UEFA European Championships 2008

[The lesson is never try]

Just a thread here for talk about the qualification to euro 2008 and basically international football leading up to it.

Its in Austria/Swizterland this tournament and i really cant see a underdog story like Greece winning again.

http://www.upyarkilt.com/euro_championship_trophy_tr.jpg


England really need the win tonight for qualification, its an upset waiting to happen if we play like against Macedonia, since Russia/Israel/Croatia will all be challenging strongly.

[SideshowTim]

i hope england win. i really don't like any other european teams.

[Spartan]

spain had their second loss in a row; 02.00 to sweden.

[Henrik P]

I hope Sweden gets qualified. They have 9 points (3 wins), I think.

[smyce]

What makes you think and underdog cant win it again? Personally I think a team like Serbia coul easily come through and at least challenge.

[:bang:]

ireland, motherfuckers

[Henrik P]

Yes. Another win for Sweden. 12 points now.
Sad to hear England lost. :(

[The lesson is never try]

Calamity McClaren loses, im sorry but hes even worse than Sven, Parker and Carrick are joke players granted they play ok but neither are international class, and theres a very real danger we wont even qualify we need him out if this is his best, the last time we played the Croats in euro 2004 under sven we won 4-2, hes actually made us a lot worse than we were, the team now looks awful, rooney is clueless at the moment so why persist with him when its clear crouch doesnt play well with him, and worst of all hes the worse england manager in about 25 years.

If england are to get anywhere they need to play:

--------------Kirkland----------------
-Neville---Ferd.--------Terry---Cole--
------------Hargreaves--------------
-Becks/Lennon-----------------Cole-
------------Gerrard/Lampard--------
------Rooney/Crouch--Bent/Defoe---

[Greased Scotsman]

Scotland lost 2-0 to Ukraine away tonight, but nobody seemed that bothered - I think we're all still pinching ourselves that we actualy did beat France on Saturday.

[Tetsujin]

What makes you think and underdog cant win it again? Personally I think a team like Serbia coul easily come through and at least challenge.

I like the way you think! ;)

I'll be cheering for my home country obviously but Im putting my money on france.

either way Ill be satisfied.

[SideshowTim]

Scotland lost 2-0 to Ukraine away tonight, but nobody seemed that bothered - I think we're all still pinching ourselves that we actualy did beat France on Saturday.
can't ride off one win forever, buddy. good teams don't let things like that go to their heads. scotland should've beaten the ukraine.

[mike_donnelly]

MALTA!!!

[729]

If McClaren goes now we might still be in with a chance. Shame Scotland were drawn in the same group as Italy and France, they haven't played in a tournament since '98. The double hosting by Austria and Switzerland is a dreadful decision by UEFA, Austria never achieve anything, Switzerland were the dullest team at the World Cup and neither are reknowned for their stadiums.

Hopefully these teams qualify: Group A - Portugal, Serbia, Group B - Italy, France, Group C - Greece, Turkey, Group D - Czech Rep, Germany, Group E - Croatia, England, Group F - Sweden, Spain, Group G - Holland, Romania.

[:bang:]

Parker...are joke players granted they play ok but neither are international class
:angry: :angry: :angry:

[Henrik P]

Wow. Sweden is actually in the lead right now with 12 points. I guess we'll have to wait 6 months or something for the next match now. :(

[smyce]

lol Germany

[:bang:]

take that san marino!

[The lesson is never try]

since the next batch of qualyfying games are creeping up i thought it;d be appropriate to bump this thread back up.

And if England are to qualify they NEED to win away in Israel, no ifs no buts, theyve got too, theyve dropped too many points so far anyway so its crucial they win, if they lose we are almost certainly out, hopelfully Beckham will be back but they need everyone firing on all cylinders. Its make or break time for England.

[Spartan]

not until 24/28 march.

for spain to recover from a lackluster fall 06 start, the first two matches back to back (24,28 march) at home versus denmark and iceland are huge. from there, it's not back on home turf until september. then two june games at latvia and minnow lichtenstein

tables as of now. POINTS PLD WINS DRAWS LOSSES GF GD DIFF.

Group A
Finland 11 5 3 2 0 7 2 +5
Serbia 10 4 3 1 0 6 1 +5
Poland 10 5 3 1 1 6 5 +1
Portugal 7 4 2 1 1 8 3 +5
Belgium 7 5 2 1 2 4 2 +2
Kazakhstan 2 5 0 2 3 1 7 -6
Armenia 1 4 0 1 3 0 5 -5
Azerbaijan 1 4 0 1 3 1 8 -7

Group B
Scotland 9 4 3 0 1 9 3 +6
France 9 4 3 0 1 11 2 +9
Italy 7 4 2 1 1 7 5 +2
Ukraine 6 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1
Lithuania 4 3 1 1 1 3 3 0
Georgia 3 4 1 0 3 9 9 0
Faroe Isl 0 4 0 0 4 0 18 -18

Group C
Turkey 9 3 3 0 0 8 0 +8
Greece 9 3 3 0 0 6 0 +6
Norway 6 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4
Bosnia 4 4 1 1 2 8 11 -3
Malta 3 3 1 0 2 4 8 -4
Hungary 3 4 1 0 3 5 8 -3
Moldova 1 4 0 1 3 2 10 -8

Group D
Germany 10 4 3 1 0 19 2 +17
Czech Rep. 10 4 3 1 0 13 2 +11
Ireland 7 5 2 1 2 10 8 +2
Slovakia 6 4 2 0 2 12 9 +3
Cyprus 4 4 1 1 2 8 12 -4
Wales 3 3 1 0 2 5 8 -3
San Marino 0 4 0 0 4 1 27 -26

Group E
Croatia 10 4 3 1 0 13 3 +10
Russia 8 4 2 2 0 5 1 +4
England 7 4 2 1 1 6 2 +4
Macedonia 7 5 2 1 2 4 3 +1
Israel 7 4 2 1 1 9 6 +3
Estonia 0 3 0 0 3 0 4 -4
Andorra 0 4 0 0 4 1 19 -18

Group F
Sweden 12 4 4 0 0 8 2 +6
Denmark 7 3 2 1 0 6 0 +6
Northern Ireland 7 4 2 1 1 4 5 -1
Latvia 3 3 1 0 2 4 2 +2
Spain 3 3 1 0 2 6 5 +1
Iceland 3 4 1 0 3 4 8 -4
Liechtenstein 0 3 0 0 3 1 11 -10

Group G
Netherlands 10 4 3 1 0 7 2 +5
Bulgaria 8 4 2 2 0 7 3 +4
Romania 7 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4
Belarus 4 4 1 1 2 7 10 -3
Slovenia 3 3 1 0 2 4 7 -3
Albania 1 3 0 1 2 3 6 -3
Luxembourg 0 3 0 0 3 0 4 -4

[Spartan]

nothing really big from the first batch of 2007

spain took denmark 2.1 in madrid on saturday and are now only one point behind the quals in Group F, with a home game versus iceland yet to be played this evening.

in the early surprise of qualifying, group B, france has beaten lithuania, and italy is one-nil up (in progress) in a critical game versus scotland in bari. but it's still ukraine and n. ireland topping the group.

things aren't getting any easier for portugal in group A after a thrasing of belgium this weekend. they're locked in a one-one draw versus serbia in belgrade with both tied in third with ten points.

same goes for england, who are a full three points down from glory to russia. a draw in tel aviv saturday helped matters none.

still very early, but some interesting matches the past few days.

[Turambar]

I still hope England can qualify for Euro 2008, but I feel the way they seem to go about it they're far from getting into it. If they can't beat a side like Israel (no offense to Israel) I don't think they really deserve to qualify. They don't look like they want to play as a team in my opinion. England has the greatest league in the world yet we can't supply the country with a match-winning squad.

[Spartan]

wouldn't call it the greatest league. just the best play for its value. and to be fair, israel only has one loss, to group leaders croatia. and i don't care who you are: who wants to play a game in tel aviv?

standings after the first set of 2007: POINTS PLD WINS DRAWS LOSSES GF GD DIFF.

group A
Poland 16 7 5 1 1 12 5 +7
Portugal 11 6 3 2 1 13 4 +9
Serbia 11 6 3 2 1 8 4 +4
Finland 11 6 3 2 1 7 3 +4
Belgium 7 6 2 1 3 4 6 -2
Kazakhstan 5 6 1 2 3 3 8 -5
Azerbaijan 4 6 1 1 4 2 13 -11
Armenia 1 5 0 1 4 0 6 -6

group B
Ukraine 12 5 4 0 1 8 4 +4
Scotland 12 6 4 0 2 11 6 +5
France 12 5 4 0 1 12 2 +10
Italy 10 5 3 1 1 9 5 +4
Georgia 6 6 2 0 4 13 12 +1
Lithuania 4 5 1 1 3 3 5 -2
Faroe Islands 0 6 0 0 6 1 23 -22

group C
Turkey 13 5 4 1 0 14 3 +11
Greece 12 5 4 0 1 8 4 +4
Bosnia 7 5 2 1 2 10 12 -2
Norway 7 5 2 1 2 9 6 +3
Hungary 6 5 2 0 3 7 8 -1
Malta 4 5 1 1 3 5 10 -5
Moldova 2 6 0 2 4 3 13 -10

group D
Germany 13 5 4 1 0 21 3 +18
Czech Republic 13 6 4 1 1 15 4 +11
Ireland 13 7 4 1 2 12 8 +4
Slovakia 9 6 3 0 3 15 11 +4
Wales 6 5 2 0 3 8 9 -1
Cyprus 4 6 1 1 4 9 16 -7
San Marino 0 5 0 0 5 1 30 -29

group E
Croatia 13 5 4 1 0 15 4 +11
Israel 11 6 3 2 1 13 6 +7
Russia 11 5 3 2 0 7 1 +6
England 11 6 3 2 1 9 2 +7
Macedonia 7 6 2 1 3 5 5 0
Estonia 0 5 0 0 5 0 10 -10
Andorra 0 5 0 0 5 1 22 -21

group F
Northern Ireland 13 6 4 1 1 10 7 +3
Sweden 12 5 4 0 1 9 4 +5
Spain 9 5 3 0 2 9 6 +3
Denmark 7 4 2 1 1 7 2 +5
Latvia 3 4 1 0 3 4 3 +1
Liechtenstein 3 5 1 0 4 3 15 -12
Iceland 3 5 1 0 4 4 9 -5

group G
Netherlands 14 6 4 2 0 8 2 +6
Romania 11 5 3 2 0 10 3 +7
Bulgaria 9 5 2 3 0 7 3 +4
Belarus 7 5 2 1 2 9 11 -2
Slovenia 4 5 1 1 3 4 8 -4
Albania 3 5 0 3 2 3 6 -3
Luxembourg 0 5 0 0 5 1 9 -8

[:bang:]

wouldn't call it the greatest league. just the best play for its value.
what the does that even mean?

[Spartan]

it's an exciting league but i wouldn't call it the best league on talent alone.

[:bang:]

i dont know if you can really call the talent level in spain or italy that much higher, but whatever. the answer really is that nearly every top club in england has a nonenglish goalie and attacking players. with the exceptions of gerrard and lamps (who cant play together) and crouch and rooney (ditto)

[Spartan]

of course. it's hard to say what i'm saying considering the EPL (surely?) is the most sponsored, financed, and richest top flight in the world, but i do think it's just a hair less on talent. and that's exactly what i mean when i say most exciting.

[:bang:]

i guess to me best=most exciting as long as the talent level isnt huge. that's where the confusion came from, but i understand your point now

really, england needs to stop playing fat frank unless gerrard cant go

[Spartan]

matches for saturday.

Group A
Belgium vs. Portugal
Azerbaijan vs. Poland
Finland vs. Serbia
Kazakhstan vs. Armenia
Group B
Faroe Islands vs. Italy
France vs. Ukraine
Lithuania vs. Georgia
Group C
Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Turkey
Norway vs. Malta
Greece vs. Hungary
Group D
Germany vs. San Marino
Wales vs. Czech Republic
Group E
Estonia vs. Croatia
Russia vs. Andorra
FYR Macedonia vs. Israel
Group F
Denmark vs. Sweden
Latvia vs. Spain
Iceland vs. Liechtenstein
Group G
Slovenia vs. Romania
Albania vs. Luxembourg
Belarus vs. Bulgaria

[Henrik P]

denmark is gonna be though to beat. :(

[Spartan]

the match was abandoned in the 89th minute, with the score even at three goals apiece for some drunk dane who struck the ref after awarding a pen kick to sweden...which would have likely sealed it at 4-3. probably a crazy match all around.

others of note.

Wales managed a draw with the czechs in millennium stadium.
bosnia is now knocking on the door in group C, where they rank third - three points behind the second place turks they just upset in sarajevo.
italy actually gave up a goal to the faroe islands
in one of the few 'premier' matches of the day, portugal got the better of belgium in brussels, but they have already largely disappointed in group a.

next matchday is wednesday.

[Henrik P]

haha. crazy danes. :P

iceland is next.

[Jens. E]

What a crazy game beetwen Sweden and Denmark, Fun that Sweden won though.

[SideshowTim]

uefa is still yet to decide on the result i believe. ridiculous that things like happen though, ruins the entire match. i'm reminded of homer's framed picture of 'idiot ruins game - springfield forfeits pennant'.

[Run CMB]

I'm pulling for spain, great squad to watch. Love watching Xavi regulate the midfield.

[Spartan]

matchday ten. 06 june 2007. last matches until late august.

Group A - POR, SRB OFF
Armenia vs. Poland [A7 v. A1]
Finland vs. Belgium [A4 v. A5]
Kazakhstan vs. Azerbaijan [A6 v. A8]

Group B - UKR OFF
Faroe Islands vs. Scotland [B7 v. B4]
France vs. Georgia [B1 v. B6]
Lithuania vs. Italy [B5 v. B2]

Group C - TUR OFF
Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Malta [C3 v. C6]
Greece vs. Moldova [C1 v. C7]
Norway vs. Hungary [C4 v. C5]

Group D - CZE, IRL, WAL, CYP, SMR OFF
Germany vs. Slovakia [D1 v. D4]

Group E - MKD OFF
Estonia vs. England [E4 v. E6]
Andorra vs. Israel [E7 v. E2]
Croatia vs. Russia [E1 v. E3]

Group F - NIR OFF
Liechtenstein vs. Spain [G5 v. G3]
Sweden vs. Iceland [G2 v. G6]
Latvia vs. Denmark [G7 v. G4]

Group G - NED OFF
Romania vs. Slovenia [G1 v. G6]
Luxembourg vs. Albania [G7 v. G5]
Bulgaria vs. Belarus (one of the few times you'll see two national teams face off in a home and home within seven days) [G3 v. G4]

[:bang:]

england is supposedly trying dyer a right back. doomed

[SideshowTim]

what's the point? england aren't really that short on backs are they?

but no better time to test things than against estonia i suppose. i'll be supporting england. they should win comfortably especially with beckham in top form.

[:bang:]

i think its to generate a better counter attack. england does have injury issues, though

[Spartan]

good to see FSC showing live quals today. finland-belgium on now and liechtenstein-spain after it.

[:bang:]

damn, i should have called off today

[Spartan]

some results from today.

Armenia upset Poland 1.0 in Yerevan, but Poland still has a great lead in group A
finland did what it had to do at home to keep a shot at qualifying for the second position in Group A, beating Belgium at home...dominating 2.0 match. tied now with serbia and portugal.

ho-hum in B...leaders France Italy and Scotland all won.
Norway had its second 4.0 victory at home in as many matches to keep up with Bosnia and Turkey...greece won and has a spot all but locked up to advance to another euro finals.

england used owen crouch and joe cole to rout estonia in talinn...but it's looking like a staunch challenge, with russia and croatia drawing in zagreb.
CRO 17 in 7
ISR 17 in 8
RUS 15 in 7
ENG 14 in 7
But England has the homestretch to close out in E, unlike Russia or Israel.

It was all ho-hum in F, with Spain, Sweden, and Denmark all winning. Spain and Sweden only have two road matches left, while northern ireland has four...the upset advancement may be disappearing...

Group G will be very exciting down the stretch, with Romania Bulgaria and the Netherlands all looking formidable. But it's Bulgaria who's already had its road matches with the leaders...

[SideshowTim]

hmm not gonna be easy for england despite the fact they have plenty of home games. they are definitely better than every side in their group though, it'll be pretty hard to fathom them not making it.

[Spartan]

after the summer break, we've hit the one-year mark on the marathon Euro 2008 qualifying tour. A few matches today but most resume Sep 08.

Group A. Armenia follows their upset of group leaders Poland by drawing with Portugal in Yerevan, 1-1. Finland beat Kazakhstan 2-1 at home and Belgium got the better of Serbia 3-2.

POL 19 (9 played)
FIN 17 (9)
=======
POR 15 (8)
SRB 14 (8)
BEL 10 (9)

In Group F, Northern Ireland took back second place from idle Spain when they beat Liechtenstein in Belfast, 3-1.

SWE 18 (7)
NIR 16 (7)
=======
ESP 15 (7)
DEN 10 (6)

Two other matches...the bottom pairs of both Groups D and E. Cyprus beat San Marino and Estonia beat Andorra for their first win of Euro 08 quals. surprisingly bad run for them cause they were prospected to do well and put pressure in that group but have just not shown up.

lots of friendlies today as well.

[SideshowTim]

northern ireland doing incredibly well. would love to see them qualify.

[Spartan]

Yeah they had an incredible start in 2006 and it would be their first appearance. I'm not quite sure they can hold on, but it's probably the weakest of the seven groups.

[Spartan]

okay. we'll use this thread.

[Moe Nopoly]

really looking forward to the championship.
Could be really interesting. Many great teams with Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany etc. Don't think Greece can defend the title,
but i never thought they would win last time, so who knows.

[:bang:]

who ya got, who ya supporting

with ireland and england not making it, and both newcastle players involved likely on the way out, i guess i have to support italy, although i guess i'm rooting for the beauty of the game more than anything

i think croatia and turkey have fighting chances to surprise a few people

i'll go germany over croatia, and italy over spain with germany winning

france to disappoint, just because

[gonz]

It's gonna feel weird that Englands not gonna be in this, so i'm supporting the Netherlands this year.

[Spartan]

I think Italy's going to crash and burn. sure they're in a group of death but how they ever even went on a run in 2006 is well beyond me. kinda sad it's degraded to this, but I'm in a ABR mood...anyone but ronaldo. but I mean, I never did like the portos much to begin with and they're now seemingly everyone's second favorite side.

As I said before somewhere, I think Group A will be the group of death when it's said and done. the Swiss were unlucky to be in this one and they have a really strong young foundation building for the past decade.

Spain to fail.

[Moe Nopoly]

Spain to fail.

really strange that spain never come out big in a championship.
Have a great or at least really good team for years, but no success at a

[Spartan]

nah, the spanish just suck at life.

[Larson Something]

Rooting for the Dutch as usual, and with my usual second choice not in it, I'll give that spot to the defending champs.

[Moe Nopoly]

tournament starts tomorrow with Switzerland vs Czech Republic and Portugal vs Turkey. I think Czech Republic and Portugal will win.

[:bang:]

nah, the spanish just suck at life.

too busy with tapas and sangria amirite

[Fox Executive]

I think Austria is gonna be the big loser, but Switzerland is really bad too

[Spartan]

no they're not. they won their group in the 2006 world cup. senderos is a hoss too.

austria though are the worst side on paper and it's not really even close.

[SideshowTim]

It's gonna feel weird that Englands not gonna be in this, so i'm supporting the Netherlands this year.
werd. huntelaaaaaar for the golden boot.

[Moe Nopoly]

Czech republic wins 1:0.
Bad luck for Switzerland, in the first half the lost with Frei an important player with injury
and in the second half they are the better team and lose nevertheless.

[Dewey Finn]

I remember when I was an avid soccer fan. I was crazy about EURO 2000 cup with that PC game I bought. Good times

[:bang:]

austria though are the worst side on paper and it's not really even close.
real talk son

swiss got an cruel result. they looked better in a zzzzzz match

thought the port/turk match was better football, though. portugal clearly has far more class, of course

[Moe Nopoly]

a deserved win for Portugal, Turkey had no real chance and it was only a matter of time.

today plays austria vs croatia. should be an easy win for croatia.

[G.K. Willington]

It will be interesting to see how Germany fair tonight. I can see them winning the whole competition.

[Moe Nopoly]

It will be interesting to see how Germany fair tonight. I can see them winning the whole competition.

Looking forward to that too, they played pretty good since 2006, but i never really sure about them. They are also good for a big disappointment.

[Spartan]

austria though deserved points today, not unlike their co-hosting brethren. zzzz and expected matches today.

GROUP OF DEATH TOMORROW

[Moe Nopoly]

bad luck for Austria and Switzerland in their first games, both deserved at least a point.

Looking forward to see Italy vs Netherlands today. Really an interesting group with France and Romania.

[Spartan]

more like shitaly am I wrong here?

[Moe Nopoly]

i'm surprised too, but the Netherlands play a lot better and deserve this 2:0 lead by now.

France vs Romania was the most boring game so far for me. France was disappointing and glad they didn't get rewarded for this kind of performance.

[Larson Something]

Yeah the first goal kinda smelled, but maybe it was good karma from Ruud not going to the ground earlier when if he had, he probably would have drawn the penalty.

I just hope they don't blow this like they did against the Czechs four years ago.

And it would also be nice if they wore shirts that didn't look like the numbers were put on with masking tape.

[Moe Nopoly]

Yeah the first goal kinda smelled, but maybe it was good karma from Ruud not going to the ground earlier when if he had, he probably would have drawn the penalty.


i've heard the goal was within the rules, even when it really looked like offside.
And credit to "Van the man" that he didn't fall in that situation before, i guess many other players would have done that.

[Larson Something]

Well, the commentators here were saying that it didn't matter that Buffon knocked that one defender over the line, he was out of play, so it should have been offside. It seemed to me like it should matter, but whatever, it counted, so :bang:

[Spartan]

the first goal was legit. even IF it weren't, oh well. bad and horrid calls happen quite frequently in big tournaments and they rarely go against the ugly, gay sides like Italy.

rejoice.

[Moe Nopoly]

bad start for France and Italy. A lot of pressure now for them in the next to games.

Today Greece, they played a really good qualification, so i think they have also a good chance to reach the next round. But a difficult group too, with Spain, Sweden and Russia.

[:bang:]

yeah, the american broadcasters basically said that the defender still counted even if he was off the pitch. whatever, ruud titties even seemed unsure. thats what italy gets for fielding a side like that

[Spartan]

bahhhhhhhhhhhahahahahahahah ruud titties. wow.

all according to plan in Group D so far.

[Moe Nopoly]

all according to plan in Group D so far.

russia was not that bad in the first half, but spain really effective with their chances.

[Spartan]

yeah I mean, I still think Spain is not getting away with a clean sheet here.

[Moe Nopoly]

second half was first a little bit boring, but last minutes at least entertaining and russia got their goal too.
In the end a deserved 4:1 win for Spain imo.

[-Bart-]

The Netherlands really surprised me of their first game... Now I think they're on the top 5 favourites to win the championship.

Italy vs The Netherlands was defenitly the best game so far, but Portugal vs Turkey was the most entertaining to watch.

And for the match between Greece and Sweden which will start in a few minutes, I think Sweden will win this one.

[Moe Nopoly]

really boring so far. Greece does nearly nothing for the offense and sweden not really any better :-/

[Greased Scotsman]

Before the tournament started I would have said there were about 10 teams that could theoretically win it. Now, I'm not so sure.

I've got a few teams I'm getting behind, as I've liked them in previous tournaments: Czech Republic, Germany, France and the Netherlands. I don't care who wins, as long as it's not Italy. God, how I hate those divers.

It's weird, but I always find myself supporting Germany. I've done it since the 2002 WC final. I don't know why, I just really like the attitude of the German team and fans.

That 3-0 win over Italy by the Dutch was amazing. As the Dutch would say: the future's bright, the future's orange :D

Czech Republic v Portugal and Switzerland v Turkey tomorrow. One should be great, the other should be quite dull.

[Moe Nopoly]

great that Greece had no success yesterday with their boring defensive tactic.
Looking forward to see today Portugal vs Czech Republic. I see Portugal as favorite after the first games.

[Van Houten]

Guus Hiddink should stop wasting his time with Russia and come back to Australia.

[Moe Nopoly]

Guus Hiddink should stop wasting his time with Russia and come back to Australia.

i think one major reason why he stays in Russia is the money. I've heard they pay him a lot.
Too bad. He did a great job for Australia and for South Korea.

[Spartan]

Portugal is now confirmed for brawl. :-\

[:bang:]

sweet. fuck david rozehnal

[Moe Nopoly]

nice water battle between Switzerland and Turkey. Switzerland seems to be more comfortable with the difficult conditions so far.

[Spartan]

obviously, christians > muslims

[Moe Nopoly]

obviously, christians > muslims

so wrong, there are many reasons why this statement is nonsense.
Even in this game, when you would know who made the goal. Hakan Yakin.

[Spartan]

I was joking.

[Moe Nopoly]

I was joking.

good joke

[Spartan]

Lighten up; this has been the best match of the competition.

[Moe Nopoly]

Lighten up; this has been the best match of the competition.

yeah, but seems it dried up. Was more fun with more rain.

[Run CMB]

what a show by coatia, germany could hardly get anything going until podolski pulled one back. wonder if jansen will get back on the pitch after this.

[Spartan]

fools. even arsenal doesn't start lehmann.

austria is fucked and far from home.

[Van Houten]

I know it's a day late but man, that first goal in the Switzerland and Turkey match was hilarious.

[:bang:]

fools. even arsenal doesn't start lehmann.

austria is fucked and far from home.

more like lolehmann

[Moe Nopoly]

fools. even arsenal doesn't start lehmann.

austria is fucked and far from home.

Lehmann is really not good, has no match practice or anything, because Arsenal didn't let him play.

[Rekart]

Polandlol. One of the announcers said that what he did wasn't anything all that different from the type of contact going on regularly, but regardless of that, pulling the guy in line for the kick down is clearly a foul, and the funniest part is that it was completely unnecessary.

[Spartan]

that's life...bad calls happen and that was undoubtedly an egregious call and one that generally happens on a big stage when a ref wants to make his name. that or UEFA was pushing for austria to be its new korea, but even I can't believe that.

It was a horrid call and Austria deserve to be sitting at zero points with the runaway worst side in the competition.

[Moe Nopoly]

today my favorite group

Italy vs Romania and Netherlands vs France.
France and Italy in big trouble if they don't win or even lose.
I think Italy has a better chance to win against Romania than France against the Netherlands.

[Fox Executive]

today my favorite group

Italy vs Romania and Netherlands vs France.
France and Italy in big trouble if they don't win or even lose.
I think Italy has a better chance to win against Romania than France against the Netherlands.

italy has to do something. the netherlands crushed them. but imo france-romania was the worst game of the championship SO FAR.

[Moe Nopoly]

but imo france-romania was the worst game of the championship SO FAR.

the first half of greece vs sweden was really bring too, but i agree over 90 minutes france vs romania was the worst game so far.

[Greased Scotsman]

I loved that Swiss-Turkey match. A defender would do a sliding tackle and go WHEEEEEEE! off the pitch right into the barrier. And I find it amusing that Hakan Yakin can only score when he's set up by a puddle.

Poor Germany. They deserved to lose, but still, I wanted them to win. I hate Croatia.

Poor Austria. They had about 20,000 chances to score, and missed every single one. I was kind of glad when they got the penalty, it would be a damn shame if the co-host nation went out without a single goal/point to their name.

Group of Death days are always fun. Not sure who I'll support since I like both Holland and France, but I do know that if Italy were knocked out in the group stages that would be a fucking dream come true.

[Fox Executive]

Switzerland-Turkey was good. But the best Swiss players were also Turkish: Yakin and Inler.

I hope Austria beats the Germans. They really think the're the best.

And the same about Italy. IMO even Romania is able to beat them if they play like last time. Man, that would be cool!

[Moe Nopoly]

great game so far between Italy and Romania. No goals (one for Italy was called offside) but many chances especially for Italy. Romania had their chances too, so could be interesting in the second half.

[Spartan]

Panucci is on fire. Great goal immediately after the STUPID fast opp romania opened to score theirs and a crucial clear after buffon's save in the PK.

[Moe Nopoly]

great game so far between France and the Netherlands.
This way the Netherlands are my favorite for the title. Beating the World champion and now leading 2-0 against France is really impressive.

[HOMR]

Group C has been really interesting, especially considering how Romania now is in the second place, ahead of both Italy and France, the 2006 World Cup finalists. They still have a realistic chance to make it to the quarter finals, with a win or a tie (if Italy and France also play a tie), knocking out both France and Italy of the tournament.

Looking forward to Sweden - Spain tomorrow, although I think Spain will win. You never know what'll happen in the Euro Cups though.

[Greased Scotsman]

WHAT. A. MATCH.

Afer that match I'm betting on a Holland-Portugal (or possibly Holland-Croatia) final, with Holland taking the title. They fucking deserve it.

[HOMR]

I agree, Holland has been really good so far, if they keep playing like this they'll go far.

[Dewey Finn]

I'm pretty shocked that the Azurri soccer has not been the way they were always advertised except for Buffon's great save on the penalty shot. I also saw a game on France and Holland.... Holland looked way energized throughout the game and I do think that they'll go farther than I thought they would

What are the odds of Romania making it to next round?

[Larson Something]

^Pretty good, I'd say. The Dutch have clinched first in the group, so they'll likely be resting a lot of guys and won't have anything to play for. The door is wide open.

[Moe Nopoly]

^Pretty good, I'd say. The Dutch have clinched first in the group, so they'll likely be resting a lot of guys and won't have anything to play for. The door is wide open.

i agree, Romania has now the best chance to beat the Netherlands, now they reached already the next round on 1st place.

[Rekart]

The Dutch seem to be doing almost everything right. Their passes are on target more often than a lot of the other teams (maybe this is just because the game freshest in my mind is Poland/Austria,) their shots are well executed, and despite their consistently offensive mindset, their defense is strong. Because of that mindset, it still feels to me like they could be beaten on a bad day or against a particularly strong defense, but for now, they're arguably the most entertaining team to watch and they're avoiding mistakes.

[Spartan]

plus no one ever hates them. that goes a long way. and they are a very fast and enjoyable side to watch.

[Moe Nopoly]

today Sweden vs Spain.
the most interesting match of the day for me. I think Spain will win.

[Greased Scotsman]

For me Group D is a snoozefest. Don't really care who wins from this lot.

[Spartan]

you're a bad person.

[Moe Nopoly]

hope Greece plays this time a little bit more for the offense.
That was really bad in the first game against sweden, was glad they weren't rewarded for such a tactic.

[HOMR]

Damn. So close to 1-1, and in the last minute, David Villa gets an opportunity and BAM. We lose.

[Moe Nopoly]

greece vs russia was pretty good the first half, but seems Greece really has no idea how to make a goal.

[Spartan]

holy shit.

[Craptacular]

How does Stephen Hunt sleep at night?

[Greased Scotsman]

holy shit.

QFT. :eek:

[The lesson is never try]

Absolutely stunning! That is why I love football, give me any other game that creates so much drama and excitement. That is exactly why football is the best sport on Earth.

I'm still in disbelief, it was amazing. That last 15 minutes defies belief. Absolutely incredible scene's, the best last 15 minutes of a match i've ever seen.

[Van Houten]

Fuck! I had to leave for work when it was halftime and I missed it :mad:

[HOMR]

That was a pretty amazing effort by Turkey, but I feel bad for Petr Cesh. :(

Btw, it would have been fun if there had been a penalty shoot out, without a real keeper in Turkey's goal, after Demirel's suspension.

[Moe Nopoly]

i was really surprised that Turkey was able to turn this game around, even more surprising for me was, that Cech was a main reason for that.

[SideshowTim]

i was really surprised that Turkey was able to turn this game around, even more surprising for me was, that Cech was a main reason for that.
i can't remember the last time cech conceded 3 goals in a match let alone 3 goals in the space of 14 minutes.

[Fox Executive]

Both games were pretty good, but Switzerland and Turkey were very lucky.
But I have to mention, Portugal wasn't using its best players, so its not such a big surprise. I hope that the Germans loose against Austria, that would be another big surprise.
Cech is not the one to be blamed for the lost match. I'm pretty sure that Switzerland would have beaten the Czech Republic without Cech. He caught every ball.
Er..., whatever. Turkey will lose against Croatia, no question. And Portugal will loose the finale against the Nederlands.

[Craptacular]

i can't remember the last time cech conceded 3 goals in a match let alone 3 goals in the space of 14 minutes.

Uh, Portugal beat the Czech Republic 3-1 in the previous game.

Yeah, pretty bad brainfart there, Tim. ;)

[:bang:]

gotta blame rozehnal

[Moe Nopoly]

today not so interesting matches. Croatia is already qualified as first and Germany only needs one point against Austria to reach the next round.

[Spartan]

don't see where croatia is going to walk all over the turks.

[Fox Executive]

Austria sucks, but Germany sucks too.
So let's watch this crap

[Moe Nopoly]

not really a great game so far in the first half, but interesting. Germany will have a hard time if they only try to defend that draw over 90 minutes.
Funny when both coaches were send off and had to leave their coaching zone. First time i saw something like that.

[G.K. Willington]

What a goal by Ballack!

[Run CMB]

I can't see Germany going far playing like this. Wasting far too many chances and conceding too much at the back, lot of last ditch efforts by Metzelder to bail them out.

[-Bart-]

I'm pretty sure Germany will lose their next match against Portugal anyways. Then they can finally go home.

[Rekart]

Yeah, I can't see them beating Portugal when they're playing like this. It was unquestionably better than their last game though.

[Moe Nopoly]

I'm pretty sure Germany will lose their next match against Portugal anyways. Then they can finally go home.

i agree, they had big problems with Austria and don't see how they wanna beat Portugal with such a performance.

[Fox Executive]

Germany is out, because I think Portugal has good chances to win this championship. And today is imo the day of the big game of the euro so far: France vs. Italy. They both sucked, compared to the great games they played at the wc 2006. Romania has no chance against the Nederlands, even if they don't use their best players. Like Poland lost against Croatia My Predictions:
France - Italy 0-2
Nederlands - Romania 3-1

[Moe Nopoly]

i'm not sure, when the Netherlands rest their star players, i think Romania has a real chance to win that game.
They played really good so far.

[Fox Executive]

i'm not sure, when the Netherlands rest their star players, i think Romania has a real chance to win that game.
They played really good so far.

Right, but it often seems boring, because they have good defenders. But the game against Italy showed that they can make goals if it's needed.
I love any sensations, I hope Romania will win, but I don't believe it.

[:bang:]

netherlands has 0 incentive to win that match, i bet romania goes through

germany will finally bench gomez, i bet we see a better team going forward. portugal has about 1,000 awesome midfielders, but are lacking in the forward department. i wouldnt say i would favor germany in that match, but i would not dismiss them either

[Moe Nopoly]

would be funny if Romania makes it to the next round and France/Italy are left behind.
But would be their own fault, they both had their chance to beat Romania.

[Larson Something]

The funniest way for Italy and France to go out would be for them to draw and the Dutch to beat Romania 2-0. They all end up with two points, but Romania edges out the World Cup finalists on goal difference. That'd be sweet.

[Moe Nopoly]

i think Italy will win this game, but also think that Romania has a good chance to beat the netherlands. So, this should be interesting.

[Spartan]

fuck life.

It would be beyond epic if the Dutch end up losing in the semi's to the italians due to this.

[Greased Scotsman]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I HATE ITALY.

[Moe Nopoly]

sorry for France, nearly everything went wrong for them in that game.
Lost Ribery, red card, penalty etc. Surprised they only lost 0:2

[Van Houten]

I don't like the comments made by the Italian manager after the Netherlands happened to win, saying he never questioned their (Netherlands) commitment as if Italy was owed something. He'd be the first one to bitch about the Netherlands tactics if Romania had managed to win.

[Moe Nopoly]

Looking forward to the match Russia vs Sweden today.
I think that could be an interesting game. Have no problem with Russia, but i hope Sweden wins.

[:bang:]

sorry for France, nearly everything went wrong for them in that game.
Lost Ribery, red card, penalty etc. Surprised they only lost 0:2

you forgot 'played boumsong'

[Fox Executive]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I HATE ITALY.

Who doesn't?

Sweden will win about 2-0 and Spain crashes Greece 3-1.
Sweden or Russia will lose the QF against the Nederlands and Spain beats the hell out of Italy. At least I hope so.

[Moe Nopoly]

Sweden or Russia will lose the QF against the Nederlands and Spain beats the hell out of Italy. At least I hope so.

i agree, whoever plays against the Netherlands can go home after that.
The game Italy vs Spain will be really interesting i guess. Not sure if Italy will lose, could be dangerous for Spain.

[Spartan]

I don't like the comments made by the Italian manager after the Netherlands happened to win, saying he never questioned their (Netherlands) commitment as if Italy was owed something. He'd be the first one to bitch about the Netherlands tactics if Romania had managed to win.

Yeah they have a real insecurity and respect issue. Remember when they nearly forced UEFA to launch an investigation at Euro '04 when shock OMG sweden and denmark drew to keep italy from advancing? ...there was like a 90' goal in that match. bawwwwwww more, donadoni

[:bang:]

hahaha italian manager praises another side, and thats crying. cmon now

[Moe Nopoly]

Russia leads 1:0 against Sweden and they are really the better team so far.
Too bad, hoped more for sweden. Maybe in the second half.

[Henrik P]

Wow, Sweden is playing really bad today. But I guess they'd probably loose to Holland anyway so it doesn't really matter.

[Spartan]

lol greekfags. have fun watching the turks advance and finishing in P16.

[:bang:]

dear newcastle targets,
stop scoring
love,
:bang:

[HOMR]

Wow, Sweden is playing really bad today. But I guess they'd probably loose to Holland anyway so it doesn't really matter.

Yeah, and Sweden doesn't deserve winning after playing that bad, so it doesn't matter.

I hope Spain takes the title this year, they haven't won anything in ages. I think the final will be either Portugal-Spain or Portugal-Holland, though.

[Moe Nopoly]

really disappointing how Sweden played in that important game.
Russia with his coach from the Netherlands against his home country.
Don't think they have a chance, but would be funny if the beat them.

[Spartan]

lol

Klose is such a shark, but he didn't have to be good (just lucky) on that perfect kick by Schweinsteiger.

[Moe Nopoly]

one of the best games so far, will be really interesting in the second half.
Both teams have their chance to win.

[Spartan]

bye bye ronaldo!

[fritz]

shit ballack. ronaldo looks like he's gonna cry

i predict:

germany vs croatia
spain vs netherlands

[Moe Nopoly]

bye bye ronaldo!

Go Germany, would be really a huge upset for Portugal and Ronaldo

[Fox Executive]

good game, bad winner

[Moe Nopoly]

was an awesome game, both teams deserved the win, but Germany took their chances and made the goals. Congratulations.

[sacrelicious]

Fun game with portugal making it interesting for the last 10 minutes or so.

[Fox Executive]

Today's QF will be interesting too. The two teams are not the best, but Turkey-Czech Republic was a good game and Croatia slaughtered the Germans.

[Moe Nopoly]

yes, would like to see a rematch between Croatia and Germany, so i hope they win today against Turkey

[Run CMB]

damn, i wish i could've seen germany - portugal. i have to say i'm surprised germany pulled it out, but it sounds like it was a tight match all the way though. looking forward to turkey - croatia, though. should be very entertaining.

[Moe Nopoly]

pretty boring match between Croatia and Turkey so far, compared to the game yesterday. i thought Croatia would be stronger.

[Greased Scotsman]

This game is an utter snoozefest. And to think I'll miss the next 2 quarter finals due to concerts. :(

[sacrelicious]

Hard to get a more exciting game than yesterday's.

With how bored I am today at least it will offer some amusement.

[fritz]

holy shit

[sacrelicious]

Crazy ending, but I've never seen any team do so poorly in a penalty shootout.

[fritz]

yeah croatia fucking blew it

also that turkey goal came literally seconds before the game would've been called. crazy

pretty shitty game otherwise though

[Greased Scotsman]

Holy fuck, the dullest game has the most dramatic ending.

Seriously, I could have tuned in for the last 3 minutes + the shootout and I would have been more entertained than for the whole match.

But Turkey are gonna get crushed by Germany - all their players are either suspended or injured. :)

[fritz]

yeah. and germany's a much better team anyway regardless of the missing players

[Spartan]

what the fuck do you even say to that?

hell yeah turkey. hell yes.

[Run CMB]

well, that was insane. i think i feel the worst for modric.

[Dewey Finn]

The two halves was a big yawner. I wish I hadn't missed the penalty shootout though... but how many Turkey players cannot play in the next match? It'd be a easy pick for Germany to win the next game, but who knows

[Spartan]

I don't know man, the second half with the Turks on their heels produced some great moments from Rustu in particular.

[Dewey Finn]

There were (especially the one where the Croat FW almost scored by heading in the corner kick line), but for me, without goals, it's not that exciting... I still stand by my point

I'm not a real fanatic soccer watcher anymore, so that's just my view...

[Run CMB]

a game can be entertaining whether the ball hits the back of the net or not. there are plenty of cagey matches that end 0-0.

and last i heard is that turkey will face germany without 8 players (either through suspension or injury).

[Rekart]

I can't see them winning that match-up, but I'm hard-pressed to say they're done after the end of their last two games.

[Moe Nopoly]

lol @ Croatia. The had the chance of their life and would have played then against the team, they already beat once. But they were really disappointing. Turkey deserves this win after all these injuries and suspension of their keeper.

[Scavenger]

This is the EC of suprises, Russia gets my respect, they were the ones who took action and put the pressure on...

[Fox Executive]

Russia was better, but it's the surprise of the championship imo.
Scavenger, i'm also a fan of the Nederlands, but they'll win the 2010 WC instead...

[Rekart]

They outplayed the Dutch pretty much all game, but by the end of the second half and in the extra time, I was pretty sure they were going to score before penalty kicks. They kept getting too many open looks at the goal where they missed the opportunity by a small margin, and I figured that they would eventually put one in. Disappointing.

If the pattern holds, Italy wins tomorrow.

[Moe Nopoly]

that's really the biggest surprise of the championship so far for me.
After the first three matches the netherlands were my favorite for the title,
but yesterday they played nothing like that.

[Fox Executive]

I agree, but Russia played pretty good. The best finale would be Russia against Turkey.

[Moe Nopoly]

The best finale would be Russia against Turkey.

yeah, that would be really a surprising final match, but not sure if Turkey would have a chance against Russia, they way they play at the moment.

[G.K. Willington]

Russia are getting better by the game, although they could risk facing Spain again in the semis, although I doubt they would lose 4-1 again if that happened.

Crazy ending, but I've never seen any team do so poorly in a penalty shootout.

I think Chelsea probably worse at penalties (Community Shield Last year, Champions League Semi 07 etc.) and Switzerland in the last World Cup vs. Ukraine, but Croatia were very poor as well, I don't see how you can miss the target with a free shot from 12 yards out.

[-Bart-]

So the teams that didn't use their best players in the last group match are all losing to the 2nd place takers who did use their best players in every game?

Interesting...

[Moe Nopoly]

So the teams that didn't use their best players in the last group match are all losing to the 2nd place takers who did use their best players in every game?

Interesting...

yeah, i wonder what will happen to Spain against Italy today :D
Spain played a way better so far, but that seem to mean nothing when it comes to quarterfinals.

[PMD14]

Haven't really been following this but saw Croatia and Turkey the other day. That turned into a good game. Wanted Croatia to win though. :(

[Run CMB]

yeah, i wonder what will happen to Spain against Italy today :D
Spain played a way better so far, but that seem to mean nothing when it comes to quarterfinals.
ought to be interesting to see how panucci & chiellini hold up against villa & torres. i'd say spain has the advantage if not just because this match up. we'll see though, seems anything can happen in these quarters.

[Moe Nopoly]

will be really interesting, i've heard that spain never won against Italy in a championship game, but spain has also not lost one game in the last 16 matches in general.

[fritz]

pks!

why the FUCK did they take torres out. the sub is terrible

also, awful ref. what a fucking fag

[fritz]

yes

[Dewey Finn]

"The hoodoo is gone! The jinx is over!"

Very tight game. At least I didn't miss the penalty for this game

[Run CMB]

to be honest, torres didn't seem all that effective and given guiza's tenacity in the last match i can respect the decision. neither villa or torres were able to really shake up italy's back four, so a change was necessary. did guiza work out? i didn't think he was horrible, he had a few chances, but he did give a scare in the shoot out. man of the match: either casillas or david silva.

[fritz]

yeah silva was awesome. really the only one with respectable strikes for spain

i dunno i thought the guiza blew multiple chances, even excluding the pk. especially that hand ball

[Moe Nopoly]

congratulations to Spain, glad they finally won a quarterfinal.
Also interesting, that they play now again against Russia.

[G.K. Willington]

Villa has the odd decent game, notably vs. Russia, but has very poor games as well, for example last night he struggled and kept falling over. Torres was causing more problems last night in my opinion, although he wasn't exactly fantastic.
Spain barely ever look to use Torres' pace, and if Liverpool played the same way, I doubt he would have reached the 10 goal mark in the league last season.

[Moe Nopoly]

too bad, there is no game today, in a way i already got used to it, to see every day at least one match.

[sacrelicious]

The first semi-final kicks off! Obviously Germany is a huge favorite, but Turkey's getting this far isn't a fluke, as they have been playing really good football.

These games are fun for someone like me who is neutral and doesn't care either way really, so long as the teams bring their exciting game.

[Moe Nopoly]

lol, Turkey leads 1:0 and that's totally deserved. Germany plays like crap and Turkey just great so far.

edit: now 1:1 , wow that was an awesome goal. Looks like it will be an interesting match.

[sacrelicious]

Turkey, in my opinion, still has momentum. Germany is lucky it's a tie game.

[gonz]

we've lost coverage in the uk....:(

[Henrik P]

Same here. :(

EDIT: Germany is in the lead now with 2-1 (we still haven't seen the goal yet though).

another EDIT: 2-2 now and the picture is back! :)

[sacrelicious]

And in another one of those games that have all sorts of crazy goal scoring in the last few minutes, Germany gets one in the 90th minute and win 3-2.

Germany at least started playing pretty well in the end there. I still think they were lucky to have won.

[gonz]

well, it happened to them in the world cup when they lost to italy, so they deserve to feel the pride of a last minute goal.

[Moe Nopoly]

Germany finally beat Turkey with a last minute goal.
Great game imo, Turkey would have deserved the win too, were really impressive, but they allowed 3 goals.

Congratulations to Germany

[Rekart]

Everyone lost coverage. Anyway, not the best game for the Germans. Better than they were against Croatia, but worse than the last two games. All that really matters is the final result though, and they pulled out the win and got into the final. If they play good in a few days, no one will care how they made it through this round.

[Run CMB]

that's true. i picked germany from the beginning but i can't say i've been confident in them since the croatia match. oh well, they made it this far, now i'm just hoping espana can meet them in the final.

[Moe Nopoly]

was a little bit funny, that Germany won because of a last minute gola. So far in this tournament always Turkey won this way.

Looking forward now to Spain vs Russia. Should be really interesting, but hope Spain wins.

[Spartan]

it's over.

[sacrelicious]

Great second half by Spain. If they play that well again they should beat Germany too.

But they really need to dump those ugly yellow uniforms. Looks like they had a grey poupon fight before the game.

[Spartan]

a solid second kit. better than most boring sides' first ones.

[Run CMB]

i like those. i liked the navy blue ones from years back better, though.

anyways, spain looked great. completely canceled out arvshavin, and controlled the entire match. senna & xavi are a great pairing. any word on villa's injury?

[HOMR]

Villa won't be playing in the final, according to Aragonés.

[Moe Nopoly]

great game by Spain. Seems Russia is a team they have no problem with to play.

Germany vs Spain sounds like an interesting final match :)

[Fox Executive]

Great game, Spain is the right winner, they'll beat Germany.
Germany's had 3 shots and 3 goals. That's definitely not enough to beat Spain.

[Moe Nopoly]

i think that's what making Germany so dangerous for Spain. The same was when Germany faced Portugal and everyone thought Portugal would have an easy time beating them. But they surprised Portugal and it went the other way. So i expect a really close game, at least i hope for that.

[Drumstick]

After the first matchday I predicted a Germany - Spain final I never usually get anything right.

[Moe Nopoly]

i was surprised, that there is no game for the 3rd place.
don't know why there is no such match, but would have liked to see Turkey vs Russia.

[Fox Executive]

Yeah, that could've had beaten the finale. I bet Turkey woud've won.

[Moe Nopoly]

Yeah, that could've had beaten the finale. I bet Turkey woud've won.

my bet would have been on Russia

[G.K. Willington]

http://d.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/ng/sp/reuters/20080629/20/1996840636.jpg

[HOMR]

They deserved it.

[Rekart]

No huge surprised. Lehmann fucked up that goal, as he has fucked up various times throughout the tournament. If you watch the replay, Lahm backed off so he didn't run over Lehmann and that's why he ended up behind, and you could fault him for doing that, but I don't. As a goalkeeper, once you commit yourself to coming out, you better damn well do it and not back off like he did.

[Spartan]

I liked a lot of what I saw, particularly for a final. Cagey first ten minutes, par for the course, but even that could have been worse. It opened up around 15-20' and it was a solid match. Torres I don't think got lucky with the goal because Lehmann really misplayed it and that was that. Spain did look shaky early in defense, particularly from Puyol, but it was never an issue again. Something I never would have believed in the first week of June.

[Moe Nopoly]

truly deserved win for Spain and great goal by Torres.
hoped a little bit for more excitement and goals, but Germany wasn't that good to get Spain in real trouble.

Congratulations to Spain.

[CarlosDallas]

That's soccer? I always called it Human foosball!

[Run CMB]

does that refer to spain or the sport in general?

in either case, stop boarding.

[CarlosDallas]

does that refer to spain or the sport in general?

in either case, stop boarding.

To the sport in general.

Homer said that in ''Marge Gamer''(remember it, please)

[jase]

Ah yes. Marge Gamer, the classic episode.