It's quite surprising how fast the Euro Championships have flown past. On Sunday evening it will be all over but we still have three games to go. My predictions for the quarter finals were much better than my random guessing of the group stages: even down to predicting that the Italy vs England match would be goalless and go to penalties. It’s a little disappointing that England have gone out but Italy were much the better side and deserved to go through. There now seems to be the standard navel gazing in the media with England having gone from being the new Brazil on Sunday morning to a hopeless bunch of amateurs by night-time. Of course, they are neither and I think Roy Hodgson has done well to get the side as far as they did considering his short time in charge and the number of injuries to key players in the run up to the tournament. However, the hard work starts now and he needs to ensure that the promising young stars in the team reach their full potential on the international stage.
I suppose I should make some predictions for the final and I
am sticking with Spain vs Germany, although this is as much a vote with the
heart than the head. Italy, for all of their passing finesse against England
failed to break down that floundering side and of their other games they have
only won in open play to Ireland who were always going to be the rank
outsiders. I’m hoping for a great game against Germany but my fear is that
Italy will simply try to stifle them for 120 minutes. An early
German goal would open up the fixture but I think the Germans ability to change to
suit their opponents, as they did against Greece, will prove the perfect foil
to any Italian spoiling tactics. My feeling is that Germany will concentrate on
those players who can pass around their opponents penalty area so it would not
surprise me if Gomez starts from the bench and comes on later.
The other game sees Spain against Portugal and I think the
Spanish are finding their form again. Certainly, it was a joy to see the
quietly outrageous Xabi Alonso score in his 100th game for his
country and the Spaniards’ passing game looked far more purposeful than in the group
stages. Portugal, on the other hand, have gone from a disappointing start to
show some real flair but I really find it hard to like a team that resort to blatant
cheating on such a regular basis. Maybe it is more acceptable in Portuguese
football but the fact that their players take a dive whenever an opponent gets
within range is infuriating. However, even if contact is made, rolling around clutching
their faces when they have had the slightest clip of the heal is surely a case
of simulation and should be a yellow card offence? Cristiano Ronaldo used to be
one of the worst offenders for this but he seems to have realised that he is
going to score more goals with the ball at his feet rather than his hands to
his face. However, Nani appears to have taken over the mantle of chief faker. It
certainly spoils the entertainment so I hope the Spanish can deal with their neighbours
in style.
As for the final, assuming it is Spain vs Germany, I am
still going to go for a German win. Spain have been astonishing over the last
few years but I think this young German team is going to show that investing in
youth pays dividends. I wonder if the home nations are watching?
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