Is Wilshere Right?

At yesterday's press conference, Jack Wilshere stated his belief that only English people should play for England.


This comes amid the news that Manchester United's Belgium born winger Adnan Januzaj, could play for England in five years time under the residency rule. Asked about the possibility of this happening, Wilshere said: "If you live in England for five years, it doesn't make you English.
"If I went to Spain and lived there for five years I am not going to play for Spain.
"We have to remember what we are. We are English. We tackle hard, are tough on the pitch and are hard to beat".


Now this is all well and good but what the Arsenal man didn't make clear is on what grounds is someone English. So what does make someone English?. Lets take Raheem Sterling, the Liverpool winger was called up by England manager Roy Hodgson last year, however Sterling was born in Kingston, Jamaica and lived there for the first five years of his life. Going back a few years there was Owen Hargreaves. Although he had an English father, he was born in Canada and could have also represented Wales due to his mother.


Examples like these are littered all around British sport, particularly in the modern era. In July British sports fans were overjoyed as another Brit won the Tour de France. Chris Froome had triumphed in the name of Team Sky and Great Britain, but wait, Froome was born in Kenya and schooled in South Africa. Over the last few years England have had a number of Ashes winning cricketers including Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, Matt Prior and Jonathan Trott, who were all born in South Africa. Even the man who kicked the ball into touch to confirm England's 2003 Rugby World Cup win Mike Catt, was born and bred in South Africa.


England are not the only country at it, other examples include the German football side who are often full of Polish born players. The Irish cricket team have contained a number of players from the southern hemisphere and even the New Zealand rugby team have produced line ups full of players from the likes of Tonga and Samoa.


Whilst Wilshere's idea of only English people representing England is understandable, how can you tell whether someone is English or not. Times have changed and there is now an unmistakable grey area as to whether someone are the nationality they claim. I suppose for the majority of sports fans, if they are successful, it  doesn't really matter.

The End of Hinckley United

Today on Monday October 7 2013, Hinckley United Football Club is no more after officially being liquidated.


This news comes as no surprise to anyone aware of United's financial problems over the last few years, however it is a sad day none the less. The club's unofficial twitter account simply wrote: "At 11:15 this morning Hinckley United FC have ceased to exist. "Thanks to all our players, fans and followers for all your support. "Thank you and goodbye".


The Knitters are not the first club to suffer this fate, the original  Chester FC were wound up in 2010, Scarborough FC went out of business in 2007 and most famously Wimbledon FC although saved from the brink, were forced to move to Milton Keynes and changed their name to MK Dons.


Since football has become big business, there has been plenty of positives that have followed and made some clubs very wealthy. On the other side of the coin however, there are some great historical clubs who have not been able to cope with the financial pressures of the modern day game and I for one think that's a shame. It appears that this is fast becoming the generation of greed, with certain clubs and it's supporters getting caught in the firing line. This is really sad for the game and the authorities need to look at the financial mess more closely if they want to prevent other clubs going the same way as Hinckley.


If the town needs to find any comfort from today's events, then they need only look to two of the clubs mentioned above. A now supporters run Chester FC have risen from the ashes and last season gained a third straight promotion to take them to the top tier of conference football. After losing their club to Milton Keynes, Wimbledon's supporters formed AFC Wimbledon who have risen to the heights of League 2.


This is a dark day for Hinckley United fans, however the people of Chester and Wimbledon have shown with determination, belief and a little financial backing. Anything is possible.

India vs England 2nd Test Day 1

After last week’s uninspiring first test defeat in Ahmedabad, England made changes with the expected change of Jonny Bairstow coming in for Ian Bell and more significantly, Monty Panesar replacing Tim Bresnan.


Following Graeme Swann's success in the first test, Panesar's inclusion can be no real surprise given the history of Mumbai's spinners surface. The last English victory on Indian soil came in Mumbai with veteran spinner, Shaun Udal being the hero of that test with impressive figures of 4-14 in just 9.2 overs.


With India winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the impression was that it could be a long day in the field for England; however the visitors shocked everyone with the second ball of the day as they picked up a wicket. This was not just an ordinary wicket though, this was a wicket taken by Jimmy Anderson, a seamer!.


After Gautam Gambhir departed, the Indians settled for a while but then it happened, the Monty magic began. The dangerous Vierender Sehway was tamed by the charismatic, left arm off spinner as the crowd were treated to a trademark Panesar celebration. They didn't have much longer for a repeat performance as Sachin Tendulkar's stumps were rearranged leaving India 60-3.


After lunch Panesar hadn't lost his appite for wickets as he had young Virat Kohli caught at cover, fellow spinner Graeme Swann must have felt forgotten as he joined the party by bowling Yuvraj the very next over. Panesar wasn't finished for the day as he had skipper Dhoni caught at slip making his exclusion from the first test seem farcical.


With that England's flourish had finished for the day as India pushed on to close on 266-6 with the unmoveable Pujara and the impressive Ashwin getting a century and fifty respectivly frustrating England in the final session. 

Ibrahimovic Against England, Best Goal Ever?

As Swedish talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scored his fourth goal of the night and wrapped up the win for his side, the crowd in the new, Friends Arena, gasped in awe of what they had just seen.


England manager Roy Hodgson called it a: "Work of art", Captain Steven Gerrard said: "It is the best goal I have ever seen live." In the dying moments of Wednesday night's friendly,  keeper Joe Hart ventured out of his goal attempting to clear English lines but all he could do was head the ball straight up into the air giving Ibrahimovic the opportunity to do this. The finish was spectacular, electrifying, superb, but was it really the best ever?.


Football's been around a long time and in that period we have seen many great goals and the Swedish striker's is among them. However there have been better and more significant goals scored, remember this was only an International friendly which in themselves are much ridiculed by Premier League managers due to the fact that only pride is at stake.


In terms of brilliance and importance two automatically come to mind, Diego Maradona's, 'Goal of the Century'  and Zinedine Zidane's, wondrous volley against Bayer Leverkusen. To put both goals into perspective, Maradona's effort for Argentina was in a World Cup quarter final against England and was a massive goal not only for footballing reasons, but also political (The Falklands war). After his hugely controversial 'Hand of God' goal, there was no arguing his second as he danced through the English defence. Former England striker Gary Lineker (who was on the pitch at the time), described the second strike as: "Probably the one and only time in my whole career, that I felt like applauding the opposition scoring a goal", that says it all really. Zidane's strike was in the 2002 Champions League final, the score was one all at the time and the next goal was going to be crucial. On the stroke of halftime, Zidane hit that fabulous volley and his Madrid side never looked back winning the final 2-1.


People will have differing opinions on the goal but in a few years time, how many of them will remember the effort?. Purely on the basis of importance, Ibrahimovic's goal cannot be classed as the greatest, it's up there in terms of quality but that's not enough as the greatest goals define legacies.

Mail Online

 

Why Electing Romney Would Be Going Backwards

Today is the day of the 57th United States Presidential elections. The nominees, the current President Barack Hussein Obama (Democrat) and his adversary, Willard Mitt Romney (Republican) or just 'Mitt' to his friends.


Four years ago Barack Obama did what many had dreamed of but never thought possible, he became the first black President of the United States of America. The charismatic Harvard Law School graduate, strolled into the White House promising change for a financially crippled America following eight years of George W Bush. So has Obama been a success?.


Well not massively no, yes he's stabilized the economy somewhat but unemployment levels are still very high and with less jobs out there, some of his follows have lost faith. Obamacare has been controversial to say the least, the scheme will cost billions of dollars and despite the fact it will help the poorest citizens, a lot of Americans are furious at the idea. As former President Bill Clinton said however, Obama has done: 'A good job with a bad hand', a hand that was left for him by the Republican party.


Now to his opponent Mitt Romney, a 65 year old white Republican man born into a rich family, sound familiar? (see George W Bush). Romney is probably the kind of representative that the Republican party have wet dreams about, which must be worrying for the US public (if your not rich). Now as I've said previously, Obama hasn't been all he said he was going to be, however surely he has to be a better alternative than Romney.


If Mitt Romney was to become the 45th President of the United States of America, then any kind of health care for the poor will be one of the first things to go, actually anything helping the poor would probably go with the economy not benefiting. Romney seems the kind of man that is comfortable at upper class dinner parties in his expensive suit looking all mighty and powerful. This is not the person America needs right now (or ever really), they need someone who is willing to try and make really change happen and as for right now, that is Barack Obama because anything else would be a backwards step.  


      

Skyfall: James Bond Review

Obviously this blog will contain spoilers from the film so if you don't want to know what happens i'd stop reading now.

After Daniel Craig's first two films I was seriously worried about Skyfall. Casino Royal and Quantum of Solace were fairly big let downs to say the least with the writers seeming pulling away from the original charm of Bond. Instead of a swarve, sophisticated secret agent, the James Bond character appeared to have become a ruthless hitman, like in one of those American Gangster films. Luckily in Skyfall things began to change.

The film opens with Bond in pursuit of a killer who seems to be working for the people who have stolen an hard drive from MI6. The hard drive contains information on undercover NATO agents in terrorist organisations (Although you don't know that at this point). The chase ends with Eve (An MI6 agent helping Bond) shooting at the killer on the orders of M, however she misses and hits Bond in the shoulder and knocks him off the train, into the water deep below, he is presumed dead.

Of course we know better than that and Bond was alive but not all well, he is living near where he fell and seems to have developed a drinking problem. Back in London, M is being pressured to retire by new Intelligence and Security Committee chairman, Gareth Mallory ( He will be important later). As M travels back to headquarters there is an explosion at MI6, killing some employees, this was after someone had hacked into M's computer.

There was no messing around with this start, we got straight into seriousness from the get go which was intriguing. It was also good to see a lot of focus on M throughout the film as she is a fantastic character, played brilliantly by Dame Judi Dench who had good chemistry with Daniel Craig.

Following the attack on headquarters, 007 returns to London as he knows that his country needs him (more on that later). Once back in action, Bond heads to Shanghai where he tracks down a man called Patrice (the man he fought at the start), He kills Patrice without finding out his employer but finds a gambling chip with his things and heads to the casino.

There he meets a woman called Sévérine who supposedly works for the man behind the attacks (It turns out she is a prisoner), after fighting off three henchmen 007 voluntarily gets imprisoned so he can meet the employer. The man behind everything turns out to be Raoul Silver, a former MI6 agent under M who she gave to China in exchange for some of her agents, in China Silva was imprisoned. Silva kills Sévérine but soon after Bond calls for backup with his gun from the new Q and captures Silva.

The new Q is a bit mixed for me (played by Ben Whishaw), although he seems to have good chemistry with Daniel Craig, there was definitely a lack of imaginative gadgets which is obviously the writer's fault and not the actor's. 

It turned out that being captured was part of Silva's plan as he managed to hack Q's computer whilst escaping. He headed to the venue of where M's public enquiry was being held, 007 was in hot pursuit but was trailing with Silva now dressed as a policeman. Silva entered the enquiry room with two other man and began firing, Bond arrived shortly after and helped Mallory and Eve bring M to safety. Once out the building, Bond drove M away to his childhood home in.......Scotland!.

Now you may be wondering about the exclamation mark, well James Bond is known for his love of England, it is mentioned in many films.  Now unless he moved to England at a young age I can't understand this logic as I can't think of many Scots that actually like England, nevermind love it.

Anyway we get a nice bit of nostalgia as Bond uses the Aston Martin DB5, the car that first appeared in Goldfinger which was nice to see for a fan of all the films. Once at Skyfall (His childhood home), Bond, M and old gamekeeper Kincade, set up ready for Silva and co to arrive. Soon enough they do and all hell breaks loose with an injured M and Kincade seeking refuge in the nearby chapel.  

Silva sees Kincade's torch light and follows with Bond again in pursuit (seems to be the occurring theme of the film). Silva seems ready to shoot and kill M and himself until Bond throws a knife into his back killing Silva, at this point Bond says the words: 'Last rat standing' referring to what Silva had talked about earlier in the film.

To end the film M dies of her injuries in the arms of Bond, she is replaced as M by Mallory and Eve turns out to be Moneypenny, so she takes the secretary job. To finish Bond gets the dog ornament from old M's will which persuades him to carry on in the field, this was a nice sentimental moment I felt after their seemingly distant relationship.

Overall I think it was a decent film, much better than expected and by far the best Bond film that Daniel Craig has starred in. It showed a lot more emotion this time and gave a few nods to the good old days. The new set up is different to the classic Bond films, however I suppose they have to move with the times and this is was certainly an improvement on Craig's other films. On a final note though, I know a lot of women have raved about this film and an hour in I could see why,  in nearly every scene Craig had his top off, if I wanted to see a man with his top off all the time, I would have brought an issue of Playgirl,  So hopefully for the next film the wardrobe department could spend more money on getting shirts and t-shirts.

   

Was The Olympics Worth It?

So after seven years of anticipation, the Olympics have come and gone in a blink of an eye.


As the build up to the games began to get into full flow, I along with many others were asking, would it all be worth it?. Now that the games have drawn to a close, I have my answer, one hundred percent yes it was worth it!.


These Olympics have given this country more national pride than I can ever remember in my lifetime, At first I wasn't convinced on the 'Inspire a Generation' slogan for the games but now I know exactly what they meant. Of course having the most successful British team since 1908 helped a lot which has given the children of today new heroes to look up to. Unlike the usual football 'heroes' the way the majority of the athletes from every country conducted themselves throughout the event is a credit to the whole Olympic movement.


Even before the opening ceremony, there were a lot of skeptics (me included) asking if we could do the games and ourselves justice. For the opening ceremony Danny Boyle had the answers, where's Beijing went for precision and perfection, Boyle went for a typically British feel with unforgettable moments such as Rowan Atkinson on the keyboard during the Chariots of Fire rendition and of course, James Bond escorting the Queen in her dramatic entrance which will live long in the memory.


Once the official business had been taken care of, the games of the XXX Olympiad were underway. We were treated to sixteen days of fantastic sporting action with highlights including the brilliant Usian Bolt retaining all his titles and of course the success of Team GB. For me though the Fourth of August was truly the golden day of the Olympics, the six gold medals starting in Eton Dorney which culminated inside the Olympic stadium as Ennis, Rutherford and Farah gave British Athletics surely it's greatest hour.


There were other stories besides Team GB, it was an end of an era as the legendary Michael Phelps competed in his very last meet whilst becoming the greatest Olympian finishing his career with 22 Olympic medals (18 Golds). Another great moment of the games  also involved Phelps but this time it wasn't about him. The reaction of Chad Le Clos and his father after his Gold in the 200m butterfly showed how much the Olympics meant and what it was all about. The pride in Le Clos senior's face after watching his son win will be one the iconic images for years to come. Also Phelps's dignity in defeat proved just what a great man he is.


There are many other unforgettable memories that will be taken from these games but as all good things do, it had to come to an end. The closing ceremony carried on from where the opening had left off with British national pride, this again brought joy to the British public and puzzlement to others. Legendary acts such as Queen, the Who and Ray Davies among others, ensured that the Olympics went out with a big party which even got Boris Johnson grooving.


So at the end of all this some have asked could we afford it?, Was it just a distraction?, Was it all worth it?. Well maybe we couldn't afford it, maybe it was a distraction but boy it was worth it because as Lord Coe rightly said: "When our time came Britain, we did it right."

Haye Defeats Chisora

In his comeback fight, David Haye has defeated Dereck Chisora to send a huge message to Vitali Klitschko.


The former heavyweight champion of the world, stopped 'Del Boy' in the fifth round after four very tight rounds. Haye edged most of the rounds but it was by no means comfortable for the Haymaker who was being caused a few problems by the forward moving Chisora.


After all the build up, the first round was fiery with Chisora forcing Haye to throw alot more shots than usual, although he was on the backfoot, Haye was using enough force to keep Chisora at arms length. The second round was much of the same with the Haymaker just edging a close round.


The end of the third was where it all set off, the referee and the fighters failed to hear the bell as Chisora caught Haye to put the former world champion in all kinds of trouble, he would have been relieved to see the end of the round. The fourth saw Haye being caught more as Chisora was getting into the fight more however the Haymaker again edged this round.


The fifth became the dramatic round though as for the first time his career, Dereck Chisora was knocked to the floor as a slick looking Haye took control of the fight. Del Boy bravely got up and tried to retaliate but got knocked down again leaving the ref no choice but to end the fight.




The fighters embraced after the fight which was good to see, I'm not sure where Chisora goes from here to be honest, he's lost all his big fights and will struggle to recover from this. Haye looked very classy in this fight and surely a bout with Vitali Klitschko awaits.







  

Saturday Night Boxing

Tonight sees two blockbuster matches involving British fighters.


First up is David Haye vs Dereck Chisora, this came about after February's Munich brawl following Chisora's points loss to Vitali Klitschko. This is Haye's comeback match after a very brief retirement, his last outing was a very disappointing world title unification defeat to Wladimir Klitschko. Chisora has lost his last two fights and will be desperate to get back on track here.


The brawl in Munich left a bad taste in everyone's mouth and resulted in Chisora losing his British boxing licence. The Luxembourg Boxing Federation then stepped in to sanction this fight, this led to legal disputes between the organisations over whether the Upton Park fight should even take place.


Lets focus on the boxing itself though and this is a fight that is drawing the interests of many, not least the Klitschko's. Haye is the big favourite here, he is the former world champion and has only lost twice in his career. Chisora has lost three matches which have all been title matches, Haye is quick for a Heavyweight and has plenty of power, Chisora can take a punch so I can see him losing on points.




The second fight of big British interest will see reinstated WBA Super Light Welterweight champion Amir Khan take on WBC Light Welterweight champion Danny Garcia. The American Garcia is unbeaten and faces his biggest test to date against Khan who has a major point to prove following the Lamont Peterson controversy. A Khan win would almost certainly see him move up a division and maybe a meeting with Floyd Mayweather Jr.




A Garcia win would also see his career move to the next level with maybe an attempt to clean up the whole division. Garcia's father has been mouthing off a lot in the build up to this match, we will soon see if that has had a positive or negative for his son.




I can see Khan winning this one, I can see his speed and power being too much for Garcia and I can't see him making the same mistakes he did against Peterson, Freddie Roach is too good a coach for that.     

Spain vs Italy Review

So here it was, the final of the 2012 European Championships between holders Spain and Italy.


The two sides had met in their opening match which ended one all, so this had the makings of a good contest. In that match the Italians took the game to Spain and even took the lead, the Spanish started that contest without a recognised striker and were expected to do the same here. Italy had surprised Germany in their semi final to qualify whilst Spain had edged out rivals Portugal on penalties.


The Spanish started this game strongly as they attacked from the get go, they were pushing and probing the Italian defence which lead to their opening goal with David Silva heading in after good work from Cesc Fabregas. Spain were totally on top here as Italy barley threatened. Left back Jordi Alba completed a great run with a fine finish as he doubled Spain's lead four minutes before the interval.


The Italians brought on opening match goal scorer Antonio Di Natale for the second half, this showed much needed attacking intent and he was denied by Iker Casillas in what was probably his side's best chance. Things got worse for the Italians as Thiago Motto pulled up injured just minutes after coming on and as they had used all their substitutes, they had to play the rest of the game with ten men.


Spain were in cruise control for the rest of the match and put the icing on the cake as Golden Boot winner Fernando Torres and Chelsea team mate Juan Mata, secured the win as well as the biggest winning margin in a European final.


So Spain have become the first international team to win three major trophies in a row, surely now they must be classed as the greatest international side of all time. Italy did well to reach the final but were totally outclassed as Spain showed why they are so great. It has been a fantastic tournament and roll on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Germany vs Italy Review

Tonight played host to the second semi final of the tournament and it was between Germany and Italy.


The Germans were favourites heading into the clash after winning all their games so far. Italy edged through their quarter final on penalties despite dominating their match against England. The Italian's dominance in that match gave them renewed optimism for this semi, however Germany have been hugely impressive and were expected to reach the final.


As the match began, the Germans appeared to be man marking Andrea Pirlo who is the vocal point of the Italian side, for some reason though they seemed to forget this plan in a matter of minutes. Early on Germany looked the better team but Italy seemed to get themselves together and took the lead on twenty minutes through a close header from Manchester City's Mario Balotelli.


The maverick striker doubled his side's lead with a fine finish after a swift counter attack sixteen minutes later. This period of play had left the Germans stunned as they had arguably been the better side, the team that had looked unflappable before the match went into half time trailing.


The second half saw Germany searching to get back into the game, despite a lot of possession they were really struggling to trouble Gianluigi Buffon. At the other end, Italy were squandering a number of chances to secure their victory. A 90th minute Mesut Ozil penalty gave the Germans hope however Italy held on to upset the favourites and secure their place in the final.


Not many people would have seen that result coming, Italy actually played very well and defended excellently. Germany will wonder how they didn't make the final with their current form, Spain haven't been at their best so the final should be a good game.

Portugal vs Spain Review

Wednesday evening saw the first semi final of Euro 2012.


The match saw Champions Spain take on neighbors Portugal, the Spanish were favorites for this clash however Portugal had really picked up form since their opening game and posed a real threat to their local rivals. It was going to be interesting to see which system the Portuguese would adopt to combat the Spanish.


The opening half surprisingly saw Portugal play their natural game, in their opening match they sat back against the Germans. Both sides came close as Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta had efforts that narrowly missed the target, the teams went in level at half time.




In the second half, the Portuguese seemed to drop off a bit which allowed the Spanish to take a degree of control in the game. Neither side played as if they wanted to go out and win the match as they looked scared of losing the encounter, inevitably the game headed into extra time as despite the firepower on display, no one could break the deadlock. 




Extra time saw the Spanish pile on the pressure as Portugal began to tire, despite their domination in possession the champions could not create a clear cut chance as we headed to the dreaded penalty shootout. After the opening spot kick takers both missed, the pressure intensified with so much at stake. There was still no sign of Ronaldo stepping up as Bruno Alves smashed his effort against the bar leaving Cesc Fabregas to send the champions through. 




Spain will be relieved to reach their third consecutive major final and will fancy their chances of retaining the trophy. For Portugal it's a case of what might have been as they certainly pushed the Spanish all the way here, I feel this may have been their best chance to win a major trophy gone.

The Daily Mail

England vs Italy Review

Today was the final quarter final of Euro 2012.


Roy Hodgson's England had surprised a few by reaching the knockout stages, particularly finishing top of their group. Italy managed to qualify through a tough group and were probably pleased to be facing England as opposed to the French. The winners of this match would have the tough task of facing the Germans in the semi finals.


England started positively with Glen Johnson forcing an early save from Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon, there were some decent build up play from both sides but with little end product in the opening twenty minutes. Italy began to take control of the match towards the end of the half as the likes of Andrea Pirlo had time on the ball, the teams went in level at the break.


The second half saw almost total domination from Italy, England brought on Andy Carroll to give them a bit of presence up front but the ball was given away far too often as Italy squandered a number of chances to score. Aside from a couple of last ditch tackles, the Italians couldn't find a way through as inevitably, the game went to extra time.


Extra time basically saw England holding on for penalties which was strange. Italy thought they had snatched it as Antonio Nocerino headed in, however the goal was rightfully disallowed for offside and the English held on for penalties. Of course we all knew deep down what was going to happen next, despite Riccardo Montolivo missing his spot kick, Ashley Young and Ashley Cole fluffed their lines as England succumbed to penalties once again.


Italy deserved the win as they bossed the game, I still think Germany will be too much for them in the semi final though. England showed spirit and heart in their performance, however they must improve immensely if they're going to do anything in the future, they looked ordinary at times.

Spain vs France Review

Today was the third quarter final of Euro 2012 and it was contested between Spain and France.


Champions Spain were favorites to retain their crown whilst France were an outside bet to win the tournament despite finishing second in their group. Without playing as well as usual, Spain topped their group by winning two and drawing one, whilst France lost their final game against Sweden to concede top spot to England.


France went for a defensive strategy, much like the Czechs and Greeks had done the two previous nights. Spain decided to start with Cesc Fabregas upfront instead of an out and out striker, these tactics were also used in their opening contest against Italy. France's ploy to keep the Spanish out seemed to be working in the first few minutes but all their work came undone thanks to Xabi Alonso's header, who was unmarked at the back post on nineteen minutes.


The French didn't appear to have an answer to the champion's possession and managed to keep the score down to one nil at the break. Their display in the second period was as unimaginative as the first, despite bringing on more attacking players such as Samir Nasri and Olivier Giroud, the French never really threatened Spain.


The Spanish were in cruise control for much of the game as they just held on to their lead by running down the clock, they were awarded a penalty in the 90th minute as Alonso celebrated his 100th appearance for the national team in style, by wrapping up a comfortable victory.


It's no real surprise Spain went through, France's performance was shockingly bad however and one deserving of their exit. The Portugal match will be much tougher for the Spanish however I expect to see them in the final against Germany, the French will be disappointed with the manner of their defeat and lessons will have to have been learnt.

Germany vs Greece Review

The Germans took on the Greeks in the second quarter final of Euro 2012.


Germany were overwhelming favorites going into this match after winning all three of their group games and topping the so called 'group of death'. Greece have surprised plenty by reaching this stage after stunning Russia in their final group game, they were big underdogs going into this match but have shocked Europe before by winning the competition in 2004.


The game went pretty much how everyone thought it would, Greece sat back trying to catch the Germans on the break as the favorites had the majority of the possession, Germany had rested their tournament top scorer Mario Gomez and were beginning to regret it as they missed a hat full of chances. It took a fantastically curled strike in the 39th minute, from skipper Phillip Lahm to give the Germans the lead going into the break.




Greece needed to find a goal from somewhere in order to keep their dream alive and did just that ten minutes into the second half, Celtic's Georgios Samaras completed a sharp counter attack to stun Germany and draw his side level. The Germans were having none of it though as Sami Khedira restored their lead just six minutes later, Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus secured the game for Germany before Greece brought a bit of respectability to the scoreline as Dimitris Salpingdis converted a penalty a couple of minutes from the end.




Germany have surprised no one by winning this game and I fully expect them to go on and win the tournament as I believe they are best side in this competition. Greece worked very hard and will be happy with their tournament performance overall given that no one thought they would reach the knockout stage.

www.Goal.com

Czech Republic vs Portugal Review

Tonight saw the opening match of the quarter final stage at Euro 2012.


The Czech Republic and Portugal was opening match of the quarters, both teams have surprised a few by getting to this stage with the Czechs topping Group A whilst Portugal came through the so called 'Group of Death'. Portugal were favorites for this clash with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the side, the Czechs were missing captain Tomas Rosicky.


Portugal were on top for most of this game with the Czech Republic looking to sit back and catch them on the break, the opening half was a bit of a stop start affair with the Portuguese failing to create any clear cut chances. The Czechs arguably came closest as Milan Baros nearly latched on to a cross after good work down the right, the teams went in level at half time.


The second half was much of the same as Portugal looked for a way through, the Czechs were particularly negative which was reminiscent of the Dutch performance against Spain in the 2010 World Cup final. The inevitable happened eventually as Cristiano Ronaldo headed in eleven minutes from time to book his side's place in the semi final.


Portugal deserved the win as they were by far the better team, the Czech Republic did well to get to this stage but clearly missed Rosicky's influence. I think Portugal will have a real chance of reaching the final as they seem to be playing as well of Spain and France. Could this be Cristiano Ronaldo's tournament?

Group D Review

Tuesday saw the final group games of this year's tournament.




The day's play saw Ukraine take on England whilst Sweden took on France, Ukraine needed to win in order to reach the quarter finals whilst England and France knew a draw each would be enough. First place in the group was also up for grabs which would mean avoiding champions Spain in the next round.


I will start with hosts Ukraine taking on England which saw the return of Wayne Rooney from suspension. The opening half was a cagey affair with chances being few and far between, mid way through the half though England created a clear cut chance as Rooney was left unmarked at the back post, but failed to even hit the target as the sides went into the half time interval level.


Four minutes in to the second half saw the breakthrough England had been hoping for, man of the match Steven Gerrard whipped the ball in causing chaos in the Ukrainian's box, Rooney was again at the back post and this time made no mistake. Ukraine were dealt a massive blow minutes later, Marko Devic's shot was cleared by John Terry despite it crossing the line, the officials were unmoved and the goal line technology calls will grow louder.


England went on to seal the game without much panic and secured their place in the quarter finals, who they would play would depend on the French result. France were taking on a Swedish side who had lost both of their opening games and were already out of the competition.


This match was even throughout as France tried to edge the game much like England had done on Friday, Sweden knew they had nothing to lose and tried to play with more of an attacking threat. Despite the odd half chance the opening period ended level with both sides feeling confident that they could nick the game.


The Swedish were brought to life nine minutes into the second half as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scored possibly the goal of the tournament so far. He latched onto a cross with a superb first time volley on the edge the box to stun the French. France tried to get back into the game but couldn't find a way through with substitute Olivier Giround, missing the side's best chance. Sebastian Larsson wrapped up the game in stoppage time as Sweden took the three points.


These results mean England finish top of the group and will play Italy on Sunday, the French will be disappointed not to finish top of the group and will have to get past World and European champions Spain, in order to reach the semi finals.

Guardian

Group C Review

Today saw the final round of games from Group C.


I will start with Spain taking Croatia with both teams starting the game on four points, they knew that Italy would be huge favorites to beat the Republic of Ireland and that would take them to five points. The match played out as expected with Croatia sitting back as Spain kept possession, the news of a Italian goal meant that Croatia had to find a goal or they would be out.


Despite their best efforts, Croatia struggled to cause the Spanish any real panic and were left heartbroken as Jesus Navas tapped in the 88th minute, to take his side through top and send the Croats home. Croatia have performed admirably in this tournament and have no shame in failing to qualify from this group, despite finishing top Spain have been far from impressive and will have to up their game in the latter rounds.


As I hinted at earlier, Italy secured their needed victory over the Irish to qualify for the quarter finals. It was not straight forward for the Italians as the Republic of Ireland put in by far their best performance of the tournament and more than held their own in the match. They were still shaky at the back though as Antonio Cassano headed in from a corner 36 minutes in.


The Irish were arguably the better side in the second half, but got no reward for their efforts and even lost Keith Andrews as he was sent off for a second bookable offence. Mario Balotelli capped off the win for the Italians as they secured their place as the second placed team in the group. Italy will have expected to go through so anything else from now on will be a bonus, the Republic of Ireland performed admirable in this game but will be disappointed with the their first two matches.

Al Arabiya News

Group B Review

Tuesday saw the final round of matches in Group B.


The first game i'll talk about will be Germany vs Denmark, the Germans were big favorites after winning their opening two matches whilst Denmark knew a win could see them unexpectedly through to the quarter finals. Germany controlled the majority of the game and were rewarded as Arsenal bound Lukas Podolski, gave his side the lead on nineteen minutes. The Danish then surprised Germany as Michael Krohn-Dehli capitalized from poor marking to level the scores just six minutes later.


Denmark's hopes of qualification were eventually dashed with ten minutes to go as Lars Bender, finished from close range to send Germany through with an 100% record. Denmark put up a good fight in each of their matches and have no shame in their defeat whilst Germany are now odds on favorites to win the tournament.


Portugal knew that victory would probably take them through to the quarters whilst the Netherlands knew a win by at least two clear goals, would be their only hope of progression. The Dutch got the start they wanted as Rafael Van Der Vaart, curled in beautifully to give his side the lead. After this the Netherlands seemed to switch off and looked like a team deserving to be bottom of the group.


Portugal took control of the game and arguably world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, scored twice as Portugal progressed leaving the Dutch with no points at the end of the group stage. Portugal will be pleasently surprised to see themselves through and will be confident against the Czechs whilst the Netherlands have had a competition they will want to forget.

Group A Review

Saturday saw the final round of matches from Group A.

Both games were played simultaneously but I will start with Poland vs the Czech Republic which was billed as the main match. The Czech Republic were on four points and it seemed that a draw should be enough as opponents Poland were only on two points. Being a co-host of the tournament, they would have been backed to get the win to send them through.


The Polish really gave it a go first half and came close a few times to nicking the lead, the Czech Republic seemed happy to sit back and hold on for the point to take them through. As half time arrived, both sides were still in with a great shout of winning the game and reaching the quarter finals.


Poland seemed to run out of energy second half and let the occasion get to them, the Czech Republic began to take control of the match and got the breakthrough as Petr Jiracek, scored in the 72nd minute to put his side through. The Czechs will have surprised a few people in going through after their opening day defeat whilst Poland will be devastated after drawing a seeming easy group.


This result meant that Russia needed just a point to qualify whilst Greece needed to win the game in order to progress. The opening half saw Russian dominance without creating any clear cut chances, it felt like 2004 again as Greece capitalized on a Russian mistake with Giorgos Karagounis finishing well to take a lead into the break.


The second half saw more of Russia trying unsuccessfully to break through the Greek defence, part way through the half Greece were denied a clear cut penalty and Karagounis was booked which meant he would miss a possible quarter final. The Greeks managed to hold on and shock everyone by qualifying whilst sending Russia home.


Russia will wonder how they failed to qualify from such an easy group whilst Greece will be wondering how on earth they managed TO qualify from the group.  

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