Euro 2012

Would've preferred Poland and Czech to move on from the first group but this'll do. Not that Greece has any chance against Germany, Karagounis picked up a (referee assisted) match suspension as well.

I wouldn't mind Germany assisting Denmark a bit today, Portugal in the quarters is fine as well though. The Dutch have been absolutely useless so far, no ideas in the offence, just a pack of (poor) individuals...except for Sneijder maybe. Heitinga, Willems and van der Wiel haven't been very convincing either.

Meanwhile it's looking like I put my money on the wrong horse for the top scorer of the tournament. Despite great pre-tournament friendlys Benzema's looked like he's a bit lost in the first two games, like he was playing out of position. His pretty much only opportunities of scoring so far have been shots outside the box, pretty atypical for him. Giroud replaced him in the end of the last match and I hope he gets a bit more time on the pitch in the future if Benzema doesn't step up his game.

Benzema played really well in the second half against Ukraine, the 2nd goal was served by him in a silver plate.
 
Benzema has been good, the way the french play just doesn't present him with the same opportunities as in Real Madrid.
 
Benzema has been good, the way the french play just doesn't present him with the same opportunities as in Real Madrid.

He's supposed to be the lone striker but he's not making much forward runs nor is he really making himself available. Gets frustrated if the ball isn't played to him and starts backing up to come and get the ball. France has decent delivery (mainly through Nasri and Rib?ry) and it didn't take that much from Menez to break free from the defensive line with a forward run. Rib?ry and Benzema made a great duo in the friendlys but Benzema seems to be a bit lost against tighter central defenses. If he keeps this up I'd sub him for Giroud at 65 mins or so and see what he can do.

Alou Diarra has been brilliant btw, probably MoM in both France's games so far despite being a second choice for M'Vila who was injured. We'll see who's starting against Sweden or if they'll both play.
 
If Spain and Croatia draw 2-2 tomorrow Italy can't go through no matter how badly they destroy Ireland. Interesting scoreline to watch out for. Another interesting permutation would be if Spain and Croatia draw 1-1 and Italy beats Ireland 3-1. In that case Italy would go through on the basis of being ranked higher by Uefa.
 
Benzema has been good, the way the french play just doesn't present him with the same opportunities as in Real Madrid.

I'm quite tired of hearing things like this. "Ronaldo/Benzema/whoever is good, but *country* doesn't cater to him like *successful club where the player is way more committed* "...

I know national teams don't get together much and don't have long periods to work with each other like clubs do, but this is just making excuses for players. They should perform, or at least show they are trying really hard. I'm mostly talking about Ronaldo here cos it's the closest to home and we were almost knocked out of the running because he couldn't put away 2 easy goals laid out by great passes by his "inferior than Real Madrid team":

[video=youtube;t1byntdHY-Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1byntdHY-Y[/video]

What ticks me off the most is how people, in the face of irrefutable evidence of suckiness, keep defending him TO DEATH.
Our goalkeeper was quoted saying, after the match, that "Cristiano always plays well [...] Yesterday he just had a bad game" (in other words, but that's the gist of it). It's hard to contradict oneself in the same sentence but this guy managed it, just to cover Ronaldo's ass.
 
Benzema didn't miss two huuge chances like Ronaldo did against Denmark. Ronaldo have sucked, I'm not making excuses for him.

France however, are playing much less direct than Real Madrid does. Personally, from the stuff I've seen, Benzema has done well in taking part in the build up, and even came up with quite a nice assist last time they played. That he doesn't score goals can just as much be because of the difference in style. You can disagree with Benzema's choices, but I think he has done well. Ronaldo hasn't.

That you're "tired of hearing things like this" doesn't really convince me that it's not true.
 
It's go big or go home for the Dutch tonight:

Stekelenburg, Van der Wiel, Mathijsen, Vlaar, Willems, De Jong, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben, Van Persie, Huntelaar

:D
 
Bah, mpicco just won't miss any chance of cristicising Ronaldo. BTW, to pretend that Benzema can score goals like a 'tradicional' killer is knowing nothing about the way he plays, he needs to gets involved with the ball and even if he doesn't score he's almost always productive (like last game's goal assist).

It's go big or go home for the Dutch tonight:

Stekelenburg, Van der Wiel, Mathijsen, Vlaar, Willems, De Jong, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben, Van Persie, Huntelaar

:D

So they are going to 'gift' the midfield to the Portuguese and hope that individual talent can win them the game.
 
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Well, that's as offensive as they come. It's a shame (sort of :p) that they haven't made it work, because that group of offensive players should be able to play some awesome football.
 
Of course my internet goes out EXACTLY at kickoff and I miss the first 25 minutes.

Congratulations Universe, you win.
 
This was dissapointing, though of course, it was the most likely outcome.

We have been so close, ten minutes away from draws against both Portugal and Germany.
 
From World Cup finalist to zero points in the Euro Cup. What the hell has happened with the Dutch?
 
BTW, to pretend that Benzema can score goals like a 'tradicional' killer is knowing nothing about the way he plays, he needs to gets involved with the ball and even if he doesn't score he's almost always productive (like last game's goal assist).

He has to take a lot more goal scoring responsibility in the France team where he plays a lone striker. He needs to get in the box a lot more, he's good in the air but they aren't able to make any crosses because no one's in the box. France gets stuck outside the box way too much, a bit like Spain except they can't play themselves out of it. Menez has occasionally played striker in PSG and it looks like the roles had shifted a little against Ukraine, but Menez is nowhere as good at scoring goals as Benzema is so he shouldn't be relied on as the primary goal scorer. I still expect to see Menez starting instead of Malouda in the next game.



The Dutch continued where they left last game. I'd wipe my ass with van Marwijk's (long) contract at this point, how bad can they play in the attack with a line-up like that? Sneijder, Robben, van der Vaart, Afellay, Huntelaar and RvP all on the pitch at the same time yet they can't create half a chance. Like they had never trained together. To top it off they take the cake for the worst defense in the tournament, Willems being the first to blame.
 
From World Cup finalist to zero points in the Euro Cup. What the hell has happened with the Dutch?

Great individualities, but no midfield to properly move the ball (Van Bommel and Bruce Lee de Jong, what a joke) and no team spirit. For instance, I was amazed by watching Robben pass the ball to Van der Vaart in your goal, must have been a first time for him. :D

BTW, good to see the best player in the world right now silencing his haters for a while. :mrgreen:
 
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We (as in my dutch half) fucked up against Denmark, the other two games were not that bad. You have to expect to give away a few goals with a weak defense, but only scoring two goals with these strikers and that many chances is terrible. The group was the strongest in the tournament, but going home with zero points is rather bad. We were never as good as in RSA, the match against Brazil was amazing and the other ones weren't bad either. Anyway let's not forget that since 1996, Germany either lost in the group stage or went to the final. So my hopes are high.
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Because he scores against the Dutch? Come on, even we beat the Dutch! :p
 
The Dutch continued where they left last game. I'd wipe my ass with van Marwijk's (long) contract at this point, how bad can they play in the attack with a line-up like that? Sneijder, Robben, van der Vaart, Afellay, Huntelaar and RvP all on the pitch at the same time yet they can't create half a chance. Like they had never trained together. To top it off they take the cake for the worst defense in the tournament, Willems being the first to blame.

Great individualities, but no midfield to properly move the ball (Van Bommel and Bruce Lee de Jong, what a joke) and no team spirit. For instance, I was amazed by watching Robben pass the ball to Van der Vaart in your goal, must have been a first time for him.

The team has hardly changed since the World Cup. 2 years ago they would've steamrolled Portugal and Danmark.

Makes no sense at all... :blink:
 
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