Euro Cup 2004 Thread

Now I am psyched!!! Got my England car flag in the mail today (THANKS GAZZAK, what a really nice thing to dohttps://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2006/04/1.gif)!!
News, opinions, updates and such can go here if you would like. Titchski: give me a call about the match schedules.
This from my home town paper:

Quote:

---

GROUP B
FRANCE

Coach: Jacques Santini

Best finish: Won in 1984, 2000.

Qualified by: Winning Group 1 at 8-0.

Key players: M Zinedine Zidane, F Thierry Henry, D Lilian Thuram, M Patrick Vieira.

Key game: June 13 vs. England. Clash of titans in opener.

Can win if: The talent plays up to form.

ENGLAND

Coach: Sven-Goran Eriksson

Best finish: Semifinals 1968, 1996.

Qualified by: Winning Group 7 at 6-0-2.

Key players: M David Beckham, F Michael Owen, M Steven Gerrard.

Key game: June 13 vs. France. Needs to make a statement.

---

The whole article can be read here:
http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/inde...7821226680.xml

Also from this article something I found quite funny:

Quote:

---

LATVIA

Coach: Alexander Starkov

Best finish: First-time qualifier.

Qualified by: Beating Turkey in a playoff.

Key players: F Marian Pahars, F Maris Verpakovskis.

Key game: Just happy to be here.

Can win if: Other 15 teams forfeit or fail drug tests.

---

Glad to oblige. How about a picture?

http://www.flags.net/elements/small_gifs/ENGL001.GIF

BTW:
FRANCE SUCKS!!!https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2005/02/1.gifhttps://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2005/03/1.gif

How about one of these:
http://www.boysstuff.co.uk/images/pr...t_90_18831.jpg
It would have to be Becks, though.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2005/03/1.gif
http://www.boysstuff.co.uk/images/pr...n_90_55727.jpg
And here is what was sent to me from across the pond:
http://www.boysstuff.co.uk/images/pr...e_90_88006.jpg

This be the one.
https://forums.windrivers.com/

News update: ENGLAND

Quote:

---

John Terry is facing a race against time to recover from a hamstring problem in time to play in England's Euro 2004 opener against reigning European champions France in Lisbon on Sunday.

But captain David Beckham has provided a boost after he trained with the rest of the squad after having an injection to cure a cyst in his back at the weekend.

Terry missed Sven-Goran Eriksson's men's first training session in Portgual, instead undergoing another workout with physio Gary Lewin in a bid to help him win his battle to be fit.

The 23-year-old Chelsea centre-back sustained the injury during England's penultimate Euro 2004 warm-up match against Japan in Manchester last week.

But, if he has to concede defeat in his fitness fight, then Liverpool utility player Jamie Carragher is odds-on to have to fill the breach having played in last weekend's 6-1 win over Iceland.

---

So, any more info on this?
Geesh, the back wall/defense, and the goaltending are crucial to England's chances. I would hate to see England forced to play offensively and get into a shootout with France.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2005/03/1.gif

David Beckham had an injection before the iceland match on saturday because of the cyst from what i saw it didnt affect his performance, since then he's had an operation 2 remove the cyst (also known as victoria hehe) and has now fully recovered and took part in englands first training session.

Also according to the bbc euro2004 website

"john Terry trained with physio Gary Lewin as he attempted to shake off a hamstring injury in time to face the French.

FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said: "Everyone is fit and training in the first full session in Portugal apart from John Terry who will work with physio Gary Lewin towards playing at the weekend."

If he aint fit then Jamie Carragher will fill the gap with no problems and will link up well with Gerrard and owen on the pitch.

My gut feeling is that it's just to keep the French guessing, I say he'll be fit for the match on Sunday.

Yeah, keeping them guessing works, but this is keeping the fans guessing as well. Garfield, you say that Carragher should fit along well with his Liverpool teamates, but how about the ENGLAND teamates? From what I know, Liverpool really disappointed this year. But, I am an American, and I don't know enough.
SO: who is he and is he any good? Is he a capable replacement?

So, now that Carragher looks to be in and Terry out, what are your fellings? I don't think I have ever seen him play. Any caps?
Is anyone else as worried about the defense as I am?

Ok Ok, I've been working in California since Friday so I'm only just catching up. I've had no internet access or cable tv since Friday (except for AOL and broadcast telly), Trip, we're on as far as I know for Sunday, barring tornadoes on the next street over of course. Bring your brewers tumour as we'll probably have a beer or two.. :thumbs:

Quote:

---

So, now that Carragher looks to be in and Terry out, what are your fellings? I don't think I have ever seen him play. Any caps?
Is anyone else as worried about the defense as I am?

---

Anyone want to clue me in on Carragher? If the defense is suspect, does that mean this may become a high scoring affair? If so, I feel good about our attack, but can we match up with the Arsenal attact? Or, with such a big opening match, will everyone be a bit tentative, ending in a 1-1 draw or somesuch?
I take it Terry will be ready for the second fixture?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TripleRLtd

This be the one.
http://www.englandsflag.co.uk/photos/SGCF1510.jpg

---

Trip, I just noticed something...

You are hanging that on the window, (window closed), and not on the guttering aren't you? Or am I joining -ed in a confused state? It just looks from the picture that it's hanging on the guttering!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gazzak

Trip, I just noticed something...

You are hanging that on the window, (window closed), and not on the guttering aren't you? Or am I joining -ed in a confused state? It just looks from the picture that it's hanging on the guttering!

---

It looks to me like you may have caught the confus=ed.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2005/03/1.gif Right click on the pic and choose properties, and you'll see that the pic was an ad from the UK.
I guess if they drove off, that flag would end up in someone else's yard: Hopefully somewhere in France.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2006/04/1.gif
So: any comments on Callagher?https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2005/03/1.gif

John Terry is OUT of the France clash Sven has confirmed...

http://euro2004.skysports.com/list.a...f+France+clash

Oh dear! Ledley King is the replacement I think. He seems to have a better record against Henry than Carragher does. I'm concerned though with Rio and JohnTerry missing not so much against the French where a result is a bonus but against the Swiss and the Croations where losing goals would be a disaster.

So, King I have seen, but not much. Carragher I have never seen. Everyone is worried about Thiery and Patrick, as well they should. So, King held his own against Henry in the Premiership I take it you're saying, whereas Carragher did not?
Well, if that is Sven's choice, he must have a reason for it, and you have to admit: he has done a great job with England.
BTW:
The French and a result just a bonus? Are you giving up already? Damn, man, we need to make a statement here!! We don't play as wel with our backs against the walls from starting off slowly as the Italians seem to do, or the Germans.
So, remember Munich??? I feel the need for a battlecry!

Now I know the wife loves me...

Got home from work today and she's got me a cool new England shirt for wearing down the pub during the England games

http://garry.knott.users.btopenworld.com/shirt1.jpg

...and she got herself one for wearing at home during the England matches!!

http://garry.knott.users.btopenworld.com/shirt2.jpg

(she said I couldn't post it unless I got the size 10 label clear!!!!!)

Well that's my pass out for the month confirmed :thumbs2:

My opionions on the Portugal v Greece and Spain v Russia matches.

Portugal were soooooooooooooooooooooooo poor the ball was needlessly given away by them for greece so score the first goal, C Ronaldo who came on as sub in the second half to try and give more pace down the wing was a pile of poop, first off he gave away the penalty that lead to Greece second goal after that it was no better, cross after cross was either under hit or over hit, when he did get one in there was no player from his team there to even try and put the greek keeper under pressure, i'm not even sure if he was even called in2 make any type of save in the match, from what the bbc pundits were saying at the end of the match he was playing on the wrong side of the pitch and having 2 use his weeker foot each time, There seemed no urgancy in there genral play Figo who should have been bossing the midfield was mearly a shadow fer most of the match only in the third min of added time did he curl in a good corner fer Ronaldo to head home, Now Greece completly oppercite they played a gr8 passing game very solid in defence and the first goal was taken very well the player didnt rush his shot kept the ball nice and low even at full stretch the keeper was beaten by low driven well placed shot in2 the corner of the net, this was Greece first win in any championship torniment and they totaly deserve it in no way was they intimidated by this so called gr8 portugees team who were tipped by a few so called experts in the world of football as being fav fer the cup, but on this showing they will be lucky to get through the group stages and just to rub salt in2 the portugees team wounds spain went and won.

The Spain Russia match was a livley one 7 yellow cards and a sending off in the dieing stages of the match, the first 30 mins of the match spain had all the possession and it seemed russia had only turned up in body and not spirit only poor finishing and some stout last ditch defending and a couple of gr8 saves from the keeper stopped spain being 4 or 5 goals up in the first half an hour of this match, the last 15 mins of that half things began 2 change russia finally worked out what they should be doing with the strange silver round ball and came very close on sevral occations 2 breaking the dead lock and couple of good saves this time by the spain keeper kept the score at 0-0 when half time arrived, the second half pretty much had the same feel at the beginging of the first half again with spain havin the bulk off the possesion but some poor finishing again saved russia at the start of the half, then the spain manager made couple of subs and within 35 seconds of comming on one of the fresh players scored the winning goal (from the player arriving on the pitch 2 the ball hitting the net was timed by the bbc at 35.7 seconds), The russians did try and equalize but even with having 3 up front they did not have the luck at breaking down the spanish defence and a needless trip/foul on a spanish forward reduced them to ten men as the defender had already been booked once and he was given a second yellow this = a red card and he will miss the next match.

So the euro 04 is only a day old and so far we had a huge upset,sending off,penalty and 4 goals :) from the action so far it its gonna be a roller coaster of a championship yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay :)

Garfield99 that was an excellent write up on both matches.

I agree that Portugal looked poor, but so did England in the opening game of Euro 96. Luckily they play Russia next, but will still need a result from the Spain match even if they do beat the Ruskies. I can't write them off yet, they must be better than that. Hats off to the greeks though, great football. I liked the way their manager was getting really wound up even when they were winning 2-0 with 5 minutes left!

For a while I thought Russia were going to do the same to spain. Chance after chance wasted for the Spaniards and then the Russians started coming good for a while. It's a shame the referee spoiled it with 8 bookings and a red card when I don't remember seeing much to warrant 1 card! Spain v Greece now looks like being a great match, I will be watching that one for sure.

Like you, now the tournaments started I'm into it already. I can see lots of shocks in Euro2004, maybe early elimination of the hosts is one of them. I'm trying to stay cool for the big one tonight. Lets hope we can keep possesion and teach the French a lesson ;)

Euro 2004, it's started :thumbs2: :thumbs2: :thumbs2:

Great reporting Garfield.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2006/04/1.gif
Will things settle down? Or is this going to be a pattern in Euro 04? Upsets, and close matches? https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2005/03/1.gif

I can predict one thing for sure, an unfancied team will probably make it to the final. It's all Greek to me ;)

And so, another dark horse emerges? The last I remember, Greece gave England fits, so, perhaps it shouldn't have surprised us?
Great shirts btw, and what a woman G! Lucky man you are.https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2006/04/1.gif

I didnt see much of the Switzerland v Croatia as i was watching England white wash the new zealand in cricket (we managed 2 win summit to day at least) 3-0 serises win Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, any way back to the football from the bbc pundits at the end of the game this is what i gather was how the match went, :bor: :bor: :bor: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz *half time* :bor: :bor: :bor: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz *full time* that pretty much covers that match it seems.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooook now the England v France ummmmm ya well ummmmm ok fer 90 min's the whole england team played out there skin's. L King was out standing in defence all the midfield gave a gr8 performance in stiffeling out the french attacks helping 2 protect the defence and also nice passes when they had the ball, the Lampards goal on 38 mins was the icing on the cake gr8 set peace free kick by beckam and a pin-point header by Lamps left Barthez in the french goal in no mans land and rooted to the spot, what happeded towards the end of the match has still left me and prolly whole of england stunned, first off Rooney was clean through on goal and Mikael Silvestre sithed him down in the penalty area, only got a yellow card but should have been red as he was the last defender, so Beckam steps up hits the ball cleanly but sadly Barthez guessed correctly and palmed the ball away, this was not a problem our defence was still strong and the clock was counting down slowly but it was counting down, Now in the last 15 mins or so some of the england squad were looking a tadd jadded so sven used his subs Vassel came on 2 replace owen + Hargreves came on for Scholes then a few mins l8tr Heskey replaced Rooney this seemed a real good move at the time, then in extra time it all went pear shaped first off Heskey have a needless free kick away just outside the penalty box from witch Zedane scored it was a fantastic free kick James had no chance, this was disapointing but not a problem we still get a point no shame in that, then ohhhhh boy then pretty much from the kick off we were under pressure and Gerrard lost it totaly hoofed the ball back 2 James in goal not spotting terry henry was clean through with only the keeper 2 beat, James was committed in2 a tackle and took henry out clear penalty this time to france and 2 be honest James should have been red carded fer that and not just yellow carded as he was by the ref, welp up steps zedane and unlike beckam earlier he sent the keeper the wrong way and scored :sad: , full time 2-1 france tomorrow is gonna be crap at work i aint gonna bother reading the damn paper unless i can find the cricket write up that just my well cheer me up, ohh well roll on thursday the team need to pick themselves up and win the remaning 2 match's in the group.


Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay me finally 100 posts :)

Another top write up. You should be a journalist!

100 posts too, congrats, joint the WOTPP's 101st Infantry

As the first match’s kick off 5pm GMT each day I’m listening to the first half on a radio while at work then catching the second half at home while munching on some Dinner, First off today was Italy Denmark and despite the 0-0 score line at the end of 90 min’s the match was far from boring, The Danish were not afraid of the BIG names that were in Italian team and had more of the possetion in the first half and had it not been for some outstanding saves by the Italian keeper Denmark could well have been 2 goals or more to the good, saying that though as the half wore on Italy also had some chances but thanks 2 some fine keeping by the Danish keeper this time it stayed 0-0 at half time, Now the second half seemed very stifled and was mostly played in the midfield and also seemed very nigglee with a lot of ummm lets just say miss timed tackles by the Italians although they are renowned fer that type of play so I shouldn’t have been surprised, also in the second half we saw the best and worst off Italy’s Totty couple of times in the second half his touches and passing game was fantastic and deserved a goal but each time the Danish keeper was up2 the task of keeping his team in the match, Just before full time though Totty was lucky 2 stay on the pitch when he carried out a needless studs up tackle on the knee of a Danish player, they were both deep in mid field the ball and player were going no wear and he just launched himself studs first by the time he connect with the tackle the Danish player didn’t even have the ball and hadn’t had it fer a good 2/3 seconds it was that l8, he only received a yellow card fer the action but should have been straight red the ref positioning wasn’t gr8 and the assistants as though out the match were no help to him at all, The Italians in the past have been accused of negative play but had said pre-match that ppl would see a more attacking side to there game fer euro 04 not sure if attempting 2 cripple the opposition is what ppl are looking for, one thing I noticed and also the radio/TV pundits picked up on is still the fact the Italian mid-field love going forward but when it comes to dropping back and helping out in defence they seem very slow at doing so leaving big gaps and ya get the feeling if they make or want to progress in euro04 they need to tighten the midfield up if not its gonna bite em in the ***.

The second match of the night was Sweden v Bulgaria now I must admit I was in to minds weather 2 watch this match or maybe go watch some paint dry as it had 0-0 written all over it, I’m glad I went againced my first choice of paint drying duties and watched the match, when they last played each other it was in world cup 94 it finished 4-0 to Sweden this match was also a barn stormer, From the off both teams only had one thing on there minds ATTACK!!!, Who needs a defence if the opposition score 1 we’ll score 2 was the tactics both teams seemed 2 have adopted, on the pitch there was huge spaces and this gave loads of room for an open passing game fer both sides, it was end 2 end stuff and the first 30 mins flew by in no time at all and was very surprising it was still 0-0 with half time fast approaching, with Bulgaria missing a good chance at the Swedes goal the ball was launched down the wing and with pretty much the whole Bulgarian team still in the Sweden half (apart from the keeper) all it needed from the Swedish winger was pinpoint pass in the penalty area this he managed and who should be on the end of it but Ljungberg of Arsenal nice easy goal for him and the keeper had no chance half time 1-0 Sweden, during half time one of the TV pundits mentioned how quiet Larsen fer Sweden had been and to be honest he had been very quiet that was soon 2 change in the second half, the second half stared as the first one had and was making gr8 viewing the coaches must have been having kittens and wondering why they even bothered with tactics, again on more than one occasion Bulgaria had the chance 2 level the match and even go ahead but they kept fluffing there finishing and boy were Sweden gonna punish that in the mins 2 follow, now if u get the chance 2 see the build-up play and then Larsson first goal its well worth it from a pinpoint in swing pass from the wing Larson dived full length to fire the ball past the helpless keeper via a header and as the commentators said that could well be goal of euro 04 already, there was more was to come direct from the kick off Sweden had the ball back and within around 30 seconds Larson again had the ball in the Bulgarians goal it was now 3-0, The thing is Larson came out of international retirement to play in euro 04 125,000 Swedish fan’s had signed a petition fer him 2 play again and the countries pri-minister called him and asked him to play again, none of witch swayed him at playing at international level again the person who got him to change his mind was his 6 yr old son don’t know what he said but I bet Henrik Larsson is glad he changed his mind, Now the 4th goal was a penalty Ljungberg was fouled but the contact happened just outside the box so at most should have only been a free kick, the odd thing was Larson being on a hat-trick but he didn’t even try and get the ball to take the spot kick it was left to another Swedish player 2 slot the ball home for number goal 4, Sweden added number 5 in they dieing mins of the match nice easy chip over the keeper by this time Bulgaria just wanted off the pitch and the Bulgarian keeper had a bad back from picking the ball out the net so many times.

Big news in the England camp Scoles picked up an ankle injury in the France match and is highly doubtful fer the Swiss clash Thursday although Sven has given him till Wednesday to prove his fitness, also Neville picked up a slight thigh strain in the same match but is expected to be fit, to make matters worse Nicky butt injured his knee in training today and went fer a scan at hospital the results will be known l8tr on Tuesday, if it turns out both him and scoles are not fit then Owen hargreves will more then likely start the Swiss match.

Excellent reporting cub reporter!! You are now promoted to full-fledged duties as the BBC has heard all about you, and we won't let them get ya. -thumbs-
On the Hargraeves issue: I think he played real well as a substitute in the first match: good ball control skills and midfield defense. I like him.I think he should be a starter.

Do we have to call you Garfield100 now? :D

No, Garfield102

Will adept reach 10,000 before gazzak reaches 2000? Whats the odds.

or will I reach 500 before tekboy and mobilepcphysician? :)

This by Gary Neville...

"We're not dead yet," said Neville. "This is probably the least bothered I've been after a defeat.
"Obviously, losing is a disappointment but we played against the best team in the competition and did well.
"It's not as if we've been ravaged 4-0 or 5-0 and they opened us up left, right and centre," he said. "We did a lot of very good things out there."

I like what I hear.

Aye. And now Butt is out, too. But I like Hargraeves better anyway. The Swiss don't stand a chance, as England take out their frustrations in style. (My prediction forthcoming, btw)

Well first up 2day in the heat of portugals afternoon was Czech Republic v Latvia, now on paper it looked a nice easy match fer the mighty czech team as this was the first tournement apart from eurovison song contest that the latvians had ever qualifed for, so like most ppl feared fer the latvians that they would leek more goals than bulgaria did when thy played sweeden the night before, well that was the scriped i guess no one showed it to the latvian team though, one of the things to take in2 consideration is at the time of kick off in the stadium the temp was around 33c (england next match kicks off the same time 5:00 GMT) so u could see the czechs game plan from the first whisstle was pummle the latvians for the first 25 mins or so get a 1 or more goal lead then the rest of the game sit back pass the ball and conserve there energy levels, if poss catch the latvians on the break and increase the lead for a more healthy goal diffrence in the table, now this plan was doing ok the czechs were passing the ball well and keeping the latvians deep in there half and peppering there goal with shots, to give the latvian keeper and his defence some credit though he/they never buckled and covered the goal area well, just after one such czech attack that had broken down most of the czech team were upfield with play and the latvian winger made a break, from the looks on replays the 2 covering czech defenders that were down fiald seemed to be disscussing dinner plans or such fer l8tr and paying little or no attention to the game and were hoplessly out off possition, by the time they realsied what was going on they both went 2 cover the latvian player that was screamming down the wing, they failed 2 spot the latvian attacker moving in on center of goal completly unmarked it was a simple matter fer the player on the wing 2 cross the ball to the feet of the latvian attacker in front of the czech goal fer a simple tap in witch he did, the czech keeper was caught in 2 minds did he cover the guy on the wing as he assumed that his 2 defenders would never get back 2 cover or did he stay near center and cover the gut that was unmarked, in the end he split his attention between the 2 and had no hope with the shot even though the latvian attacker did his best 2 fluff the shot it still hit the back off the net, on a side note chelsea have signed the czeck keeper for around 9 million the deals been signed fer quiet awile and he joins em fer next season, from what i saw of him in the game he looks a good prospect, anyway back 2 the match and a most incredable shock was on the cards little latvia at half time fer leading the mighty czechs 1-0, once the second half got under way it was obvious that the czehs were gonna throw everything at the latvians inc the kitchen sink to first get an equalizer then to win, as the half wore on the latvian defence sat further and further back trying fer all they were worth to efend there slender lead and to there credit they did so and on occations they managed to relive the pressure with an attack of there own but each time it ended up back in there half and them under pressure once again, sadly as england found at to there cost earlier in the week u can only defend fer so long before summit gives although it did take a some gr8 skill from the czech player Poborsky who managed to keep the ball in play even though the latvians were convinced it had crossed the line behind there goal but on replays it clearly shows not all the ball was over the line, he then neatly spun past 2 defenders and delivered a pin point cross in2 the box for Baros's to smash home the equalizer in the 70 min, now the czech players could sence blood and now poured forward at every oppertunity and with only around 9 mins remining and again baros was involved a bad clearance by a latcian defender in ther penalty box dropped to a czech player who had time 2 steady himself and rifle in an unstoppable shot that sealed the match 2-1 in the czechs favour, on this performace though the latvians should in no way be down hearted and if they can again raise them selves when they play holland and germany they could well pull of that shock victory they was so nearly theres today.

The last match of the first round was between Holland and Germany prolly the most Eaglely awaited match after the france england one, as theses 2 teams have a long association fer warm fuzzy fluffy matches NOT!!!!, all the build up was of lots of goals fer holland and fer germany 2 struggle the std soak up the dutch pressure and catch em on the break, as it turned out this was further than the truth as u could get, apart from a half chance for ruud van nistolry around 3 mins into the match it was all germany in the first half, the dutch were not able to control the ball the few times they had it, the servie to ruud who was the lone stricker up front was none exsistant and it was no surprize in the 30 min that from a free kick that germany took the lead, from an acute angle the ball was fired in by Frings managed 2 miss all the player in the dutch penalty area and the ball ended up in the back of the net, it was a very soft goal for them to conseed again some very poor defending of a set peace and most dutch player were chasing shadows and in no-mans land when the ball was struck, the same story continued fer the reminder of the first half and germany could have added a second just before the end from the same player as they managed 2 get themselves a free kick in pretty much the same area that lead to the fist goal, this time though vander sar in the dutch goal after a lil flapping took control and gathered the ball safely, the dutch coach made 2 changes at half time 2 try and improve the fortunes of his team but for the first 60 or so mins the tide of the match was till in germany favour and again they had sevral chances to extend there lead and put the match out of hollands reach once and fer all but with poor finishing an at times some exelant defending by the dutch the score stayed 1-0 to germany, it wasnt untill the dutch coach threw on his final sub in the form of Pierre van Hooijdonk that there fortunes began to change, pierre gave the dutch a more physical presants upfront along side van Nistelrooy and the long passes that was meeting no one for long periods in the match earlier now had a target, it was the introduction of van hooijdonk that allowed van Nistelrooy to score an equalizing goal in the 81 min of the match, from a header won by hooijdonk passed out wide 2 a dutch player then a well timed cross fer the goal poacher van Nistelrooy from an acute angle and him managed to shhot pretty much behind him despite having a german defender it seems trying to mount him he found away past khan in the german goal, a frantic final 10 mins with both teams now trying for the win and with golden oppertunites at both ends in the end at the final whisstle it ended 1-1, on th whole Germany deserved the win and was unlucky to conseed the l8 equalizer but fair play to the dutch dispite playing very very poorly for around 70% of the match they never stopped trying and it still leaves that group wide open and asi its been call the "group of death" on the whole as it stands at the end of round 1 i would still go along with it being called that.

On a sour note around 400 fans mainly english caused trouble on monday night and 12 will be appearing in court on wednesday, were on a yellow card with the ppl who run football it wont take much more of this behavior to get us thrown out of euro 04, they did say before euro 04 started that if any trouble happens with the england fans the england team will be kicked out, thankfully at the mo it seems an isolated incidednt and has been played down by the police and the football mafia.

Excellent Garfield! _thumbs up_
Yeah, it seems like a group of death: just the kind England almost always ends up in. (as if being with France is not tough enough)
So: the Dutch didn't look too good, and Germany did?
That surprises me to tell the truth.
So, many surprises so far, and, most likely, many more to come. Don't ya just love it!!!

I finally got a score exactly correct.

So the first match up 2day in the heat of the portuges afternoon was Greece v Spain and as we saw in the first round match when the greeks played the hoasts u under estimate the under dog at your perrel, it was also worth remembering that spain and greece were in the same qualifyeing group fer this competion and that greece beat spain both home and away toped there group and spain only get here by getting though a play off, so spain could ill afford to take victory fer granted as we've seen in other matches teams now days do not roll over easyly well unless ya bulgaria then u do but others have had fire in there belly and put on a good show, once the match got started spain tryed 2 stamp there aurthority on the game with good link up play from the defence/midfield to the front players and in the early stages it was only por finishing that kept the score at 0-0, it was only a slight mistake from a greek defender that was punished l8 on in the first half when Michalis Kapsis gave the ball away cheaply Raul was the beneficiary but with two defenders close to him looked to have his work cut out to provide anything until his fantastic back-heel played in Morientes, The Monaco loan star slotted home a gr8 goal, and in doing so suddenly the greek team found another gear and gave there all at leveling the match in what remind in the first half, In the second half spain made a BIG mistake they started playing like it was an experbiton match all very nice fer the ppl watching the game but when they should have been driving home there advantage they were way 2 busy show boating and in the 68 min it came back and bit them in the *** tthe spanish lost the ball and some clever passing between the midfield and front players for greece left the spanish back line and keeper exposted despite a last min diving tack 2 stop the ball it bounced under the spanish keepers legs and gave the greeks a well deserved equalizer, suddenly the spanish looked worried and time and again the greeks broke though sencing another victory sadly it wasnt to be and with the spanish again pressing towards the end on the whole greece were luckyish to gain the draw, maybe now the so called favoured teams will sit up and take notice of the lower ranked teams and they should remeber everyone got to theses finals on merrit unlike the world cup all the teams desrve to be here.

Russia v Portugal

Now this was a real crunch match as both teams know who ever lost would be going home early from euro 04 and even a draw may not be good enough fer both teams to continue in the competiton, the portuges coach made 4 changes from the team that played so disapointly in the opening match and now had 6 players from porto he hoped that this would give them the edge over adepleted injury hit russian side, as the host team in euro 04 they didnt want to repeat what belguim in the last euro championships managed and go out at the group stage, that they need was figo to lead from the front and recapture his club form of last season, in the first half of the match unfolded it was clear that the russians had very little fire power up front and they were struggling to keep a rejuvinated portugees team in check, also for once figo showed some of his brilliance that he's known for in his club football but has been struggling to reproduce for his counrty the past few matches, time and again he ran at the russians and all they could do was tackle thin air, so it was no surprise that just after 10 mins following a free kick by figo that was not cleared by the russian defence that portugal took a 1-0 lead over russia it was Nuno Maniche's first gaol fer portugal and the crown went nutz and it certainly helped settle the portugees nerves some what, for the rst of the half asin the portugees batterd the russian defence but could not find another way through to make the victory certain, give credit were credit is due the russians stuck to the task of defending and on a couple of occations even managed an attack or to but the portugess team unlike in the first round match this time kept a soild defence, just before the half time whisstle the russain keeper was adjudged to have handled the ball outside the box and was given a straite red, upon some close up replays it was shown that the ball probably didint catch his arm but the ref does not have the aid of technolgy and had to make a split seond desicion and there only human after all, in the second half with the russians chasing the game down 2 tem men with a sub keeper on (an out field play was sacrifced so they could bring a replacment keeper on) them scoring had become unlikly but portugale racking up a cricket score was highly likely, but the russan replacment keeper had other ideas and though the whole second half pulled off save after save 2 try and give his team a chance, but as the russans pushed more men further forwad in a vain attempt at an equalizer it left there rear more and more exposed, until finally c ronaldo the villan from the first round match screamed down the wing and fer once placed a great cross into the russian box that was met by his team m8 Rui Costa who slotted the ball home to make the fianl score 2-0, so now its bye bye russia and portugal will need to beat there bitter rivals on sunday to progress further, greece are though unless some odd results in the fianl match occour, this affect england IF they get though the group stage, as the will face depending on were they finish the team who finish's 1st or second from spains group.

Paul scoales has been declared fit to face the swiss thursday and John terry will replace L King in defence as he's now recoverd from a thigh injury that kept him out the france clash.

Not wanting to read the rules again, gazzak,
question: even if we get the score totally wrong, but predict the right team that wins, dont we get anything?

Cant miss a chance to post.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TechZ

Not wanting to read the rules again, gazzak,
question: even if we get the score totally wrong, but predict the right team that wins, dont we get anything?
Cant miss a chance to post.

---

Sure do! There are 4 ways of scoring.

1. Get the result exactly right, IE portugal beat Russia 2-0 and you predicted 2-0 then you get 4 points and a mention on the league table website.

2. Get the actual result correct, (which I think is what you just asked)! IE portugal beat russia 2-0 but you predicted portugal to win 6-4. Even though the score you predicted was way out you still predicted portugal to win - 1 point

3. Get the home team goal count correct. IE portugal beat russia 2-0 and you predicted portugal 2 russia 1 or portugal 2 russia 3 etc. Portugal got 2 goals no matter what russia got - 1 point

4. Same as 3 but for the away team

I have all the predictions and scores in a word document to keep track of all guesses and to backtrack in-case of a disagreement. I will post a link to download this onto the website so you can see how everyone has scored so far.

If you think I might have made a mistake on any of your predictions and points please let me know and I'll gladly look into it.