Balotorres).
Yummy.

[SonicBebs]

Italy looked really good! Ireland looked really bad. Awfull defensively, no real ideas going forward going down far too softly and complaining to the ref about everything. They looked like a sunday league team compared to croatia.

Also, so far the prem league big guns have all been shite! Van Persie Ballotelli Torres all had shockers. Modric was ok but didn't really shine. Daniel Agger played quite well

[demonrail666]

I was at least expecting Ireland's defence to hold up a bit better than it did. It's hard to see them getting anything against Spain or Italy.

At least if they go out we won't have to suffer ITV pundits resorting to Irish cliche after Irish cliche. I half expected Jim Beglin to play a penny whistle when they scored.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QRlR0ctjNE

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

El Symbols, have you sorted out your login on the Fantasy Football site?

i sorted that out but not yet everything else. check that thread for more.

yesterday i drank for an hour to the perpetual sorrow of the irish.

poor guys! that was a rough game.

Originally Posted by h8kurdt

What the HELL was Balotelli doing when he was fannying around with the ball on his own in the penalty box?

philosophy. "to be or not to be," etc.

[!@#$%!]

Allez les Bleus!!!

---

ah shit i was hoping for more from france.

nice game, not as nice as spain-italy but pretty good.