Euro 2012 - Quarters And Semi-Final.

The stage has been set. Upheavals to the Netherlands, upset on Russia, failure to qualify by the hosts Poland and the Ukraine and a much needed break for suffering from too much soccer. Is it easier to play or to watch at God-forsaken hours?


Remember how they used an octopus to predict World Cup scores? Well, the Octopus has died. Singapore used a parakeet once and today they use a fish, an arowana called Ah Huat. I use the Xbox to depict the teams by playing Winning Eleven with these results:


Czech Republic 0 Portugal 2, Germany 1 Greece 0, Spain 3 France 1, England 4 Italy 0. The eventual results would be quite different.

First of all, a dossier on the teams in the last eight. 

Czech Republic v Portugal



The Czechs were humiliated 1-4 by Russia in the opener but they showed great character to bounce back to beat Greece with two early goals to win 2-1 and then beat Poland 1-0 in a difficult match.

They are playing in their fifth straight Euro tournament. They have beaten Portugal in the quarter-finals of 1996 on the way to the Final but they lost to them in the group stage of 2008. In 2004, the Czechs reached the semi-finals only to loose to eventual winner Greece. They are likely to be without Tomas Rosicky whom I think is their most creative player. They have to depend much on Petr Cech at goal now to keep the Portuguese at bay. Only problem is that you can't recognise Cech when he is without his protective head gear. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRCz4PzQw80

Portugal lost narrowly by 0-1 to Germany in their opening match, they then improved with a 3-2 win over Denmark before playing their best match beating Holland 2-1 where Ronaldo scored a brace.  The Portuguese are at their most dangerous with their marauding counter-attacks and they are experienced at this level as a top ten team for some years and they have Cristiano Ronaldo. He has found his feet. I feel Portugal can be the dark horse. 
 

The Czechs were badly hit by Russia and could beat Greece and endured some horrid moments to survive Poland. I'm not totally impressed by them but they could fight and will not give in to Portugal easily but the Portuguese are improving all the time getting better with each match but they do concede goals. Portugal 3 Czech Republic 2.


Germany v Greece


Germany continued their mean streak - ten wins out of ten matches in qualification and three wins out of three in Group B matches. 1-0 over Portugal, 2-1 over Holland and Denmark. Clinical. To me they are one of the best teams out there in Euro 2012 from the beginning and have been threatening since the World Cup. Besides, they have strength in depth in the squad. However, their defence remains a bit suspect. Mario Gomez who has Spanish blood has stop scoring.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9UwCGo4ybs

Mesut Ozil despite his immense skills look jaded and Thomas Muller was not as good as during the World Cup but the Germans will be back! They are  no longer the boring team of old and they are an exciting and attacking team without going overboard! Is Angela Merkel playing?

Greece, though they qualified undefeated, they were never given a chance by anyone. They held host Poland 1-1 equalising when playing with ten men, lost to the Czechs 1-2 and shocked favourites Russia 1-0. Their defence is like a rock and they are sharp shooters. They fired three shots and got three goals. That is one bullet one kill. Unspectacular Greece is one of the hardest teams to beat and when they have worn you out, they hit you with a sucker punch! Germany 1 Greece 0.


Spain v France


Spain could not beat Italy and drew 1-1, then thrashed Ireland 4-0 before edging out Croatia 1-0. The problem with Spain is that they take the ball and play among themselves and not let you play, weaving intricate patterns on the pitch. At first you watch with amazement as they string passes left to right, to the middle, back and around. All very good but where are the crosses, headers and shots? Torres will be key to their goals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5paKGVPOlB4

Spain can be stopped despite their dominance. Who has beaten Spain? The USA, Switzerland (in the World Cup) and England. Actually Barcelona plays better than Spain but Chelsea has shown how Barcelona can be beaten.

France was Group D favourites but were held 1-1 by England followed by a 2-0 win over Ukraine but surprising outplayed by Sweden 2-0. You should have seen Zlatan Ibramovic's goal with an awesome scissors kick! Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTLRVn2Tnfc. France collapsed like a pack of cards. At midfield is where their strength lies. Benzema has not scored yet when even Andy Carroll has. Spain's possession will stifle French flair. Au Revoir. Spain 1 France 0.

England v Italy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_jbPbhracE

When I said Roy Hodgson is not a bad coach  and predicted that England will go through, people opened their mouth in disbelief and some accused me of being an England die-hard. It is not true but I am just more familiar with English football. I based my prediction on a couple of facts. Hodgson is only one and a half month and five matches into the job. It has been a remarkably well done! For the first time, the nation and their fans are not having high expectations from this team, no super coach, absence of key players and late appointment of the manager - the pressure to be champions is lifted. We saw how Chelsea stifled Barcelona over two legs and England is doing the same here. There was great discipline in the team and they are organised, worked for one another and kept their shape. They not only qualify but topped the group.

They have scored in every match accumulating five goals the same as Germany, Portugal and Sweden. Only Spain has scored one goal more. Largely they defended well but lapses of concentration have occurred. The midfield is functioning well with Gerrard the key. Carroll, Walcott, Welbeck and Rooney has scored, very well spread. They have the highest chance conversion rate at 21.7% of all teams in the group stage. They are growing in confidence and even when things don't go their way, they won! There is an element of luck! Joe Hart is settling down to real business, Ashley Cole continued to be one of England's top player. Joleon Lescott is calm and collected and even scored their first goal. John Terry, whether you love him or loathe him, made a few crucial tackles and made that spectacular hook to keep the ball out from Ukraine even though it looked like a goal.

Scott Parker the brave have been throwing all he's got including his body for his team's cause. Ashley Young came in as the most in-formed player and is capable of more. James Milner has been decent but he was brought in as defensive cover as Glen Johnson can be awfully good or bad. Welbeck is tricky and agile but Carroll is a menace to any defence. All he needs are quality crosses. Rooney's goal was a validation for his selection but he was rusty. Coming in from the cold of the stand in the first two matches has robbed him of "match fitness" as evidenced by his headers and first touches making him looked like the disappointing Rooney of the last World Cup but hey he got a goal now.

The main player for England is captain Steven Gerrard who now has three assists. It was his most wicked cross that went through three players including Ukrainian goalie for Rooney's goal. England better pray that he stays fit and not get another yellow. The omens are good. One thing I could not understand, England has always been poor in holding the ball. They don't seemed comfortable and gave away the ball too easily but their attack is looking really sharp. Joe Hart will also play a key role. He is strong and brave including mentally. England is hard to beat and equally hard to watch.

I picked Italy to qualify from the start because they have always been good. They are still unbeaten but there is an over independence on Andreas Pirlo who remains their key player. You will expect Italy to dominate with possession. A key issue for the Italians is that their top defender Chiellini is injured and may not make the first XI. That is unfortunate but beware of Italy, they are disciplined and sophisticated and come with various approaches to a game and they have a tendency to get stronge as a tournament progresses.

England will defend stoutly and patiently waiting to create an opportunity. They will try to do a Chelsea. Now you know why John Terry is there. Italy is always a very tough team to play or to break and England is also playin glike Italy. This match could go the distance and into extra-time. England has already exceeded expectations and that is an advantage plus they seemed to be so lucky these days. But luck as some people say is hard work to earn the luck. England 1 Italy 0.


If my prediction, this is how the semi-finals will look:

Spain v Portugal - This will be an interesting and exciting match. Plenty of flair players, neat passes and quick counters. Two of the world's best players will be here. Xavi and Ronaldo. 

Germany v England - Old rivalry will be rekindled. 1966 World Cup Final where Geoff Hurst ball crossed or did not crossed the line. The last World Cup where Frank Lampard's ball crossed the line but a goal was not given. And the funny thing - England is playing boring soccer like Germany and the Germans are attacking.


I am still sticking to a Spain v Germany Final on 1 July 2012.
I'll give you an update after the quarter-finals.