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Written by The Unlimited
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
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European title holders will start their title defending in Salzburg on
Tuesday night against dangerous Sweden. No one gives the slightest
chance of keeping the title to Greece, since such a miracle doesn’t
happen twice. However you can never be sure with Otto Rehhagel; his
side played surprisingly well in the qualifications where German coach
who has the status of divinity in Greece relied on established players.
Greece arrive to the final tournament after weak seasons in their
clubs; however precisely this could be their advantage since most of
the internationals are rested and fresh. It is well-known that they
seem weak individually but under the lead of the excellent coach, they
play completely different.
The Swedish will rely on their first star
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is still injured, but coach Lagerback would
include him in the starting eleven even with one leg. The squad simply
can’t do without him. Sweden qualified for the final tournament easily,
but they did struggle against Northern Ireland, since they don’t handle
defensive rivals well, so Greece can be a dangerous opponent for them.
The Vikings are an experienced squad, most of the players perform in
European strongest leagues and the veteran, the indestructible Larson
is another option for the attack.
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
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Netherlands took a firm grip on Euro 2008's so-called "Group of Death" by winning a classic encounter with Italy.
 Ruud van Nistelrooy put the Dutch ahead in controversial
circumstances after 26 minutes when he scored from close range - but
looked suspiciously offside.
Wesley Sneijder swept in a second from Dirk Kuyt's header five minutes later.
Edwin van der Sar then denied Italy with stunning saves from
Fabio Grosso and Andrea Pirlo before Giovanni van Bronckhorst headed in
after 80 minutes.
Euro 2008 has made a low-key start, but this was
a game to set any tournament alight as the Dutch played in a stunning
counter-attacking style and Italy also showed flashes of brilliance,
despite ending up well beaten.
Holland are in pole position to qualify after France's dismal
goalless draw with Romania, but World Cup holders Italy - even in
defeat - suggested they can still go through from this tough group.
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Written by The Unlimited
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
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Russia and Spain will open the group D competition; two national squads
that have in the past reached the European crown, but still, they
mostly remember disappointments and too high expectations in this
competition. That is why this duel in Innsbruck is very important; the
opening game will definitely affect the further course of the
competition.
And we are not only talking about points, but also about the
self-confidence of the squads that are famous for hardly holding the
spirit up when there are no results. Russians entered the competition
thanks to Croatia win at Wembley, but regardless of that, the very name
of Guus Hiddink is a guarantee enough that this squad won’t be sitting
ducks.
In recent history, that is to say, since the fall of USSR, Russians
didn’t mark good results in big competitions due to the lack of team
spirit but also because of weak preparations. Usually the disagreements
about the prize money as well as disputes between the players impair
the chance for marking a success even before the start of the
competition.
There are no such issues now, vanity is a taboo word and
great investments in Russian football have strengthened the league so
players in domestic clubs in no way fall behind neither in quality nor
in incomes in comparison to their colleagues that work abroad..
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Written by The Unlimited
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Monday, 09 June 2008 |
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The game in Zurich will open the competition in group C. So-called
“death group” draws most attention; European giants, France, Italy and
Netherlands are accompanied by Romania, the squad that has moved
forward and won’t give up without a fight, although only few people
give them even the slightest chance to qualify for the second stage.
This game will be a kind of a test for France, they have the highest
ambitions but the public still has doubts about whether Domenech is
capable of leading Les Blues to the top of Europe. They weren’t
impressive in the qualifications, but they still pretty easily
qualified for the final tournament.
Romanians made a very good
impression in the qualifications, since they have even left Netherlands
behind in group G. Victor Piturca’s side suffered only one defeat
against neighbours, Bulgaria when everything was already decided. They
haven’t got the big tradition but this squad have shown that they are
not troubled by it, so Romania took the role of outsiders with pleasure
and they will be waiting for their chance to impress Europe.
Don’t
forget that eight years ago Romania managed to qualify to the second
round and eliminate England. Now they have even harder task but it is
not impossible.
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| Results 29 - 33 of 39 |
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP)—Argentina remained No. 1 in the largely unchanged
FIFA world rankings Wednesday, with the United States at No. 21.
