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The European Championships have now entered their final stages, after a historic group match stage which saw some major upsets, great goals and thrilling moments, with almost all games being major entertainers. This was the first ever time in EURO history that there was no goalless game in the league stages of the final competitions, with each game presenting atleast one goal. We saw some spectacular comebacks, some great attacking games and some heart-rending moments of despair. Teams fought valiantly till the end never giving up, never conceding defeat until the very final whistle. Now, after 16 games, half of the teams are eliminated, and the remaining will face each other in the quarterfinal stages. These include reigning European and World Champion Spain, former champions France, Italy, Germany, Greece and Czech Republic, England and Portugal. The distance to the Henri Delaunay trophy has been halved.
Quarterfinal 1 – Czech Republic vs Portugal
Thursday June 25 2012 20:45 National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland
The Czech have come a long way after their opening rout by Russia 4 – 1 to win both their later games against Greece and Poland. Russia later went out of the tournament, such are the things in Football. They have a powerhouse in goalkeeper and Captain Petr Cech, and will largely depend on their strong midfield. Portugal on the other hand, had a shaky start when they were defeated by Germany, but later made amends by packing Denmark. However, all their pieces fell in place against the Netherlands, where they not only completely dominated the game but also saw Christiano Ronaldo return to form with two quick goals. Portugal is appearing in their fifth consecutive EURO quarterfinal, but they depend too much on Ronaldo. And history favors the Czech, who won when they met in EURO 96. And the cohesion the Czech show is somewhat lacking in Portugal, along with the resolve they have shown in bouncing backafter that first defeat. The biggest danger that Portugal face is their attitude of taking themselves for granted and over-reliance on C Ronaldo, who sometimes looks like he is afraid that his hair will get messed up if he tries too hard.
Quarterfinal 2 – Germany vs Greece
Friday June 26 2012 20:45 Gdansk, Ukraine
Meetings between Greece and Germany these days make a lot of news generally, but not because of Football but more regarding the economy and Eurozone crisis. They now meet on the playing field In a weird re-enactment of the that. The Mannshaft have steamrolled anything that came their way ever since the championships started, in fact right from the qualifying stages. They have flicked aside Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands with ease, seemingly not bothered in the least by idioms like “Group of Death”. They play perfectly planned football everyone part of the grand strategy, with the towering presence of Bastian Schweinsteiger calling the shots in the midfield, supported by Mesut Ozil. Mario Gomez is deadlier than a viper, and the defence stands like a wall. In all, a well-oiled footballing machine. Greece on the other hand, know their strategy, and seem to possess infinite patience. They sit back and watch, and strike at the right moment when opportunity presents itself. Yes, boring, but it gets the work done. And they do know a thing or two about springing surprises, don’t they? Giorgos Karagounis and his men came back from having one point and at the bottom of the group before the last game to qualify, but they will not get any bailout from Germany this time.
Quarterfinal 3 – Spain vs France
Saturday, June 27 2012 20:45 Donetsk Arena, Donetsk
The last time Spain was ousted from an international tournament was in World Cup 2006 when they were eliminated in the round of 16 by well, France. But there is almost no comparison between those teams of six years ago and these of today. Spain are current reigning European and World champions and hot favorites to make it through. coming from a group that initially seemed easy and then turned tough, France started shakily with a draw against England, though they were the better team in that game. They further increased their stand with a vctory against Ukraine, but then fell to a schoking defeat 2 – 0 by an already-ousted Sweden. Spain on the other hand, had an easy run and are high on confidence, drawing against Italy in an epic game and trouncing Ireland and Croatia, though the latter managed to scare Spain thoroughly. Though the hype might favor Spain, nothing can be said in certain what with the French midfield squad consisting of names like Frank Ribery, Samir Nasri and veteran Florent Malouda, and with their dangerman Karim Benzema managing things upfront. These can easily conter the Spainsh Armada of Xavi Alonso, Xabi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and David Silva in middle and Fernando Torres in the front, with their dazzling passes being Spain’s biggest weapon.. Both defences are equally equipped, but France seemed to have lost it during the Sweden game. Still, Les Bleus can be counted upon to disrupt the run of La Roja, especially if they play solidly as they did against Ukraine. It only reminds to be seen how thrilling the encounter between the neighbors is going to be.
Quarterfinal 4 – England vs Italy
Sunday, June 28 2012 20:45 Kyiv
The last quarterfinal promises can either be the most exciting of the lot or the most boring, and the most unpredictable. England have failed to impress to far, though they topped the group with victories against Ukraine and Sweden and a draw against France. Despite having reached till here amisdt low expectations with almost all punters writing them off, England should be happy enough, and maybe that will give them strength. Also, this is the first time the English have reached a Euro quarterfinal outside England! The return of Wayne Rooney and the presence of “chances creator” Steven Gerrard will be their biggest strength. And even Carroll scored! But sometimes it will seem that they lack direction as a team. And the English defence continues to be rock solid with Ashley Cole and John Terry being the pillars. But this is also Italy’s biggest strength. The Italians are after the Germans and Spanish the most impressive teams in the Euro yet. They played consistently, timed and ran beautifully, scored when it was needed, attacked and defended with equal vigor, and worked as a team. And they have with them the overwhelming presence of the World’s best goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who will be looking at lifting the Euro cup before he retires. They have the equally dangerous striker trio of Mario Balotelli, Antonio Di Natale and Antonio Cassano who seem to outweigh the English in Firepower, along with Mario Pirlo who can match Gerrard in churning out chances on any given day. The real danger is, however, if both teams try to out-defend each other.
(I am betting on the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain and Italy.)
