The Official Euro 2008 Thread

[Galactus]

World champions Italy were pitted against old foes France in the draw for the UEFA EURO 2008 finals on Sunday. The pair, who clashed in last year's FIFA World Cup™ Final and again in qualifying for next year's European championships, were joined by the Netherlands and Romania in a highly competitive Group C.

France head coach Raymond Domenech's face dropped when Italy's name was drawn, while Italy boss Roberto Donadoni sported a resigned smile.

The opening match in Basel sees Switzerland face Czech Republic. Three-time European champions Germany appeared to be dealt a favourable enough hand with competition debutants Poland and Austria, the joint-hosts, and Croatia in their pool.

Holders Greece, meanwhile, will come up against Spain, Russia and Sweden.

The competition, which will run between 7 and 29 June 2008, is being co-hosted in Austria and Switzerland with matches being staged in eight cities: Basle, Zurich, Berne and Geneva, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, and Vienna's Ernst-Happel stadium, where the final will be played.

France and Italy have proved virtually inseperable recently, the pair's pathes crossing in Berlin last year in the FIFA World Cup Final, which the Azzurri won on penalties. They then met again in EURO 2008 qualifying, where the pair edged through their group at the main expense of Scotland.

[Mee]

Well, the US obviously isn't in this, so I was pulling for Ye Old England...

We all know how that turned out. :o:csad:


So now I don't really care.

[bullets]

go italy!!

[Alina]

Romania is doomed. Yes, we came first and Holland second, but I bet Holland seeks revenge, and as for France and Italy...well, what more can I say?

[The Amazing Lee]

**** the Euro Cup. :mad:



































:(

[Ahura Mazda]

Damn group of death that we are in......and to play Italy again just makes it worse :(

[Alina]

Your main enemy will be Italy, of course. Romania and Holland have their own feud.:woot: :oldrazz:

[Ahura Mazda]

Your main enemy will be Italy, of course. Romania and Holland have their own feud.:woot: :oldrazz:

My soon to be ex is Dutch as well so really it is tough all around.

I just hope we get to the elimination round.

[Alina]

I can only hope for the best. Nothing more:word:

[Alonsovich]

We have a funny group with the Russians, the Greeks and the Swedish. What's with the qualifications repeating themselves? France and Italy.... Holland and Romania... Spain and Sweden... wtf?

[Ahura Mazda]

We have a funny group with the Russians, the Greeks and the Swedish. What's with the qualifications repeating themselves? France and Italy.... Holland and Romania... Spain and Sweden... wtf?

The unluck of the draw....the odds were pretty low that the qualifyers would repeat but hey that is random chance for you.


Some heavy hitters will be out of the running before the quarters.

[DBella]

Damn group of death that we are in......and to play Italy again just makes it worse :(
That's some tough group our teams are in and we'd have to be rivals... again. :(

But anyway, I can't wait for it all to start. Forza Azzurri!!

[Ahura Mazda]

That's some tough group our teams are in and we'd have to be rivals... again. :(

But anyway, I can't wait for it all to start. Forza Azzurri!!

You know for you I could almost wish for them to .....oh who am I kidding ALLEZ LA FRANCE and to hell with les Azzuri :mad:

[cookiva]

Jesus Christ, we have to go thru France, Germany, and an always tough Romanian team??

[DBella]

We have a funny group with the Russians, the Greeks and the Swedish. What's with the qualifications repeating themselves? France and Italy.... Holland and Romania... Spain and Sweden... wtf?
The gods must be crazy.
The unluck of the draw....the odds were pretty low that the qualifyers would repeat but hey that is random chance for you.

Some heavy hitters will be out of the running before the quarters.
Italy and France were in the same group in the Qualifying rounds and now... again?! "unluck of the draw" indeed.

You know for you I could almost wish for them to .....oh who am I kidding ALLEZ LA FRANCE and to hell with les Azzuri :mad:
Hahaha! I hope this will be like the World Cup Finals, with the same results but minus the PKs. :up: :D

Jesus Christ, we have to go thru France, Germany, and an always tough Romanian team??
Rooting for Holland?

-------

PS. Complimenti Kaka', Pallone D'oro 2007!!! :heart: :up:

[cookiva]

Rooting for Holland?

Yeah. When i lived in Belgium, I became a huge fan.

[DBella]

Yeah. When i lived in Belgium, I became a huge fan.
I like the Netherlands team. Mainly because of they contributed some of their best players to my team, AC Milan. Especially the Dutch Trio of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard and now we have Clarence Seedorf. :up:

[cookiva]

I like the Netherlands team. Mainly because of they contributed some of their best players to my team, AC Milan. Especially the Dutch Trio of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard and now we have Clarence Seedorf. :up:

Seedorf is one of my favorite players. The way he plays is just amazing.

[Mr. Thing]

I'm probably rooting for Holland this campaign, since we just lost qualification at the last minute.

I've always liked Holland. Cruyff is my favourite player of all time.

Although, we will have to trash them in the World Cup qualifiers next year. :p

And no offence to Bella, I'm really hoping the Italians get gubbed. :D

[DBella]

Seedorf is one of my favorite players. The way he plays is just amazing.
Mine too and I agree. I have great respect for him and I hope he stays with Milan til he retires.

[Ahura Mazda]

Mine too and I agree. I have great respect for him and I hope he stays with Milan til he retires.

Its more likely Milan will trade him while he is till worth something for younger players and he will finish out his career somewhere making an enourmous amount.

[DBella]

I'm probably rooting for Holland this campaign, since we just lost qualification at the last minute.

I've always liked Holland. Cruyff is my favourite player of all time.

Although, we will have to trash them in the World Cup qualifiers next year. :p

And no offence to Bella, I'm really hoping the Italians get gubbed. :D
And I hope Italy will rob you of that hope! :cmad: :p
Its more likely Milan will trade him while he is till worth something for younger players and he will finish out his career somewhere making an enourmous amount.
We've got one new striker whom I think will start playing next month when he turns 18. I think he'll be a good replacement for that stinker Gila (gawd how I can't stand him! :(). Milan do need younger players on the team though... the effects of old age are showing...

[Arkady Rossovich]

It's sort of amusing,but they are good to watch.

[Galactus]

Match schedule:

1 07/06 Grp A Switzerland 18:00 Czech Republic Basel
2 07/06 Grp A Portugal 20:45 Turkey Geneva
3 08/06 Grp B Austria 18:00 Croatia Vienna
4 08/06 Grp B Germany 20:45 Poland Klagenfurt
5 09/06 Grp C Romania 18:00 France Zurich
6 09/06 Grp C Netherlands 20:45 Italy Berne
7 10/06 Grp D Spain 18:00 Russia Innsbruck
8 10/06 Grp D Greece 20:45 Sweden Salzburg
9 11/06 Grp A Czech Republic 18:00 Portugal Geneva
10 11/06 Grp A Switzerland 20:45 Turkey Basel
11 12/06 Grp B Croatia 18:00 Germany Klagenfurt
12 12/06 Grp B Austria 20:45 Poland Vienna
13 13/06 Grp C Italy 18:00 Romania Zurich
14 13/06 Grp C Netherlands 20:45 France Berne
15 14/06 Grp D Sweden 18:00 Spain Innsbruck
16 14/06 Grp D Greece 20:45 Russia Salzburg
17 15/06 Grp A Switzerland 20:45 Portugal Basel
18 15/06 Grp A Turkey 20:45 Czech Republic Geneva
19 16/06 Grp B Poland 20:45 Croatia Klagenfurt
20 16/06 Grp B Austria 20:45 Germany Vienna
21 17/06 Grp C Netherlands 20:45 Romania Berne
22 17/06 Grp C France 20:45 Italy Zurich
23 18/06 Grp D Greece 20:45 Spain Salzburg
24 18/06 Grp D Russia 20:45 Sweden Innsbruck
25 19/06 QF Winner Grp A 20:45 Runner-up Grp B Basel
26 20/06 QF Winner Grp B 20:45 Runner-up Grp A Vienna
27 21/06 QF Winner Grp C 20:45 Runner-up Grp D Basel
28 22/06 QF Winner Grp D 20:45 Runner-up Grp C Vienna
29 25/06 SF Winner #25 20:45 Winner #26 Basel
30 26/06 SF Winner #27 20:45 Winner #28 Vienna
31 29/06 F Winner #29 20:45 Winner #30 Vienna

[Silver Knight]

Greece will take this.

[Galactus]

http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Photo/Competitions/Finals08/68/83/14/688314_w2.jpg

The specially-designed silver ball that could make or break the dreams of a nation went on show in Vienna today as the official ball of the UEFA EURO 2008™ final, the adidas EUROPASS gloria, was handed to UEFA President Michel Platini by adidas AG chairman and CEO Herbert Hainer.
Created exclusively
The state-of-the-art ball, created exclusively for the climax of the tournament in the Austrian capital on 29 June, shares the classic black dots and markings of the EUROPASS ball to be used in the run-up to the final. However, a number of innovations made by adidas, suppliers of official match balls to major FIFA and UEFA tournaments since 1970, make the EUROPASS gloria - like the final itself - a one-off.

Coveted trophy
The 'gloria' in the ball's name echoes the fame and glory which the winner of UEFA EURO 2008™will experience, while its shimmering silver surface incorporates the coveted Henri Delaunay trophy, as well as images evoking the past European champions that the two teams will be hoping to emulate at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion.

Know-how
Style was not adidas' only concern however, and they have called on all the know-how and experience garnered from 35 years of manufacturing footballs to produce the EUROPASS gloria with the same cutting-edge technology used on the EUROPASS, which should allow players involved in the UEFA EURO 2008™ final the chance to show the full range of their skills.

Unique structure
The 14-panels of the EUROPASS gloria have been joined using revolutionary Thermal Bonding Technology, which - along with the unique PSC-Texture™ surface structure - ensures exceptional ball control, greater power transmission, swerve and accuracy, whatever the weather

[Ahura Mazda]

It is heating up here in Switzerland with sign of the Euro becoming apparent. It sucks though that the French team is not playing here and plaing in Berne instead.

[Kaleb]

I like Portugual's chances

[TheFuture]

If any of you guys are betting people (like me:woot:), here's a few tips;

Outright Winner: Spain 6/1

Outsider bet: Croatia 12/1

Top Goalscorer: Fernando Torres (Spain)

Outsider bet: Pavel Pogrebynak (Russia)

Player of the Tournament: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)/ Fernando Torres (Spain)

Outsider: Andre Arshavin (Russia)

[TheFuture]

Updated from previous post:

Outright Winner: Spain 6/1

Outsider bet: Holland 12/1 *Croatia did seem like a good e.w bet, but with Eduardo out I don't know where the goals will come from*

Top Goalscorer: Fernando Torres 10/1 (Spain)

Outsider bet: Pavel Pogrebynak 66/1 (Russia) *Very risky, Russia will do well to get out of their group*

Player of the Tournament: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)/ Fernando Torres (Spain) *no odds available*

Outsider: Andre Arshavin (Russia) *no odds available*

[Green eyed Hulk]

Greece to regain the cup.

[Silver Knight]

Greece to regain the cup.
I think so also!

[Green eyed Hulk]

Hope so, they may have had some luck last time but they still beat Portugal twice (on their home turf), France and the Czech republic who were favourites at the time. Anyway I'm biased.

[Silver Knight]

^You Greek my friend?

[Green eyed Hulk]

Yep Greek Cypriot, and yourself?

[Silver Knight]

Greek mate!

HELLAS HELLAS!

[Wolverini]

We ( the Dutch ) couldnt have been placed in a worse poule. Italy, France.. hot damn!

If we make it through the first matched I'm sure things well be very exciting. As of now, I dont think we'll make it :( We have a piss-poor defense.

[The Great One]

I'll be rooting for Spain

[Green eyed Hulk]

Greek mate!

HELLAS HELLAS!
Nice one:up:. Have you seen the new Greece shirts for the euros, simple but very nice.

[The Game]

I'm pulling for Germany (as usual)

[Green eyed Hulk]

We ( the Dutch ) couldnt have been placed in a worse poule. Italy, France.. hot damn!

If we make it through the first matched I'm sure things well be very exciting. As of now, I dont think we'll make it :( We have a piss-poor defense.
You need people like Van Persie at 100%

[Silver Knight]

Nice one:up:. Have you seen the new Greece shirts for the euros, simple but very nice.
Yes, they look classy.

Going to pick both of them up soon.

:word:

[Green eyed Hulk]

Yes, they look classy.

Going to pick both of them up soon.

:word:
On the inside trimming they have the words of the National Anthem, which is a nice touch.

[Silver Knight]

Ohh awesome!

They should also have a star as well considering they won it 4 years ago, true?

[Green eyed Hulk]

Ohh awesome!

They should also have a star as well considering they won it 4 years ago, true?
You could be right, can't remember seeing one, maybe thats just for World cup wins. Anyway going out to the shops in a bit I might check them out. I'll let you know.

[BlackLantern]

So how does this tournament work? Is it all the European national teams....? is there a qualifying?

[The Game]

So how does this tournament work? Is it all the European national teams....? is there a qualifying?

Only those European national teams that have progressed through the qualification round, will play in this tournament

This should provide more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_2008

[BlackLantern]

^^Thanks for the clarification....why isn't the UK involved???

[The Game]

^^Thanks for the clarification....why isn't the UK involved???

Simply put, none of the countries that make up the UK were good enough to qualify

[Green eyed Hulk]

Yes, they look classy.

Going to pick both of them up soon.

:word:
Just got one today, ended up opting for the white one, which used to be the away shirt and has now been made into the home shirt. By the way there is no star on the shirt which is a shame, but what makes it a nice shirt is the simplicity of it.

[BlackLantern]

I like the commercials on ESPN with the music for the different countries....the Portugal one is pretty cool with all the foot work

[DBella]

This is so exciting! Less than a week to go!!!! FORZA AZZURRI!!! :heart:

Are we going to have a "Euro Pick'Em"? You know, like the NBA Pools?

[M.E.H.Z.E.B]

I'm goin'. :cool:

[BlackLantern]

Where is this being held? is it all in one stadium or different places?

[DBella]

I'm goin'. :cool:
Take me with you?
Will you be posting reports and pics here, Mehz?
Where is this being held? is it all in one stadium or different places?
Switzerland and Austria and games will be held in stadiums through both countries.

Question:
What do you guys think of host countries and their automatic qualification? Do you guys think they should go through the qualifying rounds like the other nations?

[Green eyed Hulk]

What do you guys think of host countries and their automatic qualification? Do you guys think they should go through the qualifying rounds like the other nations?
I don't mind them automaticaly qualifying, but when 2 countries host it that take the biscuit somewhat. The holders have to qualify whearas before they didn't.

[Mr. Thing]

I think I'll go for Spain. :D

[DBella]

I don't mind them automaticaly qualifying, but when 2 countries host it that take the biscuit somewhat. The holders have to qualify whearas before they didn't.
Now that you mentioned it, you're right, Greece had to go through the qualifying rounds, didn't they? That made me forget that they were Euro '04's surprise winner.

Do you think that Switzerland or Austria would've made through the qualifying rounds if they didn't get automatic qualification?
I think I'll go for Spain. :D
Why Spain?

[M.E.H.Z.E.B]

Take me with you?
Will you be posting reports and pics here, Mehz?


It would have been an absolute honor if you came with me, Bel. :)

And yes, I'll be having my own blog, which I'd update every few hours. I'll send you the url.

[Green eyed Hulk]

Do you think that Switzerland or Austria would've made through the qualifying rounds if they didn't get automatic qualification?

Switzerland maybe but I don't think Austria would've qualified. Thats why everyone wanted to be in Austrias group, because by virtue of hosting it they are considered a top seed. Therefore if they are a top seed then the you avoid the likes of Italy, France etc.

[DBella]

It would have been an absolute honor if you came with me, Bel. :)

And yes, I'll be having my own blog, which I'd update every few hours. I'll send you the url.
I am small enough to fit in your pocket. :woot:

Please do send me the url and can you PM me to remind me which games you'll be covering? If I am not mistaken France/Italy is one of them, right?

Switzerland maybe but I don't think Austria would've qualified. Thats why everyone wanted to be in Austrias group, because by virtue of hosting it they are considered a top seed. Therefore if they are a top seed then the you avoid the likes of Italy, France etc.
I don't think Austria would've qualified either if they're not hosting. I'll be surprised if they do well in this competition.
What team are you rooting for GeH?

[Green eyed Hulk]

I don't think Austria would've qualified either if they're not hosting. I'll be surprised if they do well in this competition.
What team are you rooting for GeH?

I'm rooting for Greece, am I right in assuming your gonna be shouting FORZA ITALIA.

[DBella]

I'm rooting for Greece, am I right in assuming your gonna be shouting FORZA ITALIA.
Si, signor! FORZA ITALIA!!

Are you from Greece? I admit that I didn't expect them to win Euro '04 but it was a nice surprise. Do you think they are good enough this time to retain their title?

I think we should start making some predictions here. Don't you think?

[Green eyed Hulk]

Si, signor! FORZA ITALIA!!

Are you from Greece? I admit that I didn't expect them to win Euro '04 but it was a nice surprise. Do you think they are good enough this time to retain their title?

I think we should start making some predictions here. Don't you think?
I'm Greek Cypriot but was born in the UK.
I didnt expect them to win either but who knows what they will do this year.
Actually I think Italy have the best chance to win. I initially thought France but I don't think there squad is as strong as it was.

[DBella]

I'm Greek Cypriot but was born in the UK.
I didnt expect them to win either but who knows what they will do this year.
Actually I think Italy have the best chance to win. I initially thought France but I don't think there squad is as strong as it was.

Have you been following their games though? I think Italy has been doing quite well so far but... they have quite a few pairs of old legs in their squad. I read recently that Cannavaro was hurt, not sure how bad or if he'll be playing their first game. The France/Italy rivaly should be very interesting.

[Green eyed Hulk]

Have you been following their games though? I think Italy has been doing quite well so far but... they have quite a few pairs of old legs in their squad. I read recently that Cannavaro was hurt, not sure how bad or if he'll be playing their first game. The France/Italy rivaly should be very interesting.
Well apparently cannavaro is out of the whole tournament, he dameaged ankle ligaments. France and Italy and Holland being in the same group is interesting.

[Ahura Mazda]

Good new for France, that. France is suffering from its own injuries with players like Viera and gallas missing the freindlies. France did beat Columbia last night with a lack luster performance. They have to improve.

I am in Geneva and things are starting to heat up here but surprisingly there is not that much put into it. Considerably less then what was in France in '98 (was there too). What sucks is that group A is plaing between here and Berne instead of France's group who would have benefitted from many more french supporters as geneva is surrounded by France.

[M.E.H.Z.E.B]

I am small enough to fit in your pocket. :woot:

Please do send me the url and can you PM me to remind me which games you'll be covering? If I am not mistaken France/Italy is one of them, right?


Affirmative, Bel. :) :up:

[Galactus]

One more day to kick off:

Saturday 7 June 2008
1 Grp A Switzerland 18:00 Czech Republic Basel - St. Jakob-Park
2 Grp A Portugal 20:45 Turkey Geneva - Stade de Genève

[Green eyed Hulk]

Well its finally arrived, let us know who you will be rooting for, I'm gonna be donning my Greece shirt.

[Silver Knight]

Hellas Ole Ole!

[BlackLantern]

Well I am a crass American, so I don't care....j/k I just hope to see a few good matches

[Galactus]

Well its finally arrived, let us know who you will be rooting for, I'm gonna be donning my Greece shirt.


Well, I live in Sweden so obviously I hope they can do some business... Tough group though with Spain, Russia and Greece

[Two-Face]

1 hour left ago.

[Two-Face]

Group A

Switzerland 0-1 Czech Republic FT.

Next match:
Portugal vs Turkey

[Banshee]

COME ON ENGLAND!!




... uh... oh... wait


I guess I'm going for Greece. Or anyone but portugal.

[Galactus]

2 Grp A Portugal 2-0 Turkey Geneva - Stade de Genève

Group A
Portugal 1 2 3
Czech Republic 1 1 3
Switzerland 1 -1 0
Turkey 1 -2 0

[Green eyed Hulk]

COME ON ENGLAND!!




... uh... oh... wait


I guess I'm going for Greece. Or anyone but portugal.
Yes great choice:grin:

[Furious Styles]

Austria outplayed us in the second half today! They controlled the mid-field rather well, although we did play as good defense as could be hoped for. Croatia was lucky to come away with the 1-0 win.

We'll need a better effort against the favored Germans!

[Mee]

Maybe it's just me, but Euro has been really boring so far. :(


Here's hoping it picks up. :up:

[Showtime]

I thought the Austria/Croatia game was highly entertaining.

[M.E.H.Z.E.B]

It was, Showy. :up:

[Banshee]

I had to work yesterday, but luckily I'll be off today to see the matches of group c. I think both matches today should be pretty entertaining.

[Kaleb]

who are your picks for top goal scorers ?

[Two-Face]

Ronaldo (Portugal)
Henry & Karim B. (France)
van Nistelrooy (Holland)
Koller (Czech Republic)
Nihat (Turkey)
Podoski sp? (Germany)
Yakin (Switzerland)

[Hunter Rider]

I missed the 1st 2 games as i forgot it was starting, Germany vs Poland is the only game I really enjoyed out of the 3 ive seen so far, hopefully the game just kicking off will up the quality.

[Banshee]

Netherlands. Holy ****.

[Green eyed Hulk]

If Italy had made a go of it and not isolated toni in attack that Dutch defence would have leaked goals.

[Kaleb]

Great game by the dutch.

[Two-Face]

Dutch were class, Ruud van Nistelrooy was miles offside I was rooting for them to win so who cares about offside goal.

[BlackLantern]

The Dutch? with their wooden shoes and windmills??

[Mee]

Wooden shoes of Power and windmills of Ownage.

[Hunter Rider]

Great match tonight, the Dutch were majestic in the 1st half, Sneider in particular was awesome. Italy should have started with Del Piero up front with Toni as he gave them a cutting edge when he came on. Van Nistelrooy proved why so many forwards dive, if you don't ref's just ignore you.

Wooden shoes of Power and windmills of Ownage.

Heh. :D

[Showtime]

It was, Showy. :up:

I was loving every minute of it. I was even in to the 0-0 match today, I like defense.

Great match tonight, the Dutch were majestic in the 1st half, Sneider in particular was awesome. Italy should have started with Del Piero up front with Toni as he gave them a cutting edge when he came on. Van Nistelrooy proved why so many forwards dive, if you don't ref's just ignore you.


The dutch looked sick against Italy, Italy looked so unprepared to play. I can't wait for Sweden-Greece tomorrow. My dad is from Greece and my mom is from Sweden, battle time.

[DBella]

Wow... the Dutch were REALLY impressive. Although my team lost, I still had fun watching the Dutch. They totally killed the Azzuri! I hope Italy will be able to come back from this huge loss and still be able to finish in the top two with the Dutch.

[DBella]

Dutch were class, Ruud van Nistelrooy was miles offside I was rooting for them to win so who cares about offside goal.
Even if Ruud's goal had been disallowed because he was offside, I believe the Dutch would've still spanked the Italians.

[Galactus]

Dutch were class, Ruud van Nistelrooy was miles offside I was rooting for them to win so who cares about offside goal.

June 9 (Reuters) - A Euro 2008 controversy broke out on Monday over Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first goal for Netherlands against Italy with referees and players arguing about an interpretation of the offside law.

Van Nistelrooy scored in the 26th minute of his team’s 3-0 Group C win in Berne, turning a fierce drive from Wesley Sneijder past keeper Gianluigi Buffon from close range.

The Italians protested he was offside and video replays showed him in what looked a blatant offside position. Van Nistelrooy and his team mates looked nervously around expecting the linesman’s flag as they celebrated the goal.

But later there was confusion about whether Italy defender Christian Panucci had played the Dutch striker onside.

Panucci fell and went off the field of play behind the byline after clashing with other players in the preceding goalmouth scramble and was lying injured on his back when the ball went into the net.

Austrian referees’ commission chairman Gerhard Kapl was quoted on the Austrian Web site www.sportal.at as saying the goal was correctly awarded.

“The injured player behind the goal counts as a player on the field and therefore it was not offside,” said Kapl.

Predictably, Dutch players said the goal was good and Italian players said it was not.

UEFA were unable to clear up the matter immediately and none of the experts quoted on various TV networks seemed able to point to a rule in FIFA’s laws of the game which could clarify the position.

UEFA media official Richard Hurni told Reuters at the stadium: “There won’t be anything official tonight. It will probably be at the briefing tomorrow.”

Tournament organisers hold a daily media briefing at 0900 GMT. UEFA general secretary David Taylor was due to be at Tuesday’s briefing.

[Hunter Rider]

The dutch looked sick against Italy, Italy looked so unprepared to play. I can't wait for Sweden-Greece tomorrow. My dad is from Greece and my mom is from Sweden, battle time.

Haha! :D Not sure it's one for the neutral but we shall see.

Wow... the Dutch were REALLY impressive. Although my team lost, I still had fun watching the Dutch. They totally killed the Azzuri! I hope Italy will be able to come back from this huge loss and still be able to finish in the top two with the Dutch.

Having seen France and Romania today i think they still have a good chance, they need to play Del Piero from the start though as the midfield Italy have just don't get forward enough to support Toni.

[DBella]

Having seen France and Romania today i think they still have a good chance, they need to play Del Piero from the start though as the midfield Italy have just don't get forward enough to support Toni.
Today's game between France and Romania gave me hope that there is still chance for Italy but they have to make some changes. They played slightly better in the second half but still not a good enough match for the Dutch. First time they've beaten the Azzuri in 30 years! Wow!! :wow: I really applaud them.

[Hunter Rider]

Today's game between France and Romania gave me hope that there is still chance for Italy but they have to make some changes. They played slightly better in the second half but still not a good enough match for the Dutch. First time they've beaten the Azzuri in 30 years! Wow!! :wow: I really applaud them.

France and Romania were pitiful today, Italy's second half showing should show Donnadoni the changes he needs to make. The Dutch have such a breadth of talent, Sneider and Van Der Vaart in the midfield are both superb, Kuyt works really hard and then Ruud is the goals, plus they have the giant figure of Engelar in the holding role.

[Themanofbat]

Today's game between France and Romania gave me hope that there is still chance for Italy but they have to make some changes. They played slightly better in the second half but still not a good enough match for the Dutch. First time they've beaten the Azzuri in 30 years! Wow!! :wow: I really applaud them.

Yeah... the Dutch win was all the group of guys that I play football with (soccer to the Yanks) could talk about when we played tonight...

(We play indoors in a dome... small pitch, 6 on 6... smaller nets, we lost 11-8)

:yay:

[Ahura Mazda]

Holland played incredibly while France played like ****. Based on last night, France does not have a chance on Friday. But as many know, one match does not resemble another and france can play better. So I am hoping if they can raise their level especially if Henry and Viera come back in the game then we have a real chance. First, France needs to defeat Holland.

[Wolverini]

Holland played a DAMN GOOD game last night against Italy. 3-0, holy ****. Still cant believe it.

The first goal scored by Van Nistelrooy was NOT offside. An Italian Player got knocked behind the goal ... but he was NOT injured thus preventing Holland from running in an offside trap.

Bring on next Friday I say. France will be a tough nut to crack. With players like Ribbery, Henry and Viera it'll be tough for our defense to handle. If Holland is in the same shape as they were against Italy, its gonna be one HELL of a game :)

[Kaleb]

anybody know if Rob van Persie was playing yesterday ?

[Hunter Rider]

anybody know if Rob van Persie was playing yesterday ?

He came on in the second half.

[Kaleb]

oh ok thanks

[Ahura Mazda]

My gf is from Holland and I had to suffer watching her jump up and down in joy. Plus I have a bet with her regarding the upcoming france - Holland match so I can tell you I was not happy with what I saw last night.

[Wolverini]

Netherlands - France will be a whole different game. France likes to counter when Holland aint paying attention. If the same 11 players are on the field it could be one awesome match.

Jumping up and down eh? I love the Internet, my voice is totally gone... my muscles hurt and I did not know, untill now, how much fluid a person can lose by sweating :P

[kane9321]

group of death...good games

[IronLion]

just seen spain play, so now i have seen all the favourites in action. i am a bit late in joining the thread, my pick was always holland, and i feel the dutch have justified my decision. was a bit worried that they may not get through the g.o.d but france looked rubbish, they have beaten italy, i think romania will give them problems. portugal and turkey from group one, germany croatia in two, holland romania in three and spain sweden in four. quarters i have portugal over croation, germany over turkey, holland over sweden, spain over romania. then germany to beat portugal and the dutch to over come the spanish in a high scoring game. the germans will lose out to the dutch, with spain taking 3rd place (if they have a 3rd/4th place playoff) like i said earlier france have looked rubbish, germany have looked solid, spain good on the attack but suspect defence, portugal have no cutting edge and will be foundout against a good defense and the dutch looked awesome. italians might as well bag there bags and pension off there squad:grin: and start rebuilding.

[Hunter Rider]

Spain were awesome, great pace, technique and movement all over the field.
They have a great holding player in Senna that they need due to the center backs not being so great, but beyond him they have so many options going forward. Ramos raiding down the right is fantastic and of course they have the lethal strike duo, great hat trick from Villa who was outstanding all match, they have the team to go all the way if they can stay mentally strong.

[Showtime]

Wow Spain was taking names all over the pitch.

[Kaleb]

crap I cant believe I missed the spain game, I thought it was the 2nd game.

[the_ultimate_evil]

i've gave up on the tournament already

*warning rant coming*

the uk based radio station talk sport have come up with the idea that if england had beat russia they would have qualified, therefore england should be playing in russias place, so after the russia vs spain game was completed tonight, they did a full commentary of what they believe would have been the match of england vs spain. and have now annouced that they will do this will all of russias opponents, untill russia(england) go out. the result was 1-1 with a 16th pentaly for owen, then a torres equaliser but in the last few minutes a Spanish strike was cleared off the line by ferdinand with a hand ball, which is revenge for the hand of god :rolleyes:

i mean come on for gods sake are people that bloody sad, you didn't qualify england, neither did scotland, northern ireland, rep of ireland or wales, get up get on with it and work out a way you can be better for the next major tournament, but to do this and other stuff(yesterday they had people text in the headlines if england had been there) is simply pathetic

thankfully the majority of english posters on here have more sense

[Two-Face]

Holland vs Spain The final.

[Green eyed Hulk]

i've gave up on the tournament already

*warning rant coming*

the uk based radio station talk sport have come up with the idea that if england had beat russia they would have qualified, therefore england should be playing in russias place, so after the russia vs spain game was completed tonight, they did a full commentary of what they believe would have been the match of england vs spain. and have now annouced that they will do this will all of russias opponents, untill russia(england) go out. the result was 1-1 with a 16th pentaly for owen, then a torres equaliser but in the last few minutes a Spanish strike was cleared off the line by ferdinand with a hand ball, which is revenge for the hand of god :rolleyes:

i mean come on for gods sake are people that bloody sad, you didn't qualify england, neither did scotland, northern ireland, rep of ireland or wales, get up get on with it and work out a way you can be better for the next major tournament, but to do this and other stuff(yesterday they had people text in the headlines if england had been there) is simply pathetic

thankfully the majority of english posters on here have more sense
Talk sport is like that, I mean every day they say something controversial soley to get callers, and people eat it up. Its just a wind up merchant station. Its only good to listen to if youtake everything they say with a bag of salt.

[the_ultimate_evil]

Talk sport is like that, I mean every day they say something controversial soley to get callers, and people eat it up. Its just a wind up merchant station. Its only good to listen to if youtake everything they say with a bag of salt.

thats the sad thing they used to be a great station to listen to, but again anyone who sacks james whale but keep geroge galloway and Jon Gaunt really don't know what there doing

[Green eyed Hulk]

I can't believe some of the comments on itv's coverage of the Greece Sweden game here in England. The last thing the presenter said as the show was closing was "unlike 4 years ago this year the cup will be won with class and flair". I mean I may be biased because I'm Greek myself but there is no need for that. I bet they would'nt mind winning the euro. Also the level of punditry has rally gone downhill, at one point Harry Redknapp put David James in the same league as Petr Cech, Van Der Sar etc.:down:down:down

[Galactus]

Greece - Sweden 0 - 2

:)

[Hunter Rider]

Good win for Sweden, the second goal was comical but the first was a cracker. :up:

[IronLion]

didnt realise that ibrahimovic hadnt score for over two years for sweden, but what a goal.

[Showtime]

Wow. Turkey! I can't believe it. That was an awesome game.

[DBella]

France and Romania were pitiful today, Italy's second half showing should show Donnadoni the changes he needs to make. The Dutch have such a breadth of talent, Sneider and Van Der Vaart in the midfield are both superb, Kuyt works really hard and then Ruud is the goals, plus they have the giant figure of Engelar in the holding role.
Italy did play better in the second half but they're still no match for the young and vibrant and talented Dutch side. Watching them play makes me love the game of football even more. If only the Italians had played better, it would have been one hell of a match.
Yeah... the Dutch win was all the group of guys that I play football with (soccer to the Yanks) could talk about when we played tonight...

(We play indoors in a dome... small pitch, 6 on 6... smaller nets, we lost 11-8)

:yay:
Sorry you lost but I am sure you had a blast. I wish there's some place here that I can play indoor football with my friends since the weather stinks almost daily.
Holland played incredibly while France played like ****. Based on last night, France does not have a chance on Friday. But as many know, one match does not resemble another and france can play better. So I am hoping if they can raise their level especially if Henry and Viera come back in the game then we have a real chance. First, France needs to defeat Holland.
France didn't play well at all but like you said, "one match does not resemble another". I am sure they'll learn from their mistakes and make some changes for their game against the Dutch. Will Henry and Viera play in their next game?
just seen spain play, so now i have seen all the favourites in action. i am a bit late in joining the thread, my pick was always holland, and i feel the dutch have justified my decision. was a bit worried that they may not get through the g.o.d but france looked rubbish, they have beaten italy, i think romania will give them problems. portugal and turkey from group one, germany croatia in two, holland romania in three and spain sweden in four. quarters i have portugal over croation, germany over turkey, holland over sweden, spain over romania. then germany to beat portugal and the dutch to over come the spanish in a high scoring game. the germans will lose out to the dutch, with spain taking 3rd place (if they have a 3rd/4th place playoff) like i said earlier france have looked rubbish, germany have looked solid, spain good on the attack but suspect defence, portugal have no cutting edge and will be foundout against a good defense and the dutch looked awesome. italians might as well bag there bags and pension off there squad:grin: and start rebuilding.
Spain was awesome! The best teams so far, imo, are Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Portugal. Portugal won big today but I didn't think that the score reflected too well on the Czech's performance. I thought they played better than their first game but still not good enough to defeat the Portugese. Looks like Switzerland is out after today's loss to the Turks.

I agree about the part where the Italians need to start rebuilding but... :mad: on the part about packing the bags. :down: :(

[BlackLantern]

so when all the teams win, they get points...so how does this determine the next batch of games?? new to this whole thing

[DBella]

so when all the teams win, they get points...so how does this determine the next batch of games?? new to this whole thing
Winning team gets 3 points, a draw gets 1 point for each team and a loss, as expected, gets no points. At the end of first round, the top two teams from each group will advance to the next round.

[Two-Face]

The Swiss hosts are out, they lost to Turkey 2-1.

Portugal won 3-1 against the Czechs.

[Hunter Rider]

Portugal looked pretty sharp tonight, great goal from Ronaldo and smart play by him on the 3rd. The Czechs played well and were a bit unlucky not to get something, Barros worked his ass off and hopefully they play him and Koller together against Turkey in the last group game.

Commiserations to The Swiss. :csad:

[Hunter Rider]

Italy did play better in the second half but they're still no match for the young and vibrant and talented Dutch side. Watching them play makes me love the game of football even more. If only the Italians had played better, it would have been one hell of a match.


Italy are like Milan, they are over the hill IMO BUT if they play Del Piero with Toni in the next game they have a shot at getting through. The Dutch do play some great flowing football, hopefully they can keep it together.

[Galactus]

Portugal 2 4 6
Czech Republic 2 -1 3
Turkey 2 -1 3
Switzerland 2 -2 0

[DBella]

Italy are like Milan, they are over the hill IMO BUT if they play Del Piero with Toni in the next game they have a shot at getting through. The Dutch do play some great flowing football, hopefully they can keep it together.
If Italy is really like Milan, they can't win this competition... not even going to the quarter or semi-final. Anyway, I'm not counting them out yet for they could still win their next two games. *fingers crossed*

[Asteroid-Man]

haha way to go Croatia! The first goal was simply BEAUTIFUL! Germany's goal was very well played too!

[Mexico]

Portugal looks very strong as always. Can't wait to see how well they do further into the tournament.

[Hunter Rider]

Well done Croatia! :D :up

I can't believe how many chances Austria missed tonight but the Austria/Germany match should be pretty explosive now.

If Italy is really like Milan, they can't win this competition... not even going to the quarter or semi-final. Anyway, I'm not counting them out yet for they could still win their next two games. *fingers crossed*

Oh i don't think Italy will win the whole thing but i do have faith they can get through the group. :up:

[Showtime]

I really can't believe that call, that's the same ref that gave the dude 3 yellow cards during the cup right?

[Asteroid-Man]

Well done Croatia! :D :up

I can't believe how many chances Austria missed tonight but the Austria/Germany match should be pretty explosive now.



Oh i don't think Italy will win the whole thing but i do have faith they can get through the group. :up:
Germany will destroy Austria :huh:

[Wolverini]

Germany will destroy Austria :huh:

Good job Schweinsteiger on getting the FIRST red card ever and show what an immature retard you really are. :word: About Germany destroying Austria? LOL! Germany hasnt showed anything special yet, have they? They HAVE to win, so has Austria :) It'll be a good, exciting match which will hopefully turn into Penalties at the end with Austria being the winner.

I love how the German Team thinks they own everyone and are so confident that they will make it to the finals, its all over the press. Gotta love Croatia for shoving that **** back in their face! I hope they get eliminated. Overconfident-a-lot?

[Ahura Mazda]

Well tonights the night we wil see whether Italy can survive and if France can pull it together.

If France and Italy wins the group will be wide open and the France-Italy match will be a big decider.

[Two-Face]

Italy 1-1 Romania

Holland 4-1 France

Shocking results!

[Hunter Rider]

Romania/Italy was a good game that could have went either way, one of Italy's biggest problems is getting support to the front 2 from the midfield. Great save from Buffon. :up:

Holland/France was a classic, the Dutch started great but Ribery hauled France back into it, in the 2nd half Henry started to get going and really should have put France level before the Dutch got a great 2nd goal, then the mad minute where he does score and the Dutch go straight down and Robben scores! :D Fantastic 4th goal for the Dutch by Sneider, they look a very good unit, Van Nistelrooy had a great game but despite losing I'd say Ribery was the man of the match.

[Galactus]

Netherlands 2 6 6
Romania 2 0 2
France 2 -3 1
Italy 2 -3 1

Netherlands really impresses. 7 - 1 on two games. And that against Italy and France.

[Galactus]

Sweden - Spain 1 - 2

So close... :(

[BlackLantern]

Greece Russia is this afternoon right?

[Hunter Rider]

Spain vs Sweden was a good first half but Sweden choked the life out of the game in the second. Great goal by Villa to win it. :up:

[BlackLantern]

so what is the Russian style of play? I would assume its super physical and not too much with the speed

[Galactus]

Greece - Russia 0 - 1

Spain 2 4 6
Sweden 2 1 3
Russia 2 -2 3
Greece 2 -3 0

Good, Sweden only needs a tie against Russia to qualify for the quarterfinal, while Russia must win

[Kaleb]

what games are on today?

[Two-Face]

Group A Last games

Switzerland vs. Portugal*

Czech Republic vs. Turkey (if it's a draw then teams will battle out on penalties.

*that team is already though.

[Showtime]

Turkey with another comeback. Wow. Impressed.

Greece and Sweden, my teams, out.

[Hunter Rider]

Turkey with another comeback. Wow. Impressed.

Greece and Sweden, my teams, out.

Yeah the last 10 minutes of that match were epic. :wow:

Sweden aren't out.

[Showtime]

Yeah the last 10 minutes of that match were epic. :wow:

Sweden aren't out.

You're right, I forgot about Sweden. As long as they tie I think, they go forward.

[BlackLantern]

we have a good sized Portuguese population here in CT, so they are excited....the general feeling is that the only thing standing in Portugals' way is The Dutch....

[Galactus]

Switzerland - Portugal 2 - 0
Turkey - Czech Republic 3 - 2

Portugal 3 2 6
Turkey 3 0 6
Czech Republic 3 -2 3
Switzerland 3 0 3

[kane9321]

that second half of the turkey / czech was amazing..thats soccer at its best. I dont know why "we" americans shrug this sport off...its great

[Two-Face]

Maybe when you Americans stop call it "soccer" lol

[BlackLantern]

Maybe when you Americans stop call it "soccer" lol

well we already have a sport called "football" and since that one makes more money here in the US the name isn't getting changed...

[Galactus]

Poland - Croatia 0 - 1
Austria - Germany 0 - 1

Croatia 3 3 9
Germany 3 2 6
Austria 3 -2 1
Poland 3 -3 1

[Galactus]

The two first quarterfinals will be:

Portugal - Germany
Croatia - Turkey

[Ahura Mazda]

Tonight will be an unknown. If Holland throws the match then Roumainia will go through. Otherwise, it will be the winner of France /Italy who takes the 2nd spot against Spain.

[TheFuture]

we have a good sized Portuguese population here in CT, so they are excited....the general feeling is that the only thing standing in Portugals' way is The Dutch....

Holland and Croatia have been the strongest teams of the tournament so far, closely followed by Portugal. I would be confident of Portugal beating Germany, they have been so poor (totally outclassed by Croatia) in their last 2 games.

[LadyVader]

Tonight will be an unknown. If Holland throws the match then Roumainia will go through. Otherwise, it will be the winner of France /Italy who takes the 2nd spot against Spain.

Hai Romania!!!

http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/1553371.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF19390335F8FA9CA92A6F71BD5566CE47FC8 9930FDCFC4C15FBB

:D

I for one am proud we didn't get humiliated so whatever happens tonight I'll still be happy. For the first showup at an international in like 10 years or something, we did ok. I mean, we tied with two former champions. Of course, it was more because of the fact that they sucked but hey... it's not good to overanalyze. :D

[DBella]

Tonight will be an unknown. If Holland throws the match then Roumainia will go through. Otherwise, it will be the winner of France /Italy who takes the 2nd spot against Spain.
Sorry that your team lost. :csad: But at the same time... I am SO happy that Italy won and managed to advance to the next round!!! :D :D

FORZA ITALIA!!!!
THANK YOU, HOLLAND!!!

[LadyVader]

Congratulations.

*rassum frassum*

if anybody sees Harlekin, tell him I hate him tonight. :D

[Two-Face]

France hardly did anything, I thought there would been a some kind of a revenge after the World Cup final.

[DBella]

Congratulations.

*rassum frassum*

if anybody sees Harlekin, tell him I hate him tonight. :D
How did the Romanian press/people reacted to Mutu's missed PK?

[LadyVader]

If they can forgive him for snorting coke and getting fired from Chelsea, trust me, they can forgive him for anything. Besides, he's the author of our only goal in this entire championship :D.

[Hunter Rider]

Congrats Italia! :woot: Glad they got through but Toni is gonna have to get his act together, i couldn't believe how many chances he missed, it became like a running gag from a comedy movie by the end

The Dutch are a juggernaut, they must be favourites right now, 9 changes and they still beat Romania comfortably.

France didn't have much luck tonight especially with the Ribery injury, but the team is to old and Henry is a spent force, Benzema and Ribery are the future and i am sure we'll see more of them leading a new French line up at WC 2010.

[Ahura Mazda]

France hardly did anything, I thought there would been a some kind of a revenge after the World Cup final.

Well that happenned in the group qualifiers where France beat Italy 3-1 in France then tied 0-0 in Italy.

But anyways tonight, everything went Italy's way. That expulsion I thought was very severe even though the penalty was indisputable.

Well done, Italy.

[TheFuture]

Congrats Italia! :woot: Glad they got through but Toni is gonna have to get his act together, i couldn't believe how many chances he missed, it became like a running gag from a comedy movie by the end

The Dutch are a juggernaut, they must be favourites right now, 9 changes and they still beat Romania comfortably.

France didn't have much luck tonight especially with the Ribery injury, but the team is to old and Henry is a spent force, Benzema and Ribery are the future and i am sure we'll see more of them leading a new French line up at WC 2010.

They have great strength in depth where it matters. I laughed when I heard people referring to Holland's team as the reserves last night when it had Robben, van Persie, and Huntelaar!

[Wolverini]

Compared to the last 2 matches the play was totally different from this Dutch Time. We missed key-players like Schneijder, van Bronkchorst, Ooier, de Jong, van der Fart ( vaart :P ). I'm not sure how they call soccer on Romania. :oldrazz:

I hoped we tied the game so that we would not encounter Italy again. I have a feeling Italy will not be handing out goals so easily the next time. Still ... Italy has a TOUGH upcoming match against Spain.

We'll see! At the moment Hollands top 3 enemies are Portugal, Spain and Italy. I dont even care about Germany anymore .. they havent showed ANYTHING special yet and have to improve their play if they want to have a chance against Portugal :)

[Galactus]

Netherlands - Romania 2 - 0
France - Italy 0 - 2

Netherlands 3 8 9
Italy 3 -1 4
Romania 3 -2 2
France 3 -5 1

Netherlands continues to impress. Definitely the best team in this tournament. I'm not sure what to feel about the fact that Sweden will meet them if we qualify for the quarterfinal...

[LadyVader]

Compared to the last 2 matches the play was totally different from this Dutch Time. We missed key-players like Schneijder, van Bronkchorst, Ooier, de Jong, van der Fart ( vaart :P ). I'm not sure how they call soccer on Romania. :oldrazz:


ahem... excuse me? :cmad:

[Wolverini]

The Dutch will go all the way, the Portugese are the only ones who will offer much resistance. Expect the Italians to get a hammering in the quarters.

@ LadyVader
Romania failed to impress me yesterday. I dont like the 11 players-on-their-own-half type of play ;)

Ahem, I think Sweden will be somewhat of a suprise :o The only dangerous player is Ibrahimovich... he's so f'n deadly!

[LadyVader]

Well they weren't there to impress you, they were there to play fotball. Which they did! Maybe not the best football in the world, but still football.

[IronLion]

well all is done and the quarter final line up is complete.

portugal v germany, i will go with the germans

croatia v turkey, the croations

holland v russia, the dutch

spain v italy, damn those italians, they have a knack of sneaking through and making it to the final. spain has a tendency to choke in this situation, but i will still go with the spanish.

[Hunter Rider]

Russia looked pretty sharp tonight, Congrats to them, bad luck Sweden but that side is getting very old, they need to start grooming the next generation.

[Arkady Rossovich]

Greece lost the match to Spain,I seriously thought they would win. But they were defeated,Russia defeating Sweden surprised me a bit.

[Galactus]

Russia looked pretty sharp tonight, Congrats to them, bad luck Sweden but that side is getting very old, they need to start grooming the next generation.

Yeah, we had the oldest team in this tournament. It's definitely time to give younger players the chance to play.

[Wolverini]

The Dutch received a hard blow today. The daughter of defender Khalid Bouhlarouz has died. She was born waaaay to early!

My condolances towards Khalid, his wife and their entire family!

[Two-Face]

The Dutch received a hard blow today. The daughter of defender Khalid Bouhlarouz has died. She was born waaaay to early!

My condolances towards Khalid, his wife and their entire family!

So sorry to hear that, Must hard on the family. RIP.:csad::csad:

[shogunrua]

perdemos...(which means in Portuguese, we lost...) :csad:

[Slusho]

Germany, Germany!!!

[DBella]

Congrats Italia! :woot: Glad they got through but Toni is gonna have to get his act together, i couldn't believe how many chances he missed, it became like a running gag from a comedy movie by the end
Toni reminds me of... GILA!!! :eek: :eek: :mad: :down:

The Dutch are a juggernaut, they must be favourites right now, 9 changes and they still beat Romania comfortably.
I hope the Dutch continues on their 1st Round momentum. They're the best and most fun side to watch, imo.

France didn't have much luck tonight especially with the Ribery injury, but the team is to old and Henry is a spent force, Benzema and Ribery are the future and i am sure we'll see more of them leading a new French line up at WC 2010.
Was Italy's second goal ruled an OG? Henry helped, I think.

@ LadyVader
Romania failed to impress me yesterday. I dont like the 11 players-on-their-own-half type of play
I agree with you on that statement.

Ahem, I think Sweden will be somewhat of a suprise The only dangerous player is Ibrahimovich... he's so f'n deadly!
Sweden lost in the game of Russian Roulette. The Russians we impressive and I was happy to see them win and make it to the Quarter Finals. Ibra deadly? Not in that game, he wasnt. I'm still holding a grudge on him for leaving Juve when the team was releagated. :mad: :ninja:

[DBella]

Btw, Congrats to Germany for making it to the Semi-Finals!! In spite of having C. Ronaldo on their side, for some reason, I didn't think Portugal can win this tournament.

[Arkady Rossovich]

Some were holding out that Portugal would at least make it a tie,but Germany came back and beat them. There were plenty of disappointed Portuguese in the audience.

[Dr Lee]

Holy.....:wow:

Turkey won?????

How the **** did that happen?....

Oh yeah the nref gave an extra 1 minute and 4 seconds on the end of extra time.

And now, for the first time in my life, i'm rooting for a German whitewash

God.... they've only had the lead in ALL their matches so far for a grand total of 2 minutes and they're in the Semi-finals:wow:

[Dr Lee]

Only 4 seconds?

Strange.... the BBC TV commentators said it was 1:04 at least twice

*Scratches head in confusion*

[Dr Lee]

That will explain why the Croatians relaxed so much as the Turkish had the free kick...

Why did the Ref add on the 4 seconds?

[Hunter Rider]

Ugh, the semis have not went well for me so far, I loathe Ballack and want to see Germany lose and they get through, then the 2nd most boring team in the competition get through in a shocker of an ending, it sucks that Holland, Spain and Italy are all in the same side of the draw so the final will definitely feature either Germany or Turkey. :csad:

[Wolverini]

I think ( but certainly not hope ) that the Dutch will probaly get eliminated in the semi-finals. If Italy beats Spain they'll be so bloody motivated :(

Turkey won, still cant believe that. Fricking ref...

[Dr Lee]

I admit i've been rooting for the Dutch since the start, so i hope they go through...

and i really hope the Germans are good at stuffing turkey (Bad pun intended, Soz)

[TheFuture]

Spain for me :up:

I invested 40 Euro in this tournament.

I have already picked up on my Group Winners bet (20 on Spain, Holland, Croatia and Portugal to finish top) and I hope my other 20 has been well invested on Spain! I'm sure HR will know why I support Spain!:woot:

Anyway, I am devastated that Croatia went out. Arguably the best performers of the group stages, only second to Holland. So disappointed for Slavan Bilic. I am however perplexed at how Bilic continued with one up front when he had 3 solid strikers (Klasnic, Klacinic and Oilic). He should have gone for it from the get-go, Bilic's cautiousness has cost him dearly.

[matrix_ghost]

Stupid commie bastards :cmad:

[LadyVader]

Yes, we've been avenged!

Well, besides the fact that the Netherlands kicked our butt... there's also the fact that I always root for the underdog. I was glad when Turkey won last night and I'm glad now. Glad, glad, GLAD. :)

[ray243]

Well...right now I have finally decided on which team to support...RUSSIA!!!

[Dr Lee]

WTF?????

Russia?????

Damn.... The final will still be a Germany- Spain/Italy final though.... If either Turkey or Russia get into the final or, GOD FORBID, actually win i'll stop bothering watching the Euro championships

[Hunter Rider]

Russia were easily the better team tonight, Arsharvin owned the Dutch defense, i have no problem with them winning the whole thing. The Dutch just flat out choked.

[Hunter Rider]

WTF?????

Russia?????

Damn.... The final will still be a Germany- Spain/Italy final though.... If either Turkey or Russia get into the final or, GOD FORBID, actually win i'll stop bothering watching the Euro championships

Why ? Turkey i can understand, they are a very negative team, but Russia has played better football than Italy or Germany in the competition, and Arshavin is way more exciting than anyone playing on those 2 sides.

[the_ultimate_evil]

holland threw it away, they just didn't seem to care from what i saw of the match

[Pandamar141]

Extremely random and possibly stupid question to post here, but I've really been enjoying watching these soccer games the past few days, and anyway...

What does it mean when a player scores a point and they run past the crowd with their finger pressed against their lips? Are they trying to shut the crowd up or something?

[ray243]

Extremely random and possibly stupid question to post here, but I've really been enjoying watching these soccer games the past few days, and anyway...

What does it mean when a player scores a point and they run past the crowd with their finger pressed against their lips? Are they trying to shut the crowd up or something?

Nope, football players are known for creating weird and unique football celebration...like doing a robot dance and etc.

[Wolverini]

What made the 3 previous matches so good was completely gone in this game. Russia rolled us, good.

Passes, combinations etc. etc. It looked like nothing :(
Damn, I feel like **** right now... drank a little too much. Its a tough one to swallow, especially because we WERE doing SO good!

[Two-Face]

Russians were like vodka you drink too much you don't know what hit you.

[Scissors]

Screw Russia, they made Holland lose..

I supported Holland, ofcourse..

Holland wasn't really good, but we all know why.

Khalid Boulahrouz.

His early-born daughter died, and he just wasn't paying attention to anything.

And since the 0-1 Holland knew the match was over.

[Dr Lee]

Damn.......

So i see that Spain have beaten their June 22 'curse' and gone through on penalties.

I'll admit i missed most of the match but what i did see didn't seem that good to me.... and don't get me started on whoever it was that crawled onto the pitch after being 'injured' just to stop the Spanish advance..

Bad form... very bad form.

[Dr Lee]

Damn.......

So i see that Spain have beaten their June 22 'curse' and gone through on penalties.

I'll admit i missed most of the match but what i did see didn't seem that good to me.... and don't get me started on whoever it was that crawled onto the pitch after being 'injured' just to stop the Spanish advance..

Bad form... very bad form.

[Hunter Rider]

Ive always liked Italy but I'm glad Spain won. Italy were so negative that it ruined the game, I don't really blame Donnadoni as this is poorest side Ive seen Italy have for a long time as far as creative and goal scoring players go.

Spain tried to play but it was like trying to pour smoke through a keyhole with Italy's back 9 set up.

[Showtime]

Spain was taking it to Italy the entire game, Italy was playing very reserved, I think Spain deserved to win. It is going to be interesting, two sleeper teams (Russia & Turkey) going up against Spain & Germany. I am going to stick with Turkey for an upset to win it all.

[Dr Lee]

Spain or Germany for me..... Turkey have had the most amazing luck to even be in the Semi finals.... If they get itno the final then i'm off down the shops and buying a lottery ticket.... If they win... well i've already stated my position if that happens

Russia were lucky as well IMHO... had Holland played like they had done in the groups then the game would have been dead and burried by half time ...IMHO

[kane9321]

Damn.......

So i see that Spain have beaten their June 22 'curse' and gone through on penalties.

I'll admit i missed most of the match but what i did see didn't seem that good to me.... and don't get me started on whoever it was that crawled onto the pitch after being 'injured' just to stop the Spanish advance..

Bad form... very bad form.

Italy always tries that tired act...oww I'm sooo hurt,then play stops.They are BS. They dive more than an olympic swim team. That official should never ref in a football match ever again..he should be fired

[Ahura Mazda]

Well this Euro is horrendous for me. I have lost a few thousand in bets as all my teams have now lost. :mad:

I now think Germany will win unless Turkey again scores in the last minute :whatever:

[kane9321]

Well this Euro is horrendous for me. I have lost a few thousand in bets as all my teams have now lost. :mad:

I now think Germany will win unless Turkey again scores in the last minute :whatever:

GOOD LORD AHURA.... a few thousand:wow:

[Galactus]

Well this Euro is horrendous for me. I have lost a few thousand in bets as all my teams have now lost. :mad:

I now think Germany will win unless Turkey again scores in the last minute :whatever:

So if you think Germany will win you probably should bet on Turkey. But if you do that then probably Germany will win... ;)

[Two-Face]

Semi-Final - today
Germany vs Turkey

Tomorrow
Spain vs Russia

[TruerToTheCore]

Germany 3
Turkey 2

[Dr Lee]

Damn weather.....

Cool that Germany won, Turkey shouldn't have been in the Semi, justice is served imho.


I say it'll be a Germany Vs Spain final

[Hunter Rider]

Damn weather.....

Cool that Germany won, Turkey shouldn't have been in the Semi, justice is served imho.


I say it'll be a Germany Vs Spain final

Why shouldn't they have been in ? :confused:

I hate Ballack and thought Turkey played the better football tonight, fortunately for Germany they keep playing teams with keeper's that don't know how to come and take a high ball. :down

[Two-Face]

Damn weather.....

Cool that Germany won, Turkey shouldn't have been in the Semi, justice is served imho.


I say it'll be a Germany Vs Spain final


What game you were watching? Turkey should have been in the final because they played better than the Germans....:whatever:

[Dr Lee]

They should have been knocked out against Croatia...

From what i saw with the powercut intteruptions it seemed to me that Turkey were quite rough... that penalty let off was a big point of the match. Had the ref given it then it would have been game over.

[Batmania]

I felt a bit sorry for Turkey. They won me over over the past few games. I mean, they are far from the greatest team in the tourney but they just never gave up! Basically half their team last night was either injured or suspended and get Germany really struggled against them. I thought Turkey were the better team overall. Germany's defence looks very suspect. Still would not bet against them in the final of course. Especially if penalties are involved, lol.

[TruerToTheCore]

Why shouldn't they have been in ? :confused:

I hate Ballack and thought Turkey played the better football tonight, fortunately for Germany they keep playing teams with keeper's that don't know how to come and take a high ball. :down

well, but Germany has this Lehmann guy, he is even worse :woot:

[The Game]

What game you were watching? Turkey should have been in the final because they played better than the Germans....:whatever:

Yet Gemany scored 3 goals :huh: hmm no Turkey played well and gave it there all, but German BEAT them thus DESERVE to go to the final why is this so hard for people to understand

[Hunter Rider]

Cagey first half tonight but Spain started the more confidently and Arshavin went missing. Sad that Villa got hurt but it was actually the catalyst to them winning the match with ease, Fabregas (coming on for Villa) literally dictated the second half, great game from Ramos, Silva and Iniesta as well. :up:

Come on Spain!! :D :up:

Yet Gemany scored 3 goals :huh: hmm no Turkey played well and gave it there all, but German BEAT them thus DESERVE to go to the final why is this so hard for people to understand

Come on man, winning doesn't mean you were the best team, a mistake, a piece of luck, a dive etc..can all change a matches outcome for the poorer team.

[BlackLantern]

was Germany not a favorite or do lots of people just not like the German team....?

[Two-Face]

Spain should win this.

[The Game]

Come on man, winning doesn't mean you were the best team, a mistake, a piece of luck, a dive etc..can all change a matches outcome for the poorer team.

Where did I say Germany were the best team? but what I am getting at is this notion of Turkey DESERVE to be in the final, no no one DESERVES to win anything, you have to earn it, Turkey had there chances to win and did not take them, Germany took there chances and won, so whats the big deal. Anyhoo Germany for champs

[Hunter Rider]

Where did I say Germany were the best team? but what I am getting at is this notion of Turkey DESERVE to be in the final, no no one DESERVES to win anything, you have to earn it, Turkey had there chances to win and did not take them, Germany took there chances and won, so whats the big deal. Anyhoo Germany for champs

It's never as black and white as that, Spain for champs.:cwink:

[The Game]

QUOTE=Hunter Rider;15130619]It's never as black and white as that, Spain for champs.:cwink:[/QUOTE]

Usually its not but IMO the result was fair, (unlike man utd stealing our champions league :cmad::cmad::cmad:) lets go Germany :hehe:

[BlackLantern]

How does a team steal a Champions League?

[The Game]

How does a team steal a Champions League?

um well er you see......how they did it does not matter, its the fact that they did

[BlackLantern]

um well er you see......how they did it does not matter, its the fact that they did

I will usually cheer for Liverpool....whenever I watch a match, thats' the team that is usually on.....

[The Game]

I will usually cheer for Liverpool....whenever I watch a match, thats' the team that is usually on.....

Dammit man cheer for Chelsea :yay:, well Liverpool is not so bad, its better than cheering for Man Utd or even worse Arsenal

[BlackLantern]

I dig the Liverpool fans though, they have these cool gates near the stadium and a cool song....

[TheFuture]

Jamie Carraghers bar in Liverpool is serving sangria for the whole of tonight for free. Tab is being picked up by none other than Torres himself.

What a man and he thoroughly deserves to end the season he has had with silverware tonight!

"His arm band proved
He was a Red
Torres Torres
You'll never walk alone it said
Torres Torres
We bought the lad
From Sunny Spain
He gets the ball
He scores again
Fernando Torres
Liverpool's No.9!"

[The Game]

Congrats to Spain

[matrix_ghost]

Yep totally deserved win over ze germans :woot:
I was rooting for spain since they won over those commie bastards and Germany won the match agains turkey. After Holland lost i was hoping Turkey would advance but yeah they lost against germany.

So yeah :D. CONGRATS SPAIN !!!!!!!!

[the_ultimate_evil]

ohhh michael ballack, plays for chelski and won **** all

[The Game]

ohhh michael ballack, plays for chelski and won **** all

Its not even that, he has been to major finals thorought his career and won nothing, I feel for him because he is a class player

[Dr Lee]

ohhh michael ballack, plays for chelski and won **** all

:hehe::hehe:

Well done spain... didn't get to see the game before the 60th min. From what i saw, spain deserve the cup.

Leamann? Leman? was lucky not to have been red-carded... it looked to me like he did handle that ball outside the box....

[Iceman/Psylocke]

Congrats to Spain - deserving champions. Great passing & attacking football.

[the_ultimate_evil]

Its not even that, he has been to major finals thorought his career and won nothing, I feel for him because he is a class player

personally i feel the side thats an ignorant ******* makes him so much easier to hate

what was his famous quote

"football is a game of 90 minutes and then in the end the germans win"

[The Game]

Man Lehmann looked so angry in that shot, LOL

[Themanofbat]

Nice game by the Spaniards... congrats. :up:

:yay:

[Shedhut]

congrats to spain. 1st class game. we were lucky to have gotten away with the 1:0:oldrazz:

[Two-Face]

Congrats to Spain I saw the highlights seemed Spain deserved with counter attacking football.

[Hunter Rider]

Congrats to Spain, they played the best football in the competition and are deserving winners. :up:

[kane9321]

go spain go