Euro 2008!

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Who Will Win?

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Good game, I really enjoyed it.

Man of the match for me was Villa, I'm sure most of you will agree. Russia was good, but could not cope with the high standards of Spanish talent and teamwork (Villa & Torres made really good teamwork throughout). Russia are a kind of 'stand still' team to me, they don't act ASAP while Spain react faster therfore making the best out of their chances. Favourites to win the whole competition for me are Holland & Spain. I didn't see the Germany match but apparently they were really good too, I'm sure Ballack was great.
 
Villa Definetly Man of the match
This Holland And Spain Will destroy Germany If they Continue Like this , ( I think :D),
Ballack Was not that Great btw :D
 
Now Sweden is playing with Greece.
Its cool that you are watching all games guys :)
 
Güven said:
And who would be that crappest country??:D
Click to expand...

i dunnoo broo, i aint been followin it proper tbh, but jus now when i was coomin back from mosque, i saw greek and spain fans, and i could just who won :p

spain or portugal for me!!
 
^Yeah Both Great teams, They can come far in the tournament

And BTW Sweden Has won From Greece 2-0!!
 
Wow what a match. I was supporting SWEDEN ALL THE WAY! WHAT A GOAL. THEN ANOTHER!

PORTUGAL WILL WIN C REPUBLIC TOMORROW!
 
TURKEY tomorrow YEah

GO TURKEY!!!!
btw I wonder if they are goin to take revenge from 3 years ago LOL ;D (Fight!! lol)
 
SPAIN

Casillas 7: Did as much as he could in terms of saves. He was let down defensively for the Russian goal - fine otherwise. He could do more organising.

Sergio Ramos 7: Had surprisingly little to do defensively as Russia focused their attention elsewhere. Seemed to grow more foward-looking as the game wore on,.

Puyol 5: Ever-vocal and a decent organiser, but he was caught out for the Russian goal and somewhat unconvincing before that. He remains a question-mark in an otherwise solid-looking side.

Marchena 6.5: An improved showing from the Valencia stopper, who might have done enough to keep his place ahead of teammate Raúl Albiol.

Capdevila 7.5: Let himself down badly by sleeping at the far post during the Russian goal. Other than that he was impressive: he was only caught out once in defence. Masterful going forward as usual: his through ball to Torres for the first goal was a delight.

Iniesta 8.5: His rating might be even higher but for his puzzling early substitution. A tremendous through ball to set up Villa for the second. Covered every area of the pitch.

Xavi 8: Seems to have saved his best form for his country after another excellent showing. Seemed to tire towards the end; superb before that.

Senna 6.5: Great passing range as usual, but a little bit hesitant in defending. Granted he has a lot to do as the sole true defensive midfielder in the side, but he can do better than this.

Silva 6: Saw plenty of the ball, but tended towards selfishness and was quite often wasteful in the final delivery. Needs to show the maturity he cultivated last season at the Mestalla.

Torres 6.5: A generous pass to Villa for the first goal and some good moments of control, but he has yet to hit stride. Capable of improvement.

Villa 9.5: A hat-trick and an assist: not bad at all for El Guaje. Wonderful stuff from the man of the match, who may well have put in the best individual showing of the tournament so far.

Substitutes

Cesc 7.5: An assist and a goal, albeit a rather simple one, must give Luis Aragonés a headache ahead of his selection for the next game. Had he been on the pitch longer he could well have earned an 8.

Cazorla 6.5: Didn't have too much opportunity to stamp his unique brand of wing play on the game, but what he did he did well.

Xabi Alonso 6: Little time to impress, but not quite the steadying influence he might have been.

RUSSIA

Akinfeev 6: While none of the goals could be readily termed "preventable" from his point of view, there is the lingering idea that the youngster just wasn't commanding enough.

Anyukov 5.5: Afforded the likes of Silva too much space, although he was actually better than his teammates in that regard. A thankless task.

Shirokov 3.5: Very nearly sold the first goal to Torres 19 minutes in, and was responsible for selling the ball to Capdevila seconds later for the 1-0. Things didn't get better from there. He will watch the replays through his fingers.

Kolodin 4.5: Niggly in the tackle and nervy overall. Caught out repeatedly. One to forget for him.

Zhirkov 5: Run ragged defensively but held his own overall. Set-piece deliveries were disappointing. Nervousness dripped from his passes.

Zyryanov 6.5: An energetic presence, no matter where he was. It seemed as though any Russian spark would come through him for a while, although ultimately he didn't live up to this promise.

Semak 6.5: Broke up play effectively - sometimes a little too effectively for the referee's liking - and composed in the pass. Not at all calm in the shot, though: wasted a superb chance right at the end that any player should have scored.

Semshov 6: Saw little of the action and was predictably substituted.

Bilyaletdinov 5.5: He could have provided more for Pavlyuchenko but in fairness he was operating under tough circumstances.

Sychev 6: Energetic, but hooked at half-time nonetheless. Could maybe have tracked back more.

Pavlyuchenko 6.5: Earned his goal thanks to his work ethic in difficult circumstances. We probably haven't seen the last of his name on the scoresheet in the tournament.

Substitutes

Bystrov 6: Didn't do too much to vindicate coach Hiddink's decision to send him into the breach. Withdrawn, probably due to injury.

Torbinsky 6.5: A success story off the bench, although perhaps not a decisive one. Could have earned a start for the next game.

Adamov 6: A difficult task for him to impress in such odd circumstances - a substitute for a substitute - and one that he quite understandably did not seize.
 
grrr... am gna apply to become a mod just so i can add a POLL and then stop after the poll is here
 
Czech Republic vs Portugal


Winner Takes It All

Or qualification, at least.

Both sides won on the opening day - the Czechs fortuitously and the Portuguese most convincingly - and should there be a winner tomorrow in Geneva, they will have secured qualification to the quarterfinals.

As such, Portugal will most definitely be looking to go all out and secure qualification so that in their final game against co-hosts Switzerland they may focus simply on finishing top of the group and perhaps affording one or two key men a rest. The Czechs, though, would probably be satisfied with a draw, and that mentality may prove their undoing.

Missing both Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky has robbed the Czechs of much of their creativity on which the domineering Jan Koller used to capitalise. With Tomas Galasek also getting on in years, the midfield in general is lacking in all areas it was once fairly formidable.

It will be up to coach Karel Brückner, then, to tactically discipline his players to work as a unit that will remain strong in defence as well as suitably quick and creative to enable attacking play.

Portugal's unit, meanwhile, looks like being almost complete. Nuno Gomes and Deco are hitting form at just the right time and are crucial cogs in the system. Gomes' presence in the box looked like that of his prime and Deco's passing was at times sublime, with the only question mark over him being his fitness.

Lesser known talents such as the sought-after Moutinho and particularly Petit put in top class performances.. The defence, too, is looking stronger than in recent years. Pepe seems to be the perfect partner for Carvalho, who sweeps in behind the roving centre-back. Meanwhile, Paulo Ferreira provides some defensive stability at left-back while Jose Bosingwa roars up and down the right.

The wings need no introduction, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Quaresma, Simao Sabrosa and Nani making up a magnificent quartet of wide men. Having gelled as well as they did, the Portugese will be hoping to exorcize the demons of 2004 and not only go all the way to the final but win as well. A win here will be crucial, as they should surely like to avoid Germany for as long as possible so they are able to gather strength and confident in the meantime.

FORM GUIDE

Czech Republic

07/06/08
Switzerland 0-1 Czech Republic
(European Championship)


30/05/08
Czech Republic 3-1 Scotland
(Friendly)

27/05/08
Czech Republic 2-1 Lithuania
(Friendly)

26/03/08
Denmark 1-1 Czech Republic
(Friendly)

06/02/08
Poland 2-0 Czech Republic
(Friendly)

21/11/07
Cyprus 0-2 Czech Republic
(European Championship qualifier




Portugal

07/06/08
Portugal 2-0 Turkey
(European Championship)

31/05/08
Portugal 2-0 Georgia
(Friendly)
26/03/08
Portugal 1-2 Greece
(Friendly)
06/02/08
Italy 3-1 Portugal
(Friendly)
21/11/07
Portugal 0-0 Finland
(European Championship qualifier)

17/11/07
Portugal 1-0 Armenia
(European Championship qualifier)



TEAM NEWS

Czech Republic

No injuries reported from the Czech camp. Coach Brückner has suggested he was happy with the defence but will make a change in the forward line. Replacing the legendary Jan Koller in his final tournament would seem too drastic a move, despite the country's all-time leading goal scorer having a poor first game. Marek Matejovsky is thought to be coming in to replace Jarolim in midfield, with neither the wily Plasil or the in-form Sionko likely to be replaced. Milan Baros' inclusion as a second forward is a move probably too bold against opposition as dangerous as Portugal, but he is likely to be used from the bench.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Cech - Grygera, Ujfalusi, Rozehnal, Jankulovski - Sionko, Matejovsky, Galasek, Kovac, Plasil - Koller

Portugal

Again, no injuries reported from the Portugese camp and Luiz Felipe Scolari is likely to go with the same side that dominated against Turkey. However, wingers Simao and Nani picked up minor knocks and therefore could make way for Ricardo Quaresma, who did not make an appearance on Saturday.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Ricardo - Bosingwa, Pepe, Carvalho, Ferreira - Moutinho, Petit, Deco - Quaresma, Nuno Gomes, Ronaldo

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Czech Republic - Sionko

The lively Sionko's runs down the right hand side have proved a valuable outlet for the Czechs in the past couple of games, scoring twice against Scotland and a regular threat against Switzerland in the opener. He will be up against Paulo Ferreira - a makeshift left-back - and could well cause problems.

Portugal - Quaresma

Should he start, he will have a point to prove and will no doubt bring his box of tricks with him. An energetic and audacious player - much like Ronaldo in that respect - and in the shop window as well, with Porto having been suspended from the Champions League. He will have it all to prove, hoping to win a permanent spot in the team for the remainder of the tournament. Should he not play, the one to watch is Ronaldo for, well, quite obvious reasons - he hasn't scored yet!

PREDICTION

The Czechs certainly did not look like scoring in the opening game, but a change in personnel and ideas may see them grab one tomorrow evening. However, the midfield battle is only going one way, and what could well be incessant pressure from Portugal will surely see them overpower Brückner's men and make it two wins out of two.

Czech Republic 1-2 Portugal
 
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Portugal Has To win So that Turkey has A chance To Go to the finals ,If they win from Switserland ofcourse (without fightin):)

btw Portugal Will Win I think Look At the team C. Ronaldo And Quaresma what A Great Duo
 
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