My EURO 2012 quarterfinal predictions

Will this finally be Ronaldo and Portugal’s time? (Ronaldo7.net)

It’s time for my EURO 2012 quarterfinal predictions. After looking at my pre-tournament predictions, I don’t know what to think after the group stage. Going 3 for 8 picking teams to advance to the quarterfinals is simply awful.

Time to make amends!

Portugal v. Czech Republic

This is a matchup between a Group of Death survivor against a Group of Life survivor. I think death has the advantage here.

Portugal was the second best team in their immensely difficult group while the Czechs won their much weaker group. Portugal is getting stronger as the tournament is progressing while the Czechs have been labeled as one of the weaker teams in the tournament and their captain is injured. However, the Czechs have also made significant progress in this tournament after their 4-1 loss in their opener.

The team which the Czechs faced in this tournament which is most like the Portuguese is Russia. The Czechs were thoroughly destroyed by Russia, this could be an ominous sign for the Czechs.

Ronaldo finally scored which could be a start of good things to come for Portugal. Portugal will dominate the proceedings in this match.

If Portugal puts away their chances they will advance. I believe that they will and will advance to their third semifinal in their last four EURO appearances.

Portugal 2 Czech Republic 0

Match Odds

Portugal 4/5, Czech Republic 4/1, Draw 5/2

Germany vs. Greece

This is a matchup between the weakest team left in the tournament, Greece, against a pre-tournament favorite, Germany.

The Group of Life survivor, Greece, is fortunate to be in the knockout stage. However, they escaped with a victory against Russia so all power to them.

The winner of the Group of Death, Germany, won all of their group stage matches but haven’t reached their top stride yet.

The Germans are by far the better side here and will dominate proceedings throughout this match. I see the Greeks having 10 people behind the ball for long periods of time in this match.

This match will come down to whether the Germans will be able to put away their chances. The Germans will of course put away enough of their chances, they are German which synonymous in football with ruthless and efficient.

Germany 3 Greece 1

Match Odds

Germany 4/11, Greece 9/1, Draw 15/4

Spain vs. France

This is the first heavyweight fight of the knockout stage with the defending EURO and World Cup champions facing off against the last side to knock them out of a major international tournament (2006 World Cup).

France looked to be the favorite in Group D until they collapsed in the second half against Sweden in their final match. Spain definitely hasn’t played their best up to this point in the tournament, but still finished at the top of a pretty difficult group which included Italy and Croatia.

If France isn’t at their best, Spain will win simple as that. France’s back four looked shaky in their first true test against Sweden plus Philippe Mexes will be missing out due to picking up his second yellow card against Sweden.

Spain in this match, as always, will dominate possession. If Spain is able to finish their chances, they will go through. However, they are missing their best finisher in David Villa and Fernando Torres is not in the best form at the moment, so it isn’t a given that Spain will go through

Karim Benzema needs to play like a number 9 in this match and stay up front. If he continuously drops into the midfield, something he does regularly, France will struggle to keep possession against the Spain.

France will perform better against Spain than they did against Sweden, but it won’t be enough. Spain as they’ve done the past two major tournaments will do enough to reach their third consecutive major semifinal.

Spain 1 France 0

Match Odds

Spain 17/20, France 15/4, Draw 12/5

England vs. Italy

This is the most intriguing of all the quarterfinals for me. The English performed admirably without Wayne Rooney in their first two matches, but then were disappointing in their 1-0 win against Ukraine. The Italians performed very well in their opening two matches against Spain and Croatia and finished with a very Italian performance in their final match to progress to the knockout stages.

Both teams are quite capable of scoring a goal and sitting on a 1-0 lead. This is why the first goal, if there is one, is key in this match. Whoever scores first in this match will advance.

I really don’t know which way to go here, I see these sides as being evenly matched. Since I  have to pick though, I think Italy deserve the nod due to their past successes.

Italy 2 England 1 (a.e.t)

Match Odds

Italy 17/10, England 15/8, Draw 21/10

NFL Betting

Matchpack: England v Ukraine

Reposted from Yahoo! Sport UK & Ireland

Team news

Theo Walcott has been passed fit for England’s final Euro 2012 group game against Ukraine. The Arsenal winger had been nursing a hamstring injury after making a match-winning substitute appearance in the 3-2 win over Sweden. He is in contention to replace James Milner, who has been largely disappointing in England’s opening two matches. Hodgson confirmed that Wayne Rooney would start after serving his two-match suspension, and must decide whether the Manchester United starts alongside Danny Welbeck or Andy Carroll.

Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko has been given only a 50-50 chance of being fit for Tuesday’s Euro 2012 Group D clash with England by his coach Oleh Blokhin. The 35-year-old striker is continuing to have treatment for the knee injury suffered initially against Sweden which he then aggravated against France, though he did take part in training on Monday night.

Qualifying chances

France and England both need a draw to be sure to go through, Ukraine need to win and Sweden are out. Of course, it is never quite that easy.

France can afford to lose and still advance if Ukraine do not beat England. Even then a single goal defeat by Sweden would still see the French through on goal difference.

In exceptional circumstances, England could also lose and still qualify.

If Sweden beat France, it would come down to goal difference between England and the French as they drew their direct encounter.

As it stands France hold a one-goal advantage but if Sweden win by two goals or more and England fare less badly against Ukraine, they could still make it.

Manager quotes

Roy Hodgson: “It’s not just England who haven’t always performed when the expectations were heightened. There’s quite a few teams that have failed. It’s a fact of life. We’ve come here with the England national team. We believe in ourselves and we want to do well. In some ways it’s rather nice that people back home are hoping and even believing we can do well, and we’re giving them something to dream about and cling onto.”

Oleg Blokhin: “We should consider England as leaders in the European Championships. They also have problems because if they lose it will be unexpected. There will be big problems for them, but it’s not the same for us. The England team will be more nervous. We have nothing to lose. They are one of the favourites and are expected to play in the final. Nobody expects that we will fly to the moon. It would be fantastic, but that’s another thing. The fans should expect good play, but we shouldn’t say to our nation ‘we’ll win the Euros’. They shouldn’t shoot at us if we lose.”

Match facts

England have won three and lost one of their four previous meetings with Ukraine, though Ukraine did win the last game 1-0 in World Cup 2010 qualifying.

The Three Lions have only conceded two goals in four previous games against Ukraine.

England are winless against EURO hosts in the history of the finals with two defeats (against Italy in 1980 and Sweden in 1992) and a draw (against Portugal in 2004).

England only need a draw to ensure progress to the quarter finals whilst Ukraine need to win to make it past the group stages.

Roy Hodgson and Oleh Blokhin are the two most recently appointed managers at EURO 2012: Hodgson took charge of England in May 2012 whilst Blokhin was named as Ukraine boss in April 2011.

England are unbeaten under Roy Hodgson, winning three games and drawing one.

After England (23 out of 23), Ukraine have the most players currently plying their trade in their domestic league (21 out 23) among teams taking part in EURO 2012.

England have converted 4 of their 21 shots (including blocked shots) at EURO 2012 (19%), the best ratio of the tournament after two rounds.

Ukraine’s shooting accuracy is the lowest at EURO 2012: they’ve tested the opposition goalkeeper with 21% of shots.

Three of England’s four goals at EURO 2012 have come from a cross.

Ukraine have made the most tackles at EURO 2012 after the first two rounds of matches (50).

England’s outfield players have blocked the most shots at EURO 2012 after two rounds of games (14).

England have conceded the fewest fouls after two rounds of matches at EURO 2012: 17.

Only Greece had fewer shots on target (3) than Ukraine (4) after two rounds of games at EURO 2012. Three of the four shots were by Andriy Shevchenko.

Wayne Rooney will take part in his first EURO 2012 game. He scored four goals in four games in his only previous participation at the European Championships, back in 2004.

Theo Walcott has scored a goal, delivered an assist and completed all his passes (eight out of eight) in only 30 minutes of action at EURO 2012.

Andriy Shevchenko has scored four of Ukraine’s seven goals at major international tournaments.

Match odds

England 11/10, Ukraine 11/4, Draw 23/10

Article link: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/match-facts-england-v-ukraine-093735397.html

Arrivederci Fabio!

via the Guardian

Fabio Capello resigned today as the manager of the England national team. To say there are mixed opinions about this Capello situation is an understatement.

One on hand, there are football (soccer) pundits who believe that the FA should have sacked Capello after his comments disapproving of John Terry being stripped of his captaincy. The logic that they used was that the FA and the manager need to be on the same page for the relationship to work. This logic works with the notion if you talk against your employer you’re bound to be fired.

On another hand, there are a few people who believe that Capello is a coward by quitting as the national team manager and should have stayed on at least through the EUROS. The English national team is in a bad spot after the dismissal of Terry as captain and Wayne Rooney being suspended for the first two matches of the EUROS. By quitting it makes it even more difficult because when a new national team manager is appointed, there will be a change in philosophy and not much time to implement that new strategy before the Championships start.

For the ineffectiveness that many England supposed believed that Capello had, Capello had the highest winning percentage of any permanent England manager.

This relationship between the FA and Capello didn’t work out in the end because Capello is a stubborn man. This shouldn’t be a surprise to the FA or English fans because throughout his whole coaching career he’s bumped head everywhere he managed. It’s unfortunate the straw which broke the camels back is this John Terry saga. Terry has been a divisive force since his affair with Wayne Bridge‘s ex-girlfriend. The racist abuse situation has been even more of a divisive issue with many of the English players being Black. The fact that Capello continued to back Terry in the midst of this situation likely caused an even greater disconnect between the players and the ex-manager.

Who will the next England manager be?

Related articles

• Fabio Capello resigns as England manager: live (telegraph.co.uk)
• Capello resigns as England manager (soccerbyives.net)
• Reaction to Capello’s resignation (bbc.co.uk)
• English Soccer’s Latest Chaotic Chapter (blogs.wsj.com)
• The John Terry Saga Continues… (sportsforaddicts.com)