Euro 2012 - Semi-Finals

Quarter-Finals

Portugal v Czech - The Czechs played only for 10-15 minutes and then were largely defensive. With last than half an hour left Portugal had 11 shots against the Czechs 2. That summed up the game. Meantime, Cristiano Ronaldo finally came on top of his game clipping the post a couple of times and finally nodded an unstoppable header past Cech who made numerous good saves. I was right that it boiled down to these two players. Portugal was the deserving winner.

Germany v Greece - Joachim Loew had the guts to make changes to a winning team bringing back Miroslav Klose to replace Mario Gomes. Reus was also introduced. Greece as expected proved a tough nut to crack but when the Germans were leading 1-0, Greece had the cheek to come back with a stunning reply from a counter attack. Suddenly, Germany looked vulnerable. What happened when you hit a great team? They hit you back three more times but gave away a penalty for handling in the box. The Germans can score with variation but they have to watch their defence.

Spain v France - French flair withered in the face of Spanish heat, Flamenco tempo and tiki taka flamboyance. It was only during the second half that the French decided to attack and gave Spain a little discomfort as some of the Spanish passes went astray. Even without Torres, it took midfielder Xavi Alonso to score a brace, the second from the penalty spot. It was the way Spain played that was a bit frightening as they didn't seemed to have broken sweat and France is a good team.

England v Italy - I was right that it would go into extra time. England never really touched the ball for several minutes into the match but when they attacked they looked dangerous. In fact, more dangerous than the Italians but the Italians rocked their posts twice. England's discipline, organisation and crosses were their strengths and Glen Johnson must have played the game of his life - a constant threat when attacking and blocking and saving a couple of crucial shots. Terry too was instrumental. There were numerous moments for both sides in attack but they came to nought. Pirlo showed his class throughout while Gerrard was overworked. The biggest culprit who was greatly ineffective was Wayne Rooney. I told you that Pirlo would be master class and until England can have someone like him and is able to have better possession it will be difficult for the Three Lions.

Rooney is living in past reputation. I give him 3 out of 10 points for his performances in this tournament. I would rather have kept Caroll and Welbeck who destroyed Sweden. Rooney of late has been either a 4 or 9 player - bloody good or bloody bad. I say it is time to drop Rooney or only pick him when he delivers, no automatic choice please and let him fight for his place. Give me that raw Rooney of 2004 anytime, who took the Euro by storm with 4 goals until he got injured. That Rooney terrorised defenders and goal keepers panic when he's attacking with the ball.

Playing deep in your own half requires enormous physical and mental energy and focus which must be sustained not only the full 90 minutes but a 120 minutes. This, England did very well but this is not enough as they were drained. It actually looked like England has the winner's luck as nothing the Italians do could crack them even during penalty kicks as the Italians started first and missed their second and it looked like England could bury their ghosts of the past but alas two Ashleys, first Young hit the crossbar and then Cole's was saved by Buffon reducing their hopes to ashes.

To rise from the proverbial ashes, Hodgson need to start preparing them for the World Cup in Brazil if they can get there. Steven Gerard, Frank Lampard and the likes are unlikely to feature then, so blooding younger players would be the main task. If England wish to win the Euro or the World Cup, they need to keep to their strengths but more importantly, they need players who are comfortable with the ball and can control possession. In fact, they should start with their boys from a young age. Until then, it remains a pipe dream.

Semi-Finals

Spain  v Portugal


When I first wrote that Spain has been boring me, I think I raised some eyebrows but now the press all over are echoing my views. Don't get me wrong, it is mesmerizing to watch Spain string and spray passes around but to me soccer is and should always be an exciting game which means I like to see goal mouth action, drama, exhilarating wing play, side flips, step overs and dummies, glorious headers, incredible dribbles, stupendous shots, majestic slalom but the modern game is all about winning. Brazil 1982 had all these and lost in the World Cup. 

This semi-final will be an interesting match pitting Spanish flair against Portuguese guile. For Portugal to get here from the group of death means they showed the ability to cheat death. If Spain plays like Barcelona (Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas) (Alonso plays for Real) then Portugal is like Real Madrid (Pepe, Ronaldo). They know each other too well. Spain will control possession but Portugal has been the best team so far when they counter attack at great speed. Portugal has been getting to semi-finals and they could pull off a big one but still Spain is good enough for the final on July 2.

Spain 2 Portugal 1.

Germany v Italy

This is like a classic World Cup clash. The last time in a big tournament the Italians beat Germany in World Cup 2006. You saw how Italy was superior to England in the quarter-final. To stop Italy, you have got to stop Pirlo and Germany has its own genius in Mesut Ozil who has yet to play to his full potential. Germany has transformed from a boring, defensive team to one that is to me the most exciting team to watch since Jurgen Klinsman took over and handed over the helm to Joachim Loew who has continued.

While the Italians will be hard to beat, the Germans have great strength in depth that only Spain could match. They have a player of almost equal strength in every position. You saw how freely they scored against Greece with a few different players and a variation in play when others struggled against Greece. Italy, however, will certainly give the Germans a sterner test but the Germans has the resilience and ability to win this.

Germany 2 Italy 1.

Final

Spain v Germany. I picked then before the start of the tournament to be in the Final simply because they are the most balanced teams with strength in depth.