Euro 2012 [congrats to España!]

Ugly, but ultimately effective.
Good result Sweden

As you might expect from my avatar, I'm a supporter of Spanish football. They've done well so far, though, to be fair, the Croatian squad really could have pulled off an upset if Casillas hadn't been on-point two or three times.

La furia roja will have to be ready for France. The French looked lifeless against a spirited Swedish side, but that might have been due to having nothing, really, at stake; they will for this next match, though, and I hope Spain doesn't play down to them, let them linger around on a nil-nil scoreline with ten minutes remaining.

Germany march on. Still looking like the best side in the competition.

waylander said:

Germany march on. Still looking like the best side in the competition.

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Agreed. They're astonishingly consistent, which is more than you can say for the current world champs.

England v Italy should be interesting, to say the least. And the source of much marital strife in the crunchyblanket household...

Spain killing France with their usual death by a thousand passes....
Who says u need strikers to win a match?

My god, Spain are dull to watch at the moment. And I wouldn't have called that a penalty, personally....

crunchyblanket - you look a lot like Gillian Anderson

Yeah was poor - France were dire in fairness...lookin forward to watchin Engerland tomo....have a feelin they can do an Italian job....just a sneaky one, mind...

ROnaldo is the God of footie in this tournament...he may well beat Spain by his very self

Robbie said:

ROnaldo is the God of footie in this tournament...he may well beat Spain by his very self

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I wouldn't go that far. For either statement.

He all but vanished against Germany and lost. Struggled mightily against Denmark -- if not for the last-minute goal by a reserve player Portugal might not even be in the semifinals.

Holland wet the bed this entire tournament, going 0-3 against the group. For the quarterfinals, let us be honest: the Czech Republic were playing with house money just being there. That isn't to take away from the fact he has turned it on the past two matches, but take into account the difference in quality between those squads and Spain, the defending champion.

I have a measure of bias here, of course; I love Spain and I support Barcelona: Ronaldo is the enemy, a selfish prima donna who can score but rarely elects to take the backseat to any of his teammates. When he can't get near the goal he becomes frustrated and lazy.

If Spain clamps down on defense like they're capable of doing and employ the tiki-taka passes, Ronaldo will be useless on the pitch because of those shortcomings of character. If he weren't a vulture by the net he'd be utterly unremarkable as-is.

That said, it should be a close match. I'm excited to watch.

^^Soory but Ronaldo ran riot against Holland, who were World cup finalists don't forget. And scored a savage goal against the Czech as well as hitting the post twice. He's the player of the tournament so far, mate. He has broken goal scoring records left right and centre. He's a machine. You're a Barca fan so you're biased. I'm support neither Barca nor Real so am just being objective.
Spain looked really tired towards the end of tonights match - all those guys have played 60+ games for their clubs this season.
"When he can't get near the goal he gets frustrated" what?? he scored over 60 goals last season in all comps - when does he not get near the goal? Also - he's not a striker....remeber he socred 42 goals for Man U in 2008 playing on the WING - THE WING!

Robbie said:

^^Soory but Ronaldo ran riot against Holland, who were World cup finalists don't forget. And scored a savage goal against the Czech as well as hitting the post twice. He's the player of the tournament so far, mate. He has broken goal scoring records left right and centre. He's a machine. You're a Barca fan so you're biased. I'm support neither Barca nor Real so am just being objective.
Spain looked really tired towards the end of tonights match - all those guys have played 60+ games for their clubs this season.
"When he can't get near the goal he gets frustrated" what?? he scored over 60 goals last season in all comps - when does he not get near the goal? Also - he's not a striker....remeber he socred 42 goals for Man U in 2008 playing on the WING - THE WING!

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Oh yes, Ronaldo steamrolled Holland. I don't think that was in dispute here . . . but the Oranje were the whipping boys of the group. Do you believe, with clear objectivity, that they played the Euro 2012 with their World Cup-caliber brilliance?

That's my argument for that. Likewise for the Czechs, who, apart from their goalkeeper, are nowhere near Portugal in terms of talent.

As for my comment about him becoming frustrated, perhaps I worded it wrongly. When he's not putting the ball in the net like he expects himself to he gets that way, which is understandable; when he nailed the post twice against the Czech Republic, for instance, or when he's met at the box and has to defer the ball. His body language changes -- he looks near tears at times (and that's not poking fun at him) -- and he sort of trots about on the very wing you mentioned.

So, if having two solid matches qualifies him as man of the Euro, then hey, so be it. I think Ibrahimović had the best showing thus far; he was everywhere for Sweden. Let's not forget Mario Gomez, either, who stands equal with Ronaldo in goals scored for the tournament.

Look, he's a fantastic scorer. I can't deny that; some of his shots are just stunning, like that one back-heel goal in club play. But is Ronaldo a complete player? I don't think he is. When he's on the pitch for Real Madrid he can get away with it because the club is elite; it's deeper than the Portuguese national team. To beat Spain in this tournament he'll have to better play a complete game -- not just to full time, but on every facet: passing, scoring, setting up his teammates for open shots, et cetera.

I'm trying to look past my bias, which I admitted I have, and I don't see anyone but Germany derailing Spain from the repeat. If I'm wrong I'm wrong, and we'll see Wednesday.

Either way, it looks like it might be the match of the Euro 2012.

Spain V Germany final , without a doubt.

Very tough to call, but Spain by a whisker.

France were really poor.
England/Italy too close to call - open for one player to have a great match and win it, and both sides have players well capable of turning it on - Balotelli anyone?
I still expect Spain/Germany to be the final