|
Written by The Unlimited
|
|
Wednesday, 11 June 2008 |
|
 vs 
This is the last chance for both squads; the duel of Group B defeated
sides at Ernst Happel stadium can be considered as the crucial one.
Co-hosts are still thinking about the misfortunate loss against Croats,
while Poland got a real football lesson in the clash with their
neighbours, Germany. Although Beenhakker claims that his side have
played on the same level for 70 whole minutes against Germany, the
difference in the quality was obvious.
Poland will definitely have a
different approach now; they will have to take more chances and, as
Dutch coach said, reduce their mistakes to minimum.
The wide spread
opinion that Austria are by far the weakest squad in the championship
should be changed now. The loss to Croatia was painful but the second
45 minutes were a sign for the co-hosts how they must play if they wish
to win Poland and keep the hopes for moving on to the next round.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by The Unlimited
|
|
Wednesday, 11 June 2008 |
|
 vs 
A great clash will take place in Klagenfurt; two sides that had a
winning start will cross swords in the duel that could decide group B
winner.
Germany comparatively easily beat Poland and already on the
start claimed the candidacy for their fourth European title. On the
other hand we expected more from Croatia. They alone admitted that they
barely got away with it against co-hosts, Austria.
Luka Modric’s
penalty on the start decided, though the Blazers were outplayed in the
second half. Coach Bilic wasn’t satisfied with the play, since the
squad haven’t listened to his advice but withdrew without any reasons
so Austria caused them a lot of problems especially on the sides.
Still, the important thing is that they took points which alleviates
the pressure before the duel against old rivals Germany.
Elf were
considered favourites in this group even before the start, but unlike
some squads like France, they didn’t calculate much. In their style,
with aggressive play and offensive approach, Germany handled Poland
pretty easily. Clearly there is a lot of space for progress and Croatia
are serious rivals but Low can be more than satisfied with his side’s
start.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Written by The Unlimited
|
|
Tuesday, 10 June 2008 |
|
 vs 
A lot is at stake in the duel of the group A defeated sides at St Jacob
Park in Basel on Wednesday night. The squad that leave pitch
empty-handed will say goodbye to the qualifying hopes, while a draw
suits neither of the sides, especially if Portugal and Czech Republic
share points.
This match had an important intro two years ago in World
Cup qualifications. Duels in Istanbul and Basel were filled with ugly
scenes; after a real war the Swiss have gone to the final tournament.
Turkey are still bitter about that and they promise to revenge in this
duel.
Swiss’ huge handicap will be captain Frei’s absence. Kuhn has a
lot of dilemmas without him in the attack, for if there is any
irreplaceable starter, than it is certainly Dortmund attacker. Turkey
rely on tradition; actually they lost opening games in EURO 2000 in
Netherlands and World Cup 2002 in Belgium.
Yet in both cases they
managed to qualify to the next round. Terim still insists on turning to
the present since they will need much more than positive recollections
to resist co-hosts in Basel. Switzerland failed to materialize good
play against the Czech, which might affect their self-confidence but
they rightfully, hope for a stroke of luck this time.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Written by The Unlimited
|
|
Tuesday, 10 June 2008 |
|
 vs 
Portugal are certainly one of the squads that have shown the most
quality in the first round of group competition. They beat Turkey 2:0
and dominated in all aspects of the play. They hit the woodwork several
times and Scolari can be satisfied with the fact that two of his
players have scored their first goals.
Moutinho was perhaps the man of
the game while Raul Meireles managed to seal the deal after he entered
the pitch in the finish. The Portuguese have had the ball in possession
during most of the match; back line led by Pepe functioned great.
Perhaps Turkey were not matching rivals but anyway, there are no easy
rivals in this competition. Czech Republic also started with a win but
the only thing that satisfied Bruckner were points. The Swiss were
matching rivals, to say the least, they even had more chances.
The lack
of creativity was obvious in Czech play; they clearly miss Rosicky but
that can’t be an excuse for the clueless play. Coach has already hinted
certain changes in the squad and we are yet to see if he will insist on
the formation that left Koller completely isolated in the attack.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next > End >>
|
| Results 25 - 29 of 39 |
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP)—Argentina remained No. 1 in the largely unchanged
FIFA world rankings Wednesday, with the United States at No. 21.
