NOW that we’ve had a chance to look at every team, the one thing that really stands out when you look at all eight games is that the final scorelines didn’t always paint a true reflection of a team’s domination or otherwise. For example, both hosts were unlucky not escape with draws (both the Czechs and Croats flattered by their wins),while the two ‘three-goal’ winners, Holland and Spain, while they played well and deserved to win due to some ruthless finishing, can probably feel a little fortunate the scoreline was so comprehensive. Only the Germans and Portuguese totally controlled their games enough to suggest their 2-0 wins weren’t flattering. Here’s a look at how all the teams faired in their opener;
Switzerland 0 v Czech Republic 1
A dull opener, but hardly the most surprising of results. Without Nedved, Poborsky and Rosicky, we expected the Czechs to be poor in midfield, but not this poor. Jarolim, Plasil and Polak are workhorses at best, but none has the creative spark to open up a defence or play in the neat triangles we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the Czechs. Instead we got an organised, workmanlike performance, but no-one got close and played off Koller. Would have been nice to see Sionko in the middle instead of being deployed on the right. For all the Czechs average play, the Swiss, characteristically, failed to capitalise. With these guys, you just never sense they believe they can win, and they’re hardly going to get a better chance; at home, in the opener, against a weakened Czech side. Of course, the injury to Frei didn’t help, and despite all the possession and control, they weren’t able to crack Cech and the Czechs. The best chances fell to Yakin (a poor header wide) and Volanthen (hit the crossbar), but, without Frei, and relying on the far-from-stellar Streller, hard to now see them getting out of the group. At least a point was essential in this game. For all this, there was some neat work in central midfield from Inler and Fernandes, but the lack of a cutting edge will haunt the hosts. The Czechs meanwhile will need to find a functional front third, and shifting Sionko infield would be the start. Would be great also to see the kid Fenin, so impressive at the most recent under 20s world cup in Canada.
Portugal 2 v Turkey 0
Expected Carvalho to be a rock, but I've got to say, I wasn’t prepared for such influential performances from his mates at the back, centre back Pepe and right-back Bosingwa. Both were outstanding, Pepe quick on the ground, strong in the air and extremely comfortable on the ball, as we saw with the opener. Bosingwa is lightning and easy to see why Chelsea has invested in him. Portugal’s defence, on this evidence, will take some breaching, but admittedly, Turkey didn’t really ask enough questions with Tuncay having an off night and Terim struggling to fill the attacking midfield (shadow striker) position behind Nihat, first with Mevlut, then with Sabri. Both were ineffective and Turkey’s front third floundered as a result. It allowed Portugal’s front third to control possession and use the width, with Simao and Ronaldo stretching the Turkey defence, which looked a little brittle through the middle. Gomes did well as a result. For all Aurelio’s good work in the holding role for Turkey, Deco looked good, but I was really impressed by the little fella nearby, Moutinho. It’s an excellent start for Portugal. Turkey look like they have enough quality to test the other two teams, but Nihat needs more support.
Austria 0 v Croatia 1
The start was what we expected – Croatia pressing and dominating, Modric very influential, as Austria looked outclassed and very unsure they belonged at this level. With Austria playing a back three, they were constantly getting caught in behind the two wingbacks, and this is where the early penalty came from. Then, about 25 minutes in, Austria started pressing on, getting their share of possession as holder Aufhauser started to get the ball and forced the Croats to retreat. Modric dropped too deep, alongside Nik Kovac, and suddenly Croatia’s attack looked impotent, failing to hold the ball up or do anything with it. In the second half Croatia were forced even further back as Austria, lucky not have Pogatetz sent-off, threw men on and threw men forward, but in truth they never really looked convincing in front of goal, a bit like the other hosts. Croatia had some real problems on the left side, where fullback Pranjic was terrible and Kancjar never really got going. Up front, Olic and Petric never looked like scoring, and it’s looking like they’ll miss Eduardo big time. Austria would do well to give more time to Vastic ad Korkmaz, who looked lively off the bench.
Germany 2 v Poland 0
As I’d hinted in my preview here, Loew started with Podolski on the left, surprisingly dropping Schweinsteiger. Up front he gave another chance to Gomes, despite an average performance in the recent friendly against Serbia. Poland was terrible in the early going, playing a higher offside trap, not pressing the man on the ball and allowing acres for Klose, Gomes and Podolski to exploit. It was suicide from a team that had supposedly done well in qualifying, and their slow back-four were duly punished. The Germans, hesitant in recent friendlies, turned it on when it mattered most, and while left back Jansen was at times getting a working over from Lobodzinski, they remained in total control. While Ballack was quiet by his high recent standards, his side-kick Frings was outstanding, pulling all the strings, while Lahm chimed in down the right. Metzelder looked more comfortable than he has recently, and on this evidence, Germany will take some beating. The Poles showed very little, and Smolarek was a major disappointment.
Romania 0 v France 0
Speaking of disappointment, not surprisingly, France was terrible in their opener. Dads Army, as I described them in my preview here, defended far too deep and never really asked questions of a Romania side that was built to defend and counter, as all good Romanian sides of the recent past have done. Perhaps it was a lack of confidence in their pace and ability to press-on and defend high, or fear of being hit on the counter, but France failed to take the initiative and were often defending in front of their 18 yard box with the back four and two holding midfielders (far too many defensive players). The two fullbacks, Sagnol and Abidal offered little going forward, and it remains a mystery how players of the quality of Sagna, Evra and Clichy are either not in the starting 11 (in the case of Evra) or in the squad (Sagna and Clichy). It all meant that the front two, Anelka and Benzema (playing together for the first time, and it showed), were isolated and never got in behind a deep defending Romania, while Ribery didn’t get the room he loves. I sense Domenech was fearful of the Romanian counter. While Romania competed all over the park, they never really threatened Coupet, so perhaps Domenech might have taken more of a gamble. An average game, but at least both sides showed they will be very organised and tough to break down.
Netherlands 3 v Italy 0
The score might look emphatic but the game was a lot more competitive, an excellent technical spectacle. Holland was excellent, looking very organised and very united and had two absolute gems in Sneijder and van der Vaart, but by my reckoning they were very fortunate with the first goal, despite what Uefa say. Italy, meanwhile, didn’t cope with the absence of their skipper, the centre of their defence looking very shaky as Materazzi in particular struggled with the pace of the Dutch game, and was eventually replaced. From the footage we’ve seen in the build up to Euros, Holland look like they’ve been enjoying their camp, but there is always the worry, with them, that something is bubbling beneath the surface. Italy meanwhile made some uncharacteristic defensive errors, highlighted by Buffon’s punch that lead to the controversial opener and the fact they conceded two wonderful goals within 30 seconds of having great chances at van der Sar’s end. Rarely have the Azzurri been so thrillingly and efficiently exposed on the counter, let alone twice in one game. It’s normally the other way around. Perhaps the fact they had nine starters aged 30 or more played a hand, but such was the state of disorganisation on the second goal that it was a striker, Di Natale, who was the closest to Sneijder when he tucked it away. Van Bronkhorst and Kuijt’s non-stop workrate was incredible, while the little know big-fella Engelaar, a teammate of Luke Wilkshire’s at Twente, had a great influence, providing shape and simple use of the ball. Italy had their chances, and on another night Toni might have had a brace, while Del Piero looked lively off the bench. They are still in it, but will need to fix the centre of their defence (perhaps Panucci moving infield for Materazzi, with Zambrotta shifting over to the right and Grosso in on the left, as we saw for the final 35 mins) and work at blocking the counter-attack, which the Romanians love, at the source. The very AC Milan midfield might need some tinkering as well, with De Rossi, Aquilani and Perrotta surely now in contention.
Spain 4 v Russia 1
Again, the scoreline deceives a little, with Spain running away with it in the end, but the early going was a lot more competitive and featured some great play from both sides, with Hiddink’s Russians have a really go in the first period, troubling Spain’s back four, but ultimately coming unstuck due to their open style, a few costly errors at the back and a lack of big game experience. If you remember back to the world cup and Australia were able to take the initiative and control games because they often pushed numerous men forward and left themselves a little short at the back. Hiddink likes to gamble, and in the main it worked with the Socceroos, with Neill and Chipperfield excellent as clean-up men. It didn’t work so well here for the Russians, and when Kolodin made an error to let in Torres and Villa for the first, it was always going to be difficult. A second just before the break killed the Russians who played some enterprising stuff in between, with Pavlyuchecnko, Zhirkov and Zyrianov looking lively in the front third, but there’s no doubt they missed the composure of Arshavin. The fact they managed to control possession, against Spain, tells a tale. As for Spain, it was good to see some interesting and effective work from Aragones. After playing 4-5-1 in the recent friendly against the USA and for much of the qualifiers, it would good to see a second striker alongside Torres (Villa is such a predator), and great to see Senna start ahead of Alonso. His combination with Xavi was good. There was also a tough decision to make in terms of leaving out one from Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas. Given that Iniesta is the best of the three options on the right, sadly it was Fabregas, but he stiffened the midfield later. Left back Capdevilla did some neat things on the ball, but in general, improvement is required at the back.
Greece 0 v Sweden 2
We expected a dull, defensive affair, and that’s exactly what we got. Both these sides are built to defend first, with a stack of defensive midfielders, and neither seem keen to push on. The defending champs started ok, but soon retreated and started knocking the ball around at the back. It was all very mundane stuff as Sweden dropped off and let them do it. In truth, with so few changes to the 11 from four years ago, Rehaggel’s men appeared to be running on old legs, and their strikers (Gekas in the first period and Samaras in the second) were acres away from any support. While the Swedes also had a negative mindset, they posed more of a threat in the front third due to their gun strike force, Ibrahimovich and Larsson, and the occasional willingness of Ljungberg to get forward and support. If anyone was pressing for the win it was the Swedes, and in the end they were rewarded thanks to one moment of brilliance from the one genuine class-act on the pitch. Greece, using a back three, looked ragged and slow in defence, with Kyrgiakos, Antzas and Torosidis making some poor decisions. Depending on whether Hiddink can rouse the Russians, second in this group might yet come down the final game between Sweden and Russia.
Switzerland 0 v Czech Republic 1
A dull opener, but hardly the most surprising of results. Without Nedved, Poborsky and Rosicky, we expected the Czechs to be poor in midfield, but not this poor. Jarolim, Plasil and Polak are workhorses at best, but none has the creative spark to open up a defence or play in the neat triangles we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the Czechs. Instead we got an organised, workmanlike performance, but no-one got close and played off Koller. Would have been nice to see Sionko in the middle instead of being deployed on the right. For all the Czechs average play, the Swiss, characteristically, failed to capitalise. With these guys, you just never sense they believe they can win, and they’re hardly going to get a better chance; at home, in the opener, against a weakened Czech side. Of course, the injury to Frei didn’t help, and despite all the possession and control, they weren’t able to crack Cech and the Czechs. The best chances fell to Yakin (a poor header wide) and Volanthen (hit the crossbar), but, without Frei, and relying on the far-from-stellar Streller, hard to now see them getting out of the group. At least a point was essential in this game. For all this, there was some neat work in central midfield from Inler and Fernandes, but the lack of a cutting edge will haunt the hosts. The Czechs meanwhile will need to find a functional front third, and shifting Sionko infield would be the start. Would be great also to see the kid Fenin, so impressive at the most recent under 20s world cup in Canada.
Portugal 2 v Turkey 0
Expected Carvalho to be a rock, but I've got to say, I wasn’t prepared for such influential performances from his mates at the back, centre back Pepe and right-back Bosingwa. Both were outstanding, Pepe quick on the ground, strong in the air and extremely comfortable on the ball, as we saw with the opener. Bosingwa is lightning and easy to see why Chelsea has invested in him. Portugal’s defence, on this evidence, will take some breaching, but admittedly, Turkey didn’t really ask enough questions with Tuncay having an off night and Terim struggling to fill the attacking midfield (shadow striker) position behind Nihat, first with Mevlut, then with Sabri. Both were ineffective and Turkey’s front third floundered as a result. It allowed Portugal’s front third to control possession and use the width, with Simao and Ronaldo stretching the Turkey defence, which looked a little brittle through the middle. Gomes did well as a result. For all Aurelio’s good work in the holding role for Turkey, Deco looked good, but I was really impressed by the little fella nearby, Moutinho. It’s an excellent start for Portugal. Turkey look like they have enough quality to test the other two teams, but Nihat needs more support.
Austria 0 v Croatia 1
The start was what we expected – Croatia pressing and dominating, Modric very influential, as Austria looked outclassed and very unsure they belonged at this level. With Austria playing a back three, they were constantly getting caught in behind the two wingbacks, and this is where the early penalty came from. Then, about 25 minutes in, Austria started pressing on, getting their share of possession as holder Aufhauser started to get the ball and forced the Croats to retreat. Modric dropped too deep, alongside Nik Kovac, and suddenly Croatia’s attack looked impotent, failing to hold the ball up or do anything with it. In the second half Croatia were forced even further back as Austria, lucky not have Pogatetz sent-off, threw men on and threw men forward, but in truth they never really looked convincing in front of goal, a bit like the other hosts. Croatia had some real problems on the left side, where fullback Pranjic was terrible and Kancjar never really got going. Up front, Olic and Petric never looked like scoring, and it’s looking like they’ll miss Eduardo big time. Austria would do well to give more time to Vastic ad Korkmaz, who looked lively off the bench.
Germany 2 v Poland 0
As I’d hinted in my preview here, Loew started with Podolski on the left, surprisingly dropping Schweinsteiger. Up front he gave another chance to Gomes, despite an average performance in the recent friendly against Serbia. Poland was terrible in the early going, playing a higher offside trap, not pressing the man on the ball and allowing acres for Klose, Gomes and Podolski to exploit. It was suicide from a team that had supposedly done well in qualifying, and their slow back-four were duly punished. The Germans, hesitant in recent friendlies, turned it on when it mattered most, and while left back Jansen was at times getting a working over from Lobodzinski, they remained in total control. While Ballack was quiet by his high recent standards, his side-kick Frings was outstanding, pulling all the strings, while Lahm chimed in down the right. Metzelder looked more comfortable than he has recently, and on this evidence, Germany will take some beating. The Poles showed very little, and Smolarek was a major disappointment.
Romania 0 v France 0
Speaking of disappointment, not surprisingly, France was terrible in their opener. Dads Army, as I described them in my preview here, defended far too deep and never really asked questions of a Romania side that was built to defend and counter, as all good Romanian sides of the recent past have done. Perhaps it was a lack of confidence in their pace and ability to press-on and defend high, or fear of being hit on the counter, but France failed to take the initiative and were often defending in front of their 18 yard box with the back four and two holding midfielders (far too many defensive players). The two fullbacks, Sagnol and Abidal offered little going forward, and it remains a mystery how players of the quality of Sagna, Evra and Clichy are either not in the starting 11 (in the case of Evra) or in the squad (Sagna and Clichy). It all meant that the front two, Anelka and Benzema (playing together for the first time, and it showed), were isolated and never got in behind a deep defending Romania, while Ribery didn’t get the room he loves. I sense Domenech was fearful of the Romanian counter. While Romania competed all over the park, they never really threatened Coupet, so perhaps Domenech might have taken more of a gamble. An average game, but at least both sides showed they will be very organised and tough to break down.
Netherlands 3 v Italy 0
The score might look emphatic but the game was a lot more competitive, an excellent technical spectacle. Holland was excellent, looking very organised and very united and had two absolute gems in Sneijder and van der Vaart, but by my reckoning they were very fortunate with the first goal, despite what Uefa say. Italy, meanwhile, didn’t cope with the absence of their skipper, the centre of their defence looking very shaky as Materazzi in particular struggled with the pace of the Dutch game, and was eventually replaced. From the footage we’ve seen in the build up to Euros, Holland look like they’ve been enjoying their camp, but there is always the worry, with them, that something is bubbling beneath the surface. Italy meanwhile made some uncharacteristic defensive errors, highlighted by Buffon’s punch that lead to the controversial opener and the fact they conceded two wonderful goals within 30 seconds of having great chances at van der Sar’s end. Rarely have the Azzurri been so thrillingly and efficiently exposed on the counter, let alone twice in one game. It’s normally the other way around. Perhaps the fact they had nine starters aged 30 or more played a hand, but such was the state of disorganisation on the second goal that it was a striker, Di Natale, who was the closest to Sneijder when he tucked it away. Van Bronkhorst and Kuijt’s non-stop workrate was incredible, while the little know big-fella Engelaar, a teammate of Luke Wilkshire’s at Twente, had a great influence, providing shape and simple use of the ball. Italy had their chances, and on another night Toni might have had a brace, while Del Piero looked lively off the bench. They are still in it, but will need to fix the centre of their defence (perhaps Panucci moving infield for Materazzi, with Zambrotta shifting over to the right and Grosso in on the left, as we saw for the final 35 mins) and work at blocking the counter-attack, which the Romanians love, at the source. The very AC Milan midfield might need some tinkering as well, with De Rossi, Aquilani and Perrotta surely now in contention.
Spain 4 v Russia 1
Again, the scoreline deceives a little, with Spain running away with it in the end, but the early going was a lot more competitive and featured some great play from both sides, with Hiddink’s Russians have a really go in the first period, troubling Spain’s back four, but ultimately coming unstuck due to their open style, a few costly errors at the back and a lack of big game experience. If you remember back to the world cup and Australia were able to take the initiative and control games because they often pushed numerous men forward and left themselves a little short at the back. Hiddink likes to gamble, and in the main it worked with the Socceroos, with Neill and Chipperfield excellent as clean-up men. It didn’t work so well here for the Russians, and when Kolodin made an error to let in Torres and Villa for the first, it was always going to be difficult. A second just before the break killed the Russians who played some enterprising stuff in between, with Pavlyuchecnko, Zhirkov and Zyrianov looking lively in the front third, but there’s no doubt they missed the composure of Arshavin. The fact they managed to control possession, against Spain, tells a tale. As for Spain, it was good to see some interesting and effective work from Aragones. After playing 4-5-1 in the recent friendly against the USA and for much of the qualifiers, it would good to see a second striker alongside Torres (Villa is such a predator), and great to see Senna start ahead of Alonso. His combination with Xavi was good. There was also a tough decision to make in terms of leaving out one from Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas. Given that Iniesta is the best of the three options on the right, sadly it was Fabregas, but he stiffened the midfield later. Left back Capdevilla did some neat things on the ball, but in general, improvement is required at the back.
Greece 0 v Sweden 2
We expected a dull, defensive affair, and that’s exactly what we got. Both these sides are built to defend first, with a stack of defensive midfielders, and neither seem keen to push on. The defending champs started ok, but soon retreated and started knocking the ball around at the back. It was all very mundane stuff as Sweden dropped off and let them do it. In truth, with so few changes to the 11 from four years ago, Rehaggel’s men appeared to be running on old legs, and their strikers (Gekas in the first period and Samaras in the second) were acres away from any support. While the Swedes also had a negative mindset, they posed more of a threat in the front third due to their gun strike force, Ibrahimovich and Larsson, and the occasional willingness of Ljungberg to get forward and support. If anyone was pressing for the win it was the Swedes, and in the end they were rewarded thanks to one moment of brilliance from the one genuine class-act on the pitch. Greece, using a back three, looked ragged and slow in defence, with Kyrgiakos, Antzas and Torosidis making some poor decisions. Depending on whether Hiddink can rouse the Russians, second in this group might yet come down the final game between Sweden and Russia.
