Euro 2008: Quarter-final 2

Turkey 1-1 Croatia (3-1 on penalties)
Well, that was one hell of a game. It was relatively uneventful for almost two hours, before a stunning conclusion that saw two goals in the last two minutes of stoppage time, before Turkey beat Croatia on penalties. The fact that it was scoreless through regular time was surprising enough, if you'd seen these two teams play earlier, but Turkey were set up to stifle the Croatian playmakers through midfield, and they did their job pretty effectively.

Croatia's best chance of the game came in the 18th minute, as Luka Modric crossed the ball for Ivica Olic, who hit the crossbar from about two yards out -- followed by Niko Kranjcar heading the rebound wide with the goalmouth open. Croatia were undoubtedly missing Eduardo; although Olic ran himself into the ground, he doesn't have the same killer instinct in front of goal. He had another couple of chances in the second half, but the only time he put the ball in the net, he was flagged offside.

Turkey, on the other hand, had very few shots on goal, although they worked themselves into the game more as time went on -- and they certainly picked the right time to peak in extra time. They needed a great save from Rustu Recber to get them that far, though, with a flying stop in the 84th minute on a shot from Dario Srna that was curling into the top corner.

The game was balanced on a knife-edge through extra time, and looked to be going to penalties, before Croatia struck with about a minute left. The ball was crossed from the left and was heading out of play, but Rustu inexplicably decided to chase it down; he was beaten to the ball by Modric, who clipped it back across onto substitute Ivan Klasnic's head for a simple goal. Let's hope that fibreglass kidney shield is sturdy, because I think the entire Croatian team plus their coaching staff all piled on top of Klasnic in their delirium.

They got just a teensy bit ahead of themselves, though, and Turkey didn't give up, taking heart from their late comebacks against both Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Slaven Bilic was ranting at the officials because he wanted to make a substitution, but he should've been shouting at his own team instead, because rather than just holding onto possession and running down the clock, Croatia tried to play the ball over the Turkish defence and were called offside. Rustu sent the free kick into the box, where it fell to Semih Senturk to score the equalizer.

Once it went to penalties, you had to give Turkey the psychological edge, and that was only strengthened when Modric stepped up to take the first spot-kick and sent it wide. (It's a bit harsh on him, because he'd been their best player by far; but we'll give him credit for not bursting into tears like John Terry, at least.) Ivan Rakitic also missed for Croatia, making it 3-1 to Turkey after Rustu saved Mladen Petric's shot -- and redeemed himself somewhat for letting them score in the first place.

So Turkey are, against all the odds, into the semi-finals. They'll have to produce something even more miraculous to get past Germany, considering that they have a slew of injuries and suspensions which will severely limit their options. But after this, you can't entirely count them out.

Bad hair of the day award: Turkish goalkeeper Rustu Recber. It's not so much a hairstyle as it's just sort of there -- an amazing combination of frizzy and lank. Add that to the sketchy goatee, and he's not somebody that you'd want to meet in a dark alley.

Euro 2008: Day 10

Germany 1-0 Austria
It wasn't exactly an inspiring victory, but Germany have booked their place in the quarter-finals with this win. They've made hard work of what should have been an easy group, but now it's time for them to really get their act together for the knock-out stages. They did at least look much more solid defensively here, although that's kind of hard to judge against a team as goal-shy as Austria. Joachim Low juggled the back four a bit, bringing in Arne Friedrich at right-back and moving Philipp Lahm to the left in place of Marcell Jansen (supposedly injured, but I wouldn't be so sure).

The German midfield still looks a bit out of sorts, though, and their strikers are also having problems. Particularly Mario Gomez, who wasted three good chances in the first 10 minutes -- including an absolute sitter that he ballooned over the bar from about a yard out. Unbelievable. I'm not really sure how he keeps getting picked, because he's been equally useless in all three games so far. I think they might want to move Lukas Podolski up front with Miroslav Klose for the next game, and bring in Bastian Schweinsteiger on the left of midfield. At least Podolski has proved that he knows how to find the net.

Oh, right, I'm supposed to be talking about this game. Not a whole lot to say about the first half, really. Austria tried hard, but they just don't know what to do once they get into the penalty box. The closest they came was an extremely weak penalty shout, when Erwin Hoffer backed into Christoph Metzelder. But generally the Germans looked in control without creating much themselves either.

The main incident of the first half wasn't even on the pitch but on the sidelines, when both managers were rather bizarrely banished to the stands just before halftime for a bit of nothing. I don't know if they got into it with the fourth official, or each other, or what, but it seemed like an overly harsh reaction from the ref -- Phil Scolari would be very disappointed; nobody even took a swing at anybody. Actually, if anyone was going to be sent off, it should have been Rene Aufhauser earlier in the half, for pushing Podolski in the face. But he was luckier than Schweinsteiger was against Croatia, because the referee didn't see it and didn't even book him.

The key moment of the game was right at the beginning of the second half, when Germany were awarded a free kick just outside the box for Andreas Ivanschitz's foul on Lahm. Michael Ballack stepped up to take it and smashed the ball past the wall and into the net. Best free kick of the tournament. He's been admitted that he's been underperforming so far, but he redeemed himself with that goal. The rest of his team seemed to take confidence from the goal, although they weren't able to extend their lead over Austria. They'll have to do better than that against Portugal.


Croatia 1-0 Poland
I swear I watched this, but none of it really registered with me. It wasn't an entirely meaningless game, since Poland still had a chance to go through depending on what happened in the other match, but Michael Ballack's goal for Germany put an end to that.

The game got off to a fairly even start, but Croatia became more dominant as the first half went on. That continued after half-tim, with Ivan Klasnic scoring the only goal in the 52nd minute, from Daniel Pranjic's cutback. (Klasnic, incidentally, has made an amazing comeback after not one but two kidney transplants -- he apparently wears a fibreglass shield to protect himself on the pitch.)

That goal basically killed off any remaining hope for Poland, and Croatia were happy to just pass the ball around and wait for the clock to tick down the remaining half an hour. Anyway, Slaven Bilic should be happy with his team, as he made a slew of changes to the lineup but still won pretty easily, making Croatia the first team into the quarter-finals with a perfect 3-0 record.


Next up: Germany play Portugal on Thursday, in a replay of their bronze medal match from the last World Cup, while group winners Croatia face Turkey on Friday

Bad hair of the day award: Vedran Runje, Croatia's backup keeper, who made his first -- and probably only -- appearance at the tournament with a half-ponytail and lime-green scrunchie. (Sadly I cannot find a good picture of said scrunchie.)

Euro 2008: Day 6

Croatia 2-1 Germany
So much for Germany's status as tournament favourites. I don't know if they just collapsed under the weight of expectations after their first game or what, but if so, Dear boys: You are not Spain. Stop being all neurotic. Love, me.

The first sign that maybe it wasn't going to be Germany's day came about 20 minutes in, after a relatively quiet start by both teams, as Mario Gomez put the ball into the net only for it to be (correctly) ruled out for offside. A few minutes later, it was Croatia who took the lead with a cross from the left wing that was poked into the net by Dario Srna, who'd got in behind Marcell Jansen. The Germans had several chances to equalize before halftime, but nothing came of it: a miss by Gomez, Michael Ballack's free kick parried by the keeper, a header over the bar by Christoph Metzelder, another goal ruled out for a spurious foul by Gomez...

Croatia also had chances to extend their lead -- Niko Kranjcar wasted a couple of shots -- with the German defence looking decidedly shaky and Jens Lehmann being his usual nutty self. (I think I actually saw him biting the ball at one point. The hell?) Slaven Bilic had changed things after the game against Austria, putting an extra man in midfield, and he had his team fired up, passing well, pressing forward to support their lone striker, and closing Germany down quickly to deny them opportunities.

Joachim Low reshuffled his lineup at halftime, bringing David Odonkor on in place of the hapless Jansen, but they all just looked out of sorts -- as if the entire team was cranky from missing their afternoon nap. And the changes didn't have much impact, as Croatia scored again in the 62nd minute, a long shot from Ivan Rakitic on the right wing deflecting off Lukas Podolski and rebounding off the post for Ivica Olic to bury the rebound, with Jens Lehmann scrambling (and incidentally, I think he reacted late to the first goal too).

Bastien Schweinsteiger came on a bit later for Gomez (who's been mediocre in both games so far and needs to be benched), and although he had a shot tipped just wide, his main impact on the game was getting sent off in stoppage time for a brainless shove on Jerko Leko. Podolski finally scored for Germany in the 78th minute, volleying home his shot after Ballack had knocked down Philipp Lahm's cross from the left wing. Podolski and Lahm, by the way, are probably the only two German players who came out of this game with much credit. Ballack, who's supposed to lead by example, mostly just stormed around and pouted -- plus of course he got booked for a petulant tackle late on. Anyway, you would've expected Germany to really go for it after they made it 2-1, but Croatia still had way too much of the ball. They all just looked stunned when the final whistle blew, while the Croatians -- especially Bilic -- were going crazy celebrating an excellent win.


Austria 1-1 Poland
Austria, in constrast to their German cousins, played spirited attacking football, as if they were completely free of expectations of any kind. The only thing they were missing, sadly, was the ability to put the ball in the back of the net. Three times in the first 15 minutes they had clear chances on net, only to be stymied by a combination of terrible finishing and excellent goalkeeping by Artur Boruc. Possibly they were jinxed, or possibly Boruc had put high-powered magnets in both his socks and the ball. You never know.

Poland hadn't played very well to start, but they got the opening goal against the run of play after half an hour: A cross from Ebi Smolarek, a shot by Marek Saganowski, and Roger Guerreiro scoring the rebound. But they couldn't capitalize on that and extend their lead in the second half, with Jurgen Macho making a series of good saves. Instead, Austria were gifted a lifeline in stoppage time, with a penalty awarded after Mariusz Lewandowski dragged Sebastian Prodl down in the box while defending a free kick. Ivica Vastic stepped up to take it and took it well -- he apparently won himself free beer for life in the process, by the way -- to keep his team in the tournament for now.


What this all means is that Croatia are into the quarter-finals as group winners, while all three of the other teams are still alive depending on various permutations. If Austria beat Germany in their final game -- which is not so out of the realm of probability as it once seemed -- then the hosts will go through. You have to expect that Germany will get the win they need, but then they'll have to face Portugal in the quarters; they likely would've had to meet them at some point anyway, but it's still not a pleasant prospect for the Germans.


Next up in Group B: Austria v. Germany and Croatia v. Poland, both at 2:30 pm (ET) on Monday

Bad hair of the day award: Bastian Schweinsteiger and his platinum blonde monstrosity. Annie Lennox wants her hair back, Schweini. (I am also dubious about Lukas Podolski's patchy hair colour, but I'll give him a pass because at least he was useful, whereas Schweinsteiger gets points deducted for being sent off.)

Euro 2008: Day 2

Croatia 1-0 Austria
It was the worst possible start for Austria: conceding a penalty in the first five minutes, after Ivica Olic was brought down in the box by Rene Aufhauser. A ballsy call by the referee, awarding a penalty against the hosts so early on, but I think it was the right one, and Luka Modric put it away easily. Austria looked stunned, and Croatia dominated for most of the first half, holding on to possession well. But the Austrians did start to try a bit more as halftime approached, rather than just hoofing the ball clear and hoping that Pogatetz wouldn't get sent off.

Austria got better as the game went on and were pushing the Croatians especially hard for the last 20 minutes or so, looking for an equalizer. Umit Korkmaz, in particular, looked lively when he came on as a substitute in the second half. Their main problem was that their final ball into the box was useless, and any shots they had were from too far out to really trouble the Croatian keeper, even with how much the ball supposedly moves. As for Croatia, it seemed like they were really missing Eduardo to score some goals for them. Either that or they just didn't care much -- aside from Olic, who was causing trouble for the Austrian defenders with his determined running all game. A bit surprising, really, because you'd think Slaven Bilic would tear a strip off them for a performance like this.

I do wonder if the game would've gone differently if it hadn't been for that early penalty. Croatia certainly would have had to push harder for a goal, while I suspect that Austria would have been content to play for the draw. I still think that Austria will have problems getting out of the group -- unless their finishing improves rapidly -- but they certainly didn't embarrass themselves here. Croatia, on the other hand, should be considered the very darkest of dark horses unless they get their act together pretty damn quick.


Germany 2-0 Poland
Today's drinking game: Take a sip every time the commentators refer to the German team as "efficient." Although, to be fair, it is a pretty accurate description. Germany set the tone for the game with a great early chance, as Michael Ballack played Miroslav Klose into the box. Klose could have shot himself but instead passed it to Mario Gomez, who slid in and just barely missed the ball. It was a sign of things to come; in the 20th minute, Klose broke through the Polish defence once again, this time squaring the ball to Lukas Podolski to finish cleanly -- the two Polish-born players combining against their birth country.

Podolski added a second goal in the second half, again set up (sort of) by Klose -- he whiffed at the ball in the box, it fell to Podolski and he hammered it into the net with his left foot. Podolski's had a so-so couple of years at Bayern Munich, but judging by this game -- where he was played out of position, nominally on the left of midfield -- he's set to reproduce the good international form that led to him being named young player of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.

All in all, I thought it was a good performance by Germany. They like to play quick, direct football, but they can also hold onto possession and move the ball around nicely. Michael Ballack wasn't exactly outstanding but still had a good game, including a great shot in the second half that Artur Boruc just barely tipped over the ball, and it's nice to see him and Torsten Frings playing together in midfield again. Germany's weakness, as expected, might be Jens Lehmann, who did keep a clean sheet but looked kind of erratic nonetheless. As for Poland, they still have not managed to beat Germany...ever. They pressed hard -- Brazilian-born Guerrero, especially, looked good when he came on as a sub -- but the Germans were fit and well organized. I do think that Poland could get out of the group ahead of Croatia, based on these two games, but they're going to need more help for Ebi Smolarek up front.


Next up in Group B: Germany v. Croatia, Austria v. Poland, both on Thursday

Bad hair of the day award: Austria's Ronald Gercaliu, for his skunk-stripe pseudo-mohawk. At least they've won something.

Euro 2008 Preview: Group B

Austria, Croatia, Germany, Poland

Germany couldn't have asked for a better group, really. They should go through easily –possibly all the way to the final, what with having the easier side of the draw and (practically) home field advantage. I expect Croatia to be the team to join them in the quarter-finals. Poland did very well in qualifying, but I don't think they can keep it up in the tournament. Australia will just be hoping that they can manage to pick up a point or two.

AUSTRIA
FIFA rank: 101
Odds of winning: 100-1
Coach: Josef Hickersberger
How they got here: Qualified automatically as co-hosts
Past record: This is their first ever appearance in at a European championship, and their last World Cup was 1998, when they were eliminated at the group stage
Questions to ask:

• Will their own fans get behind them, seeing as they were circulating a petition before the tournament trying to get the team to drop out?
  
• Captain Andreas Ivanschitz is supposedly known as the Austrian David Beckham: is that a good thing or not?
  
• How bad is it when the only name on the roster I recognize is Middlesbrough's Emanuel Pogatetz?

Why to cheer for them: You feel like the home team ought to win at least one game.

CROATIA
FIFA rank: 13
Odds of winning: 12-1
Coach: Slaven Bilic
How they got here: Qualified top of their group, ahead of Russia and England
Past record: Finished third in their group at Euro 2004; also eliminated at the group stage in the 2006 World Cup
Questions to ask:

• How will they cope without Eduardo up front?
  
• Will playmaker Luka Modric prove that he was worth all the money Tottenham just paid for him?
  
• Just how cool is Slaven Bilic?

Why to cheer for them: They're the official dark horse candidates of the tournament.

GERMANY
FIFA rank: 5
Odds of winning: 4-1
Coach: Joachim Low
How they got here: Qualified easily, but – perhaps intentionally – slipped to second in their group behind the Czech Republic
Past record: Finished third in their group at Euro 2004 (they haven't won a game at the Euros since 1996!); third place in the 2006 World Cup
Questions to ask:

• How will Jens Lehmann perform, after spending most of the year on the Arsenal bench? And will he start a fight with anyone?
  
• Michael Ballack, now in form for Chelsea, will be running the midfield, but which of their plethora of strikers will be providing the goals up front?
  
• Will Jogi Low (and his natty scarf) prove that he was really the brains behind their 2006 World Cup campaign?

Why to cheer for them: They actually know how to win on penalties.

POLAND
FIFA rank: 27
Odds of winning: 50-1
Coach: Leo Beenhakker
How they got here: Somewhat surprisingly, finished first in their group ahead of Portugal and Serbia
Past record: They've never qualified for a European championship before; went out at the group stage at the 2006 World Cup
Questions to ask:

• How *did* they manage to do so well in qualifying?
  
• Why does Poland seem to produce lots of good goalkeepers and not much else?
  
• They're defensively disciplined, but do they have anybody who can grab a goal for them when they counter-attack?

Why to cheer for them: You like watching Artur Boruc taunt opposing fans.

World Cup III: Togo, or not Togo

I've been complaining at being stuck at work while the World Cup matches are on, but the advantage is that I don't feel compelled to watch games like Togo v. Korea or Tunisia v. Saudi Arabia, and I can just follow them online instead. Sounds like both games had a lot of action, but not a lot of skill.

And, actually, you could say the same about Germany v. Poland. The Polish keeper, Boruc, was pretty good, but most of my entertainment came from wondering how many different ways the Germans could find to fuck up in front of goal. Also, Klinsmann really ought to remind them that passing into space is great, but not if your teammates are running in the opposite direction. Still, they got the win, and it looks like Germany will be the first team to book its place in the final 16.

Of the other games that I actually watched:

• Brazil 1-0 Croatia: It was probably impossible for Brazil to live up to all the pre-tournament hype, but they're going to have to step it up a notch if they want to win this thing. It's not that they were bad, they just weren't as fantastic as I'd expected. Croatia. meanwhile, are probably the best of what you'd think of as the second-tier European teams -- along with Serbia; if only the country didn't keep splitting into smaller and smaller pieces.
  
  
• Spain 4-0 Ukraine: I'm trying not to get too excited over this result, because chances are they're just going to choke in the quarter-finals, but damn that was a great performance from Spain. They've got an excellent midfield, now that Aragones seems to have stopped fucking around with his lineup (and got over his fear of the colour yellow), and they're very good at holding possession. I thought the penalty for Torres was a bad call by the ref, and I wouldn't be surprised if Shevchenko uses some of Abramovich's rubles to take out a hit on the linesmen, because he got screwed by offside calls a few times, but Spain were cruising in spite of the officiating.

Question of the day: Which of the supposed star strikers has underperformed the most so far? Ronaldo? Thierry Henry? Wee Michael Owen? My vote goes to Henry, because he doesn't have the excuse of recovering from injury or carrying around a whole extra person. Of course, he doesn't have the team built around him the way he does at Arsenal, but still, you expect him not to suck quite this much at an international level.

Oh, and the other advantage to watching the games on tape in the evening? The ability to fast-forward through all the annoying commercials (no more really cool oom-pah-pah bands!) and the half-time blather. I still think the Canadian commentators are better than the guys on ESPN, but really, they shouldn't have so much trouble pronouncing "Thierry Henry." Considering that we speak French here and all.