Euro 2012

[holliscx]

What do you guys think of the action so far?

Netherlands vs. Portugal on Sunday should be a great match

Spain needs to find a striker or at least play one; Germany looks solid at both ends

[SteveP]

holland in trouble early... 0-2 so far
could easily be out after the next game

ouch

[holliscx]

Dutch have to beat Portugal by 2 goals; Germany has to beat Denmark

Dutch defense didn't look good tonight. The young player Williams was a liability.

[lukasz]

Germany is going to take it all.

I hope Poland beats the Czechs but I don't see that happening. I bet they tie all of their games and go out without a win or a loss.

[j44ke]

The Czechs screwed up like they often do by losing to Russia right off the bat. Very frustrating. I lived there for several years, and football season was a manic depressive event. You could tell whether the Czechs won by whether or not people had their heads up on the way home on the trams after.

The Poland v. Russia game was great. Like watching bulldogs fight over a rawhide bone. Lots of hands on knees at the end. Poland should have won.

Dutch are done.

I even enjoyed that Portugal game, especially when Christian Ronaldo muffed his shot at the open goal and Denmark scored an equalizer right after. He looked like his puppy died twice. But I like Portugal. And Spain. And Italy.

But Germany must not win!

[lukasz]

Yeah I thought Poland vs Russia was pretty good. Poland actually played well. That offside goal they scored was impressive. In the game versus Greece they unraveled in the second half and were super sloppy. This last game they actually sometimes held back and waited when on the attack instead of the stupid Polish style of running at the goal as quickly as possible. I actually have hope that they will get out of their group (and, you know, lose immediately).

I'm rooting for Denmark as the dark horse to make it out of their division. Portugal looks beatable.

Spain apparently has no offense. I dislike Germany but they're hungry after the World Cup and they have a killer squad.

[SteveP]

the czechs///
last euro cup i was in prague watching a game ( i forget with whom )...
czechs are up 2-0...
i went to the bathroom and came back and they were down 3-2...

holy shiite...
room went dark. drinking got serious.
the finals were in vienna...would have loved to go to a game...

[bassem]

Russia and Poland exceeded my expectations. Pretty disappointed with the Dutch so far. Holland-Portugal will be exciting.

[SteveP]

just got an email reminder from my kid
poland- czech republic sat 2:45 eastern
not to be missed.

[al415]

I've watched every match so far. The nice thing about the Euros (vs the World Cup) is that there really are no meaningless filler games: As long as they stick to the 16 team format it'll be fantastic. My greatest memory of the European Championships was watching England play during Euro 96. I was in a tent in the British sector of Bosnia, huddled around a small portable TV with twenty feet of wire fabricated into a jungle antenna to get the shittiest of signals. The tent was packed with Brits, Yanks and even the Serb and Muslim translators forgot about their respective troubles for the 90 minutes.

[holliscx]

Spain apparently has no offense.

Del Bosque is not sure who to play at striker with David Villa injured but Spain is loaded offensively.

[CXinNH]

Dutch have to beat Portugal by 2 goals; Germany has to beat Denmark

Dutch defense didn't look good tonight. The young player Williams was a liability.

All Germany needs a tie.

Holland had no chance, the team peaked two years ago when it made the finals because they did not play Germany or Spain in the semis.
Afellay and Robben weren't in the game, the Dutch game was too predictable through the middle with nothing coming from the flanks.

May be France can do something, otherwise it looks like Spain and Germany. Everybody else plays a level below.

[CXinNH]

Del Bosque is not sure who to play at striker with David Villa injured but Spain is loaded offensively.

Agree, the way the play the concept of a striker is an anachronism.

Having said that, Germany plays better with Klose than Gomez (even though he scores). That is essentially playing with 6 midfielders like Spain does. Hoping to see Reus and Goetze in some games.

[holliscx]

Spain's starting lineup vs Italy: Casillas, Arbeloa, Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba, Xavi, Busquets, Alonso, Silva, Fabregas, Iniesta

Obviously midfielder heavy but Xavi, Silva, Fabregas, Iniesta is an abundance of riches on offense. I hope Spain sits either Busquets (preference) or Alonso and starts Torres at striker vs. Ireland today. If I were Del Bosque I would start Llorente that kid is a beast but Torres stretches the field well and he's hell to cover for 90 minutes.

[j44ke]

Today's results

Italy - ugh

Spain - yay

[VA_MEL]

I like the approach of the Irish fans: sing, cheer, party, largely ignore the score. Works well, if only for one round.

[lukasz]

There's the Spanish offense. I bet there would have been a similar score if they started Torres versus Italy.

[holliscx]

There's the Spanish offense. I bet there would have been a similar score if they started Torres versus Italy.

I was happy to see Torres score and Spain was poised to net goals from the start. I didn't think Ireland was so bad but they were clearly outmatched.

[lukasz]

Good thing I'm a cycling fan. Chapeau Czechs. We sucked after the first 20 minutes & 7 (!!!) shots on goal.

[j44ke]

Boy the ref was stern with the final whistle, wasn't he? Even so those last 7 seconds were heart stopping. Almost had a last second equalizer.

Greeks won too. Russians looked tired in their last game, so I am not surprised.