Euro 2004 Predictions

[Rob Ban Fan]

<font face=verdana size=3 color="#ff6600">most of the members of the team that got Croatia so far in the World Cup in 98 are gone now. The current squad isn't nearly as good, sure they've got some good players but nothing that should worry England, plus Pletikosa has injured himself and that'll be a big blow for them.

The only thing that would worry me is if we were over confident and they got us, as it is, we've all been brought back down to earth and I shouldnt have thought we'd be too cocky going into it.</font>

[Rouge Horseman]

Larson GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.

2-0 SWEDEN.

[Rouge Horseman]

LOL, LARSON GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

3-O SWEDEN

[Dazz]

lol last night you all got to feel what it's like to be a Wolves fan every week :$ :'(

Yeah do you remember the time that with 20 minutes to go you were 2-1 up against Chelsea? And then we equalised, and then we scored again, and again and again, and won 5-2.

:D :rofl:

Sweden have played well, earlier on I tried to talk The Duck out of better on Larsson being the top goalscorer and Sweden qualifying from their group :$.

[Team Sheep]

All you Man United/English fans now know what it must have been like for Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final 1999. I must say, I am so glad I am not English :) I would have felt like shit this morning.

[The Mask]

I doubt it. If the reverse had happened in the CL final, I'd have been a lot more gutted than I was last night.

[Team Sheep]

I realise it wasn't in the knockout stage so it's not so bad, but it still must be painful to lose like that when just a couple of minutes earlier you were looking forward to celebrate a victory over the 2nd best team in the world in a competitive match.

[Cactus Sid]

LOL, LARSON GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

3-O SWEDEN

Its 2 "s" in Larsson

Rob Harvey is gonna be loving his Sweden prediction now

[Rob]

Its 2 "s" in Larsson

Rob Harvey is gonna be loving his Sweden prediction now

Well I'm not getting a hard on just yet over a 5-0 result. More of a semi :D

[Rob]

All you Man United/English fans now know what it must have been like for Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final 1999. I must say, I am so glad I am not English :) I would have felt like shit this morning.

Not really. Man United pushed and battled and practically dominated that game for 89 minutes and deserved the win. England scored a goal and sat on it like Bayern did but remember this wasn't the final. England will still qualify. I think they could still make the semis.

[Wengerland]

hahaha

Latvia 1-0 Czech Republic at half time.I think Latvia have only had that one shot.

[Team Sheep]

Isn't it ironic, when England play well like they did against France they end up loosing but then when they play teams like Slovakia and Macedonia they play rather poorly but they can still grind out results.

[Loose Cannon]

MY country is down. :'( :'(

[Sephiroth]

LOL...i am going to win 200 euro's if Latvia wins :lol: :yes:

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Not really. Man United pushed and battled and practically dominated that game for 89 minutes and deserved the win. England scored a goal and sat on it like Bayern did but remember this wasn't the final. England will still qualify. I think they could still make the semis.

Did we watch the same game? Bayern were by a long, long way the better side in that final. They should have wrapped the game up. Effenberg hit the bar, from what I remember, and Scholl hit the post.

I certainly remember United being very poor in that final, Bayern just couldn't get a second goal and it cost them.

[Loose Cannon]

AWWWWWW FK, THEY HAD ONE DAMMIT. BAROŠ :mad:

[Loose Cannon]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAROS GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL

CZECHS: 1
LATVIA:1

[Loose Cannon]

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL MOTHER FK'ERS WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

CZECHS: 2
Latvia: 1

PHEW

[Team Sheep]

lol, good game. Really exciting at the end.

[Dazz]

Come on Latvia, not that I like them but I have said all along that the Czech's suck, you would have all believed me if they lost. I know they have been the better team but have been really piss poor at finishing, Baros missed a sitter, Nedved had a cracker which the keeper saved, but Koller has been shit. Still, the Czech's aint going through, sorry to dissapoint. I wouldn't be suprised if they cam above Holland and qualifyed, because Holland are also shit, but I think the Czech's are worse.

[Loose Cannon]

Well that scared the sh** out of me. The Czechs had so many chances and I was begginning to think that the win wasn't to be. Latvia played a great game though and I give them a lot of credit.

[Danny Electric]

Dazz Germany are crap.

[Sephiroth]

Fuck...well no money then :(

Lets see Holland vs Germany :-\


I say 1-1

[Dazz]

Dazz Germany are crap.

Danny Electric, you know you are wrong.

[Danny Electric]

If Germany win tonight I'll apologise but without a player like Deisler I don't see them doing much.
Ballack has also had a bad season.

[Danny Electric]

What a shit goal. :(

[Danny Electric]

Lol, how ugly is Jonny Heltinga.

[Dazz]

LOL I was thinking the same thing bout Hetlinga, I only noticed it after they gave away the second free kick in a similar position to the first.

Both teams should go through no problem if they play like they did today. There wasn't much in the game and it was a fair result.

[Danny Electric]

LOL I was thinking the same thing bout Hetlinga, I only noticed it after they gave away the second free kick in a similar position to the first.

Both teams should go through no problem if they play like they did today. There wasn't much in the game and it was a fair result.

Lol, it's the same time I thought it.

[Cactus Sid]

Germany really suprised me, and I thought Holland were truly average.

If the Czech's can put the ball in the net next time, I'd expect them to go through. Besides, they have to beat one of them, and they're through.

[Dazz]

Czech's arent going through based on a performance like today, Pborbsky can't carry them through single handedly.

Holland were shit first half, but once Van Hjodoink came on he turned it around, they are blatently going to start with Nistelrooy and Hjoidoink up front, and if they play Overmars and Zenden as wingers (one will have to play right wing obviously, I am aware they are both left wingers) and have Davids and Van Der Vaart (cheater) in the centre, they have a good team attacking. Stam is abit dodgy but he gets away with it.

Germany played well, and if that 19 year old (came on as a sub) would pass abit more he would be the man. I would be shocked if Germany didn't qualify.

[Danny Electric]

Czech's arent going through based on a performance like today, Pborbsky can't carry them through single handedly.

Holland were shit first half, but once Van Hjodoink came on he turned it around, they are blatently going to start with Nistelrooy and Hjoidoink up front, and if they play Overmars and Zenden as wingers (one will have to play right wing obviously, I am aware they are both left wingers) and have Davids and Van Der Vaart (cheater) in the centre, they have a good team attacking. Stam is abit dodgy but he gets away with it.

Germany played well, and if that 19 year old (came on as a sub) would pass abit more he would be the man. I would be shocked if Germany didn't qualify.
Yeah I thought the same thing about the German kid, he was great but he tried to do too much most of the time.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Zenden is just a shit player.

[Y2Ant]

Edgar Davids is the man

[Cactus Sid]

Edgar Davids is the man

At times.

[Wengerland]

Edgar Davids is the man

:love:

The Czech's won, which is the main thing.Germany surprised me a bit, but i still think they'll lose to the Czech Republic.

Portugal could be out today.:o

[The Mask]

spain are 1-0 up and mick mccarthy is an utter cock.

[The Mask]

http://69.9.37.162/dry-your-eyes-becks.mp3

LOL roy keane phoning beckham after the france match :'(

[Loose Cannon]

:love:

The Czech's won, which is the main thing.Germany surprised me a bit, but i still think they'll lose to the Czech Republic.

Portugal could be out today.:o

that would really suck if Portugal loses. The crowd wouldn't be as hot for the rest of the games cause they would all be pissed. I'm definately pulling for Portugal today.

[Wengerland]

Spain have been pretty good so far.

[The Mask]

Greece :eek:

[Loose Cannon]

LOL AT GREECE. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[The Mask]

i bet yianni and kid robb are beating the piss out of each other right now :'(

[Rob]

The "Grecians" have deserved it ;)

[Wengerland]

THEO

Finished 1-1.Great stuff.COME ON GREECE

[Wengerland]

Only thing i don't like about them is the way they milk injuries,and players going down under minimal contact if they seem in trouble.:-\

[Rob]

Like the Spanish or Italians or Germans don't do the same. I don't like it either but it's amusing watch those lot cry and moan over people playing them at their own game.

[Wengerland]

The Spaniards,Italians and Germans don't do that though.They dive and everything but there is at least some contact,on at least one occasion a Greek player went down in the box having cleared the ball,just to calm the threat.On the close up of that incident there was no contact at all.

[Loose Cannon]

1-O Portugal and Russia just got a red card.

[Rob]

The Spaniards,Italians and Germans don't do that though.They dive and everything but there is at least some contact,on at least one occasion a Greek player went down in the box having cleared the ball,just to calm the threat.On the close up of that incident there was no contact at all.

You mentioned them milking injuries and going down under minimal contact and that is EXACTLY what the Germans, Italians and Spanish do.

[Wengerland]

I'm not so sure the keeper did touch it with his arm,he was about to but looked like he may have just pulled it away in time.

Anyway,loooks like Russia are heading out.Portugal should have won the game even if Russia had 11 players on the pitch.

[Wengerland]

You mentioned them milking injuries and going down under minimal contact and that is EXACTLY what the Germans, Italians and Spanish do.

Well i was referring to the going down just to help clear the danger mainly.The Germans didn't seem to go down under minimal contact anyway and the others weren't as bad as Greece,certainly not in milking of the injury.

[Dazz]

I'm not so sure the keeper did touch it with his arm,he was about to but looked like he may have just pulled it away in time.

Anyway,loooks like Russia are heading out.Portugal should have won the game even if Russia had 11 players on the pitch.

Nah he definitley touched it with his arm, unlucky puss.

[Dazz]

Actually they just showed it again and from the angles they showed, maybe he didn't.

[Rob]

So there are different levels of it now?

[Rob]

He didn't touch it at all.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Doesn't matter if he touched it, you can't send him off for brushing it accidentally.

Keeper's only get sent off for handling outside the box when it prevents a goal or an opportunity, like any professional foul, as far as I know. He won the tackle with his feet, he was just unlucky.

[Loose Cannon]

must be fun to watch the fk'n games and argue about if he touched it or not. :'(

[Rob]

I told you already dude, move here and you can crash at mine. As long as you tape wrestling when I'm out getting pissed (since others here are incappable of it) then :D

[The CyNick]

Russian keeper got robbed

oh yeah, Greece sucks!

[Dazz]

Doesn't matter if he touched it, you can't send him off for brushing it accidentally.

Keeper's only get sent off for handling outside the box when it prevents a goal or an opportunity, like any professional foul, as far as I know. He won the tackle with his feet, he was just unlucky.

Well, one could argue that he used his left hand to stop the ball rolling away from him. And also the first time I saw it I was 100% sure he handballed it.

[Ogen]

Italians blame rough socks
Wednesday June 16 2004

Francesco Totti and Christian Panucci believe Monday's display against Denmark was because of their footwear.

The Italians only managed a lacklustre goalless draw and were indebted to goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for getting anything out of the game at all.

Totti, touted as one of the stars of the tournament, had to leave the field midway through the first half to change his boots, with the new pair from Nike causing him endless problems.

"It was like having your feet on boiling sand, nothing like that has ever happened to me before," he said. "It was very painful. I have two big blisters, one on each foot."

Panucci too was struggling with his feet, with his socks being the problem.

"I had blisters at the end of the game on my heels," he said. "The thread that these socks were made with is too rough."

However, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Nesta believes the excuses don't hold any weight and have called on their teammates to instead focus on picking up the three points against Sweden on Friday.

"Don't make me laugh about this story with the socks," said the Milan midfielder. "Kenyans run hundreds of kilometres with bare feet.

"I also had to put on new shoes, in fact, the same brand as Totti's. My foot was smushed, so I put them back in the bag and put on my old pair. We have hundreds of pairs, you know what the sponsors pay us is not too shabby."

Nesta concurred, saying: "I don't even want to talk about it. They're going to take us for being ridiculous.

"The reality is that (Totti) is so good, he could play barefoot."

------------

Hooray for sh</>it excuses

[Loose Cannon]

Portugal 2-0 :D

[Wengerland]

Russia were more threatening with 10 really.Can't see Portugal getting past England or France,should those teams go through.

Ronaldo should start after that.

Good old Gattuso telling it like it is on that sock story.:y:

[Cactus Sid]

Again, I wasn't overly impressed with Portugal. Ok, they dominated possession, but thats not suprising with Russia having 10 men. They have to beat Spain, and I don't think they can do it. Even if they did go through, I truly don't fancy them to get anywhere.

Also, I think Portugese fans should be rounded up and beaten purely for being the most annoying bunch of assholes ever. I literally had to watch the game on mute because of all the whistling, which was bullsh</>it.

[The Mask]

They were a lot more impressive going forward with ronaldo on the pitch. I can't see the point of leaving him out for long periods to be honest, especially when Figo is playing like a lazy bastard.

[Cactus Sid]

As much as I hate to admit it, Ronaldo has a real buzz about him, it lifts the whole team.

[The Mask]

Good to see they listened to him about having people run onto crosses too.

I quote liked that one, he recieved some criticism for not passing to players in that last match, to which he replied "at manchester united, they teach me good players make runs to the far post" :love:

[yianni]

I was lifted by the result in the Greece-Spain match. It was pretty funny actually cos the moment I was telling Kid Robb how defensively we were doing well, we gave away the ball which led to the opening goal. :mad: From then on Greece didn't do too badly though Spain clearly dominated. Rob and I both agreed a 1-0 win to Spain would have been the appropriate result as our defence still did very well to hold out, but at the same time Spain deserved a goal and the win. But still, fuck it, I'll take the 1-1 and the point :D. The equaliser came out of nowhere, I was like :|....:cool:.

Balls that Portugal won though. Still, Spain and Portugal have to face each other in the final round while we have Russia. I don't want to be cocky and say we'll win, so instead let's hope that Spain beats Portugal so we can afford to lose to Russia and still progress to the next stage. :D

[yianni]

oh yeah, Greece sucks!

Turn it up. :rofl:

[yianni]

I literally had to watch the game on mute because of all the whistling, which was bullsh</>it.

Alot of Europe and South America is like that though, isn't it?

[The Duck]

Ronaldo, in ten minutes did more than Figo.

He MUST start against Spain, probably in place of Simao. That game is huge now :D

[Cactus Sid]

You don't get it in the Premiership unless its over an incident

I haven't heard it in most of the European football I've watched in the past, and I tend to watch South American football with the sound down low, as its on at 4 in the morning.

[Cactus Sid]

I hope Spain dick Portugal, I really do.

Totti banned until the Semis.

[Dazz]

South American football they don't boo or whistle, when there's a bad challenge they might boo, other then that they just light flares in the crowd and bounce up and down.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Well i was referring to the going down just to help clear the danger mainly.The Germans didn't seem to go down under minimal contact anyway and the others weren't as bad as Greece,certainly not in milking of the injury.

I just noticed this.

The Germans were diving all over the place against the Dutch. They were an absolute joke.

[Dazz]

Oh yeah because Van Der Vaart never dived :foc:

Thats all I got :(.

[yianni]

Greek football you get it a fair bit in the big matches (both in the national league plus when visiting sides come to Greece for the Champions League or UEFA Cup). I've also heard a fair bit of whistling in Spanish and Portugese leagues (bloody Portugese :p). But yeah, there's next to fuck all in the Premiership.

Anyway, England better win tonight cos I want to play them in the second round. :mad:

[toxic rooster]

Is it worth staying up to see England tonight?

Dazz. Answer me.

[Dazz]

The commentators (over here) were right, you tits kept feigning injury, and then when the ball went out you got back up

[Dazz]

Is it worth staying up to see England tonight?

Dazz. Answer me.

YES, we MUST win, he HAVE to win, or we are out. Campbell and Ashley Cole are your only players playing, but it is definitley worth watching.

DO IT.

[toxic rooster]

OK then.

Whatever you say, Daz :mad:

[El Capitano Gatisto]

The Greeks were hilarious yesterday. Every cheating tactic in the book. They basically fouled the shite out of Spain in the first half, giving away a niggly free kick any time Spain looked like building up a pattern.

Then when they all got carded, they started diving the bit out, feigning injuries and getting Spain to kick it out of play.

I don't particularly like watching Greece, but if it was my team, I'd be loving it.

[yianni]

The commentators (over here) were right, you tits kept feigning injury, and then when the ball went out you got back up

Are you talking to me? :mad:

[Dazz]

But you just called the Germans a joke for doing it also. I suppose the difference is Germany are meant to be a better team and shouldn't revert to cheating.

[Dazz]

Are you talking to me? :mad:

yes,

[yianni]

The Greeks were hilarious yesterday. Every cheating tactic in the book. They basically fouled the shite out of Spain in the first half, giving away a niggly free kick any time Spain looked like building up a pattern.

Then when they all got carded, they started diving the bit out, feigning injuries and getting Spain to kick it out of play.

I don't particularly like watching Greece, but if it was my team, I'd be loving it.

I got shat off watching them give away frees and earn all those yellow cards in the first half, as it reminded me of the 2-2 draw Greece had with England in 2001 and the amount of free kicks they conceded outside the penalty area in Beckam's range, like about 10 of them which eventually Beckham finally netted one of them. Having said that, the second half I was happy with the tactics Greece used. :shifty: :D

[toxic rooster]

I'm beginning to think that <s>Tazz</s> Dazz likes everyone to know that Chelsea spent 120 million pounds and won fuck all :-\

[yianni]

yes,

Yeah, well, you're right. :D

[Dazz]

I'm beginning to think that <s>Tazz</s> Dazz likes everyone to know that Chelsea spent 120 million pounds and won fuck all :-\

I'm not gunna change it yet because it's funny.

[Dazz]

I got shat off watching them give away frees and earn all those yellow cards in the first half, as it reminded me of the 2-2 draw Greece had with England in 2001 and the amount of free kicks they conceded outside the penalty area in Beckam's range, like about 10 of them which eventually Beckham finally netted one of them. Having said that, the second half I was happy with the tactics Greece used. :shifty: :D

Yeah all these dickheads that don't believe me that Beckham is overrated say 'He got us into th World Cup with that free kick didn't he?' I think he shot from 13 free kicks that day, for a 'free kick genius' it would have been piss poor if he didn't score at least one.

[toxic rooster]

Without being an expert on goalkeeping, is it possible that James was in the worst possible position to defend Zidane's free kick?

[Dazz]

Yes he was. Many pundits have pointed out that had he had Ashley Cole on the back post it would have helped. Beckham kept telling Cole to go on the back post, and Cole was going there but James told him not to. Had Cole have been on James' left post, then James could have stood more over to the right, considering the position of the wall and if Cole was on James' left post then it would have been pretty obvious Zidane would hit it James' right post, meaning James could have stood more over.

But he told Cole not to go on the post and look what happened :rant:

[El Capitano Gatisto]

But you just called the Germans a joke for doing it also. I suppose the difference is Germany are meant to be a better team and shouldn't revert to cheating.

No, I don't like seeing any team do it. In fact, I'm getting fed up of negative tactics causing so many upsets, like Porto winning the Champions League.

Ireland manage to play well against teams better than them without resorting to cheating. We just get stuck in, in an honest way, and play our own game.

It's when we play teams not as good, or similar in quality, that we come unstuck.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Yes he was. Many pundits have pointed out that had he had Ashley Cole on the back post it would have helped. Beckham kept telling Cole to go on the back post, and Cole was going there but James told him not to. Had Cole have been on James' left post, then James could have stood more over to the right, considering the position of the wall and if Cole was on James' left post then it would have been pretty obvious Zidane would hit it James' right post, meaning James could have stood more over.

But he told Cole not to go on the post and look what happened :rant:

I don't like the player on the post thing, I stated why earlier on in the thread. It means forwards can push into the box and stand on top of the keeper.

[Wengerland]

James accepted part of the blame for both goals.The first was just his fault,the walls there to block one side and if Zidane could lift it over the wall and score then fair enough,nothing could really be done.But James was meant to be at the other side and had he been there he probably would've saved it.

On the second i would have blamed Gerrard but when the BBC showed it in slow motion and stopped it when Henry touched it,the pictures showed Henry stretching for it,so it was impossible to get a shot in straight away.Had James stayed on his feet he could have forced Henry into a bad angle or dived a bit later with his hands going for the ball,hopefully winning it cleanly.So i'm not so sure after that,other than Gerrard has to take a lot of the blame.

[Wengerland]

For tonights game Eriksson has gone back to the diamond,Lampard in the defensive position,Gerrard on the left and Scholes behind the forwards.

:mad:

[yianni]

Yeah all these dickheads that don't believe me that Beckham is overrated say 'He got us into th World Cup with that free kick didn't he?' I think he shot from 13 free kicks that day, for a 'free kick genius' it would have been piss poor if he didn't score at least one.

I tend to agree. It just so happened that the one free kick he scored from (out of about 10) was in the 91st or so minute. Ah well, that's football.

[Ogen]

But if you put a player on the post for a free kick then the opposition strikers can sit on your line aswell no risk of bieng offside

[Wengerland]

1-0 at half time,Rooney after 23 minutes.

Not been brilliant but the Swiss have only threatened at set pieces really.SORT IT OUT LADS

[Disturbed316]

Scholes was offside

[Wengerland]

:shifty:

Rooney needs to calm down though.

[The Mask]

Michael Owen is useless.

[Goldbird]

GOALLLLLLL :love:

[Goldbird]

England 3-0 Switerland

Rooney 2 goals
Gerrard

[Loose Cannon]

:D

[Wengerland]

Scoreline flattered us quite a bit but the win's all that matters.

Owen's finishing seems the only concern.

[Tony Montana]

Rooney still looking amazing.

[Dazz]

Our defence kept them out well, weren't too good attacking IMO and sorry but the second Rooney goal should be credited to the keeper as if he wasn't there it would have hit the post and come out, not that it really matters.

In the words (well word) or Ric Flair: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Scoreline flattered us quite a bit but the win's all that matters.

Owen's finishing seems the only concern.

You mean aside from the fact Beckham has done F</>UCK ALL in 2 games so far? (free kick for the Lampard goal aside) Or that Cole has still not learnt how to defend properly?

There was other stuff but damn, to be honest I'd be more worried about those than Owen, by the time he came off he just looked fed up with not having service, given that the midfield couldn't string half a dozen passes together.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

BTW yianni Greece are guaranteed to qualify already, we just don't know whether it'll be 1st or 2nd.

[Dazz]

It was Beckhams pass to Owen for the first goal. And his pass to Gary Neville which set up Gerrard for the second goal was bloody hard to do, it was a great ball.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Ok fine he's managed to play 3 good balls while standing still, holy shit he's completely anonymous for 90%+ of the game and barely moves forward when he does get the ball, which basically cripples any chance the team has of building forward momentum.

*Receives ball*
*Looks up*
*Pings hopeful pass*

*Receives ball*
*Looks up*
*Turns around*
*Runs backwards since he can't use his left foot*

[Loose Cannon]

Holy sh**, you saw that pass from Zidane off the corner. Dam, he is amazing. I mean, you guys might see that kind of stuff all the time, but as an American football fan who doesn't get to watch a lot of European football, that was incredible. And I know how hard that is to do. Too bad the French player missed the header though.

[Wengerland]

The only time Cole looked in danger was when he was outjumped,but he's not going to win many headers anyway.Considering there was a man over he did the right thing to pressurise Frei (i think it was him) seeing as the centre backs were nowhere.

Beckham hasn't made a huge contribution but he played a part in 2 goals today and got the assist for Lampards against France.Pretty good for fuck all,i would say.

The team is going to go fairly negative after a goal,i think its just going to happen under Sven.Owen's done what was wanted,providing a target of some sort if the ball is just cleared downfield,it's just his finishing because he fluffed a decent chance in what Bobby Robson described as his "favoured position" coming in on his right foot.Maybe he should look at and copy what Rooney's doing,like they could interchange in who drops off to collect a pass,what with Rooney having 2 great games and Owen having the pace to worry defenders through running at them.

[Wengerland]

Holy sh**, you saw that pass from Zidane off the corner. Dam, he is amazing. I mean, you guys might see that kind of stuff all the time, but as an American football fan who doesn't get to watch a lot of European football, that was incredible. And I know how hard that is to do. Too bad the French player missed the header though.

Gallas :mad: :'(

I know there was some debate over whether Henry should have been World player of the year ahead of Zidane,but ZZ would have gotten my vote.That was brilliant and no, hardly anyone else would try that and see it work in a match.

[Wengerland]

BTW yianni Greece are guaranteed to qualify already, we just don't know whether it'll be 1st or 2nd.

If Greece lose and Portugal and Spain draw then they don't.Unlikely that Greece will lose but had to be said.:$

[Wengerland]

Penalty to Croatia.:(

scored by Rapaic,1-1 under 3 minutes into the second half.

[Dazz]

Silvestre sucks WOOOOOOO. Not a clear penalty.

[Loose Cannon]

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL CROATIA. 1-1

[Dazz]

WHAT A GOAL 2-1

[Wengerland]

fuck me, 2-1 Croatia.

Good finish by Prso but Desailly's poor defending strikes again.

[Dazz]

I've been saying for over a year that Desailly is past it, and I think we would have won or at least drawn if he was centre back.

Him missing that ball for the second goal shows how shit he has become.

[Loose Cannon]

LOL, CROATIA IS UP 2-1.

[Rob]

Come on Croatia!!! :D

[Dazz]

I'm not sure who I wanna win, if Croatia win its harder for us to qualify.

I bet it ends 2-2.

[Wengerland]

TREZEGUET

2-2

HAVE SOME

[Dazz]

Handball, suicidal back pss. :nono:

[Loose Cannon]

AWWWWWW, WTF WAS THAT.

[Rob]

Molnar you stupid bastard!

[Loose Cannon]

OH MAN, WHAT a chance for Croatia. DAMMIT.

[Wengerland]

Yeah,what a miss.:eek:

RBF told me he's having some passport problems so he may not be at Pompey next year,which they might not mind after that finish.:$

[Wengerland]

Great game though, probably game of the tournament so far, or at least one of the best.

[Rob]

First half was piss poor. Second half was a different game.

[Wengerland]

The level of the first half was improved by that Zidane flick alone.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

England vs. Switzerland was a terrible, boring match.

England really do not know how to keep ahold of the football, or how to string a few passes together.

Zidane and Vieira are fucking immense.

Henry and Trezeguet are two lazy cunts. Big Ron is probably saying a few choice words about them right about now.

Desailly ought to make the right decision and retire, before the boss has to humiliate him by dropping him. He's shit now, he should have a bit of dignity and take the hint.

Croatia are great. I fancy them to give England a big scare.

[Cactus Sid]

BTW yianni Greece are guaranteed to qualify already, we just don't know whether it'll be 1st or 2nd.

I checked this on the Euro 2004 website, and its not the case.

If Portugal and Russia win, Greece can still go out on Goal Difference or Goals Scored.

If Russia were to win 2-0 and Portugal 1-0, Spain and Portugal would be through. Similarly, if Russia won 1-0 and Spain/Portugal finished 3-2 to Portugal, Spain would be through.

Its unlikely though.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

If Greece lose and Portugal and Spain draw then they don't.Unlikely that Greece will lose but had to be said.:$

I was under the impression that since Greece beat Portugal that gives them the advantage if they're tied on points

[El Capitano Gatisto]

I was under the impression that since Greece beat Portugal that gives them the advantage if they're tied on points

Yes, but if Portugal win and Greece lose, Portugal will have more points than them.

[Wengerland]

I'm not sure which order the methods are in, if its goal difference then it would be Spain and Portugal,then i thought it was goals scored and then results against, but that seems wrong.:-\

[Dazz]

Desailly ought to make the right decision and retire, before the boss has to humiliate him by dropping him. He's shit now, he should have a bit of dignity and take the hint.

Croatia are great. I fancy them to give England a big scare.

Ranieri dropped him for a while once he came back from injury, but Melchiot is shit, so he had to start playing Gallas at right back and Desailly in the centre. For over a year I've been saying Desailly should retire.

I have said all along that I'm worried we won't qualify from our group, I can see the Czech's and France going through.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

It's results against, then goal difference.

If Portugal beat Spain, and Greece lose to Russia, Portugal will have 6 points and will top the group.

Spain and Greece will both be on 4 points, and since they drew, they will be seperated by goal difference. In that case, if Greece get beaten by more than one goal, and Spain lose by just one, Spain go through on goal difference.

[91]

Since I've been gone a bit, I'll sum up everything quickly - only two teams have stood out for me so far, France and Sweden. France for being behind in a hard fought match and turning it around like they did and Sweden for being in an equally hard fought match but still absolutely stuffing the opposition, two qualities that championship winning teams have often shown. Then again, Frances slip today wasn't their best performance. And remind me again who it was who praised the Swedes as being vastly underrated a few weeks back? Asides from those two, Germany and Holland were hard to seperate so I shan't knock them.

[The Duck]

France looked lackluster and seriously suspect. No team has stood out so far as world beaters and as strangely positive as this sounds (at least for me anyway) I really think England are in with a good chance.

Spain, but for their lapse against Greece, look good as well. Their natural wide-players good be a real threat. The position they're now in against Portugal has left is difficult for them though.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

The only question mark over the Swedes for the past decade has been scoring goals. If they can manage it, they are good enough to beat anyone.

They've shown that Larsson and Ibrahimovic are on form and playing well together, and Ljungberg is looking fresh after a poor couple of seasons with Arsenal. It's easy to forget just how good Ljungberg is, because he's not been showing it lately.

Spain look good too.

People are being stupid about this competition, because they forget that it isn't the World Cup, it doesn't have teams like China and Costa Rica, whipping boys. All of the sides can at least play good, organised football, even if they lack talent. That is why we aren't seeing a clear front runner.

But France have looked strong. They just need Henry and Trezeguet to start working.

Italy traditionally start slowly, and grow into tournaments. Cassano is a more than able replacement for Totti, but they need to think about replacing Del Piero if he isn't going to bother his arse. I can't believe Gattuso and Pirlo cannot displace Perrotta and Zanetti, two fairly average players.

England have a team good enough to go far, but their football is disappointing. They can't control the tempo of games, and can't keep possession. They need to start doing that. Sven is tactically inept, to be honest.

[91]

Usually somebody stands out early on that are notable. Euro 2000 - Portugal, Holland and France. Euro 96 - Germany, England and Croatia. Euro 92 - well, maybe there are exceptions to the rule, though Sweden and maybe Holland were the early forerunners. Right now, nobody looks clear cut unless the Swedes, the Dutch or the Germans end up winning it.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

England were turd in their first two matches at Euro 96. They were shite against the Swiss, and very poor against Scotland. I remember distinctly that England were second best until Jamie Redknapp came on, in one of his few appearances where he lived up to his potential. Wasn't until their third match they showed any class, against a fractious Dutch side.

In fact, they were crap against Spain in the quarters, too. Some very poor refereeing kept them in. Two perfectly good goals for Spain disallowed.

Euro 96 was a pretty dull competition, in truth. A lot of negative play.

My point is, anyway, that people are reacting too much to the fact that teams are not steamrolling the opposition. There are no mugs in this tournament.

[91]

It's not that nobody is steamrolling, it's that not many teams have lived up to their potential and not shown the qualities you'd expect from the tournament winners bar the four I've listed. For the record, England dominated against the Swiss in 96, their main fault was not turning their play into gilt edged chances. The Scotland game wasn't great but hardly "very poor". And against Spain, the match was crap but over caution does not equal crap, unless you're a neutral.

[Dazz]

Its hard to say about front runners until every team has played at least two game, Germany and Italy have both only played one so far, give verdicts on who will win it after at least two games for each team.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

It's not that nobody is steamrolling, it's that not many teams have lived up to their potential and not shown the qualities you'd expect from the tournament winners bar the four I've listed. For the record, England dominated against the Swiss in 96, their main fault was not turning their play into gilt edged chances. The Scotland game wasn't great but hardly "very poor". And against Spain, the match was crap but over caution does not equal crap, unless you're a neutral.

No, I remember quite well, England were poor in their first two games. Euro 96 was a triumph of hype over substance, for England. The game against the Dutch glossed over a very average tournament for England.

I didn't say the Spain match was crap, I said Spain were screwed out of victory, which they were. Two perfectly good goals disallowed, and Spain were the better side. Basically, they weren't allowed to turn their dominance into a victory by poor refereeing.

[91]

ECG - Forgive me if I choose to disagree. England might not have been blow away awesome in those three matches, but crap? Nah.

Dazz - I agree, things can quite easily change at this stage, my opinions were simply based on the first round of games. Teams like Italy still have a couple of games to perk up and impress me of course. Besides, there are probably eight or so nations who could realistically win it.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

I want a DVD of Euro 2000 :'(

[Dazz]

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?searchtype=r2title&searchstring=EURO+2000&page=search&Go.x=12&Go.y=3

Thats the best I could find in a 10 second search.

[91]

Denmark vs Bulgaria, coming up to half time. The Danes are playing alright... and as I type that, Tomasson misses a great chance. They need to make more like that, but they'll score at this rate.

[91]

And not five minutes after I say that...

[Wengerland]

Finished 2-0 to Denmark,goals at the end of each half.Also hit the bar with just about the last kick.

Bulgaria weren't up to much,and the commentator's made sure we knew.:$

Looking forward to the game in about an hour though.

[Loose Cannon]

Come on Italia

[Wengerland]

1-0 Italy at half time.Cassano with the goal, pretty good header.

Italy have been much better than they were against Denmark, Sweden haven't been great but made a few chances. Wouldn't really like to personally say they've been worse than against Bulgaria because there's a big gulf in quality of their opposition.

[The Mask]

ASLFKOSAK SWEDEN

[Danny Electric]

I think what The Mask is trying to say is that Sweeden have just equalised.

[91]

YEAH! Did I not tell everyone about Sweden?

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Ibrahimovic just made me £45 :love::love::love:

[Wengerland]

Deserved i guess,but that Buffon save was amazing :'(

[Rob]

YEAH! Did I not tell everyone about Sweden?

Get in line bro. I was telling people about Sweden weeks ago. Feel free to jump on the bandwagon though. 33/1 :D

I'm just pissed I never doubled up on Larsson for top goalscorer too.

[Dazz]

Yeah the duck was gunna whack a bet on sweden to qualify and Larsson for top goalscorer, but he didn't have time to put it on before the match Vs Bulgaria.

Great finish by Ibrahamovich, but Sweden wont be up to much later on against the big boys. Yes I am aware Italy are second favourites, but they drew with Denmark too, they have been piss poor.

[Cactus Sid]

Tyldesley is suck a fu</>cking tool.

In both Latvia games, he has, using the EXACT same words, told his 2 favourite stories, of Man Utd beating Arsenal 6-1, and Palace beating us 1-0. When the fu</>ck will he shut up?

[Wengerland]

Latvia haven't been that bad really,very good run by Verpakovskis which deserved a goal and Germany haven't really had things their own way, or tested Kolinko.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

C'mon the draw :'(

[Mr. Monday Morning]

While I think about it, where's Klose (haven't really been paying much attention)? Kiranyi hasn't looked up to much

[Dazz]

Latvia haven't been that bad really,very good run by Verpakovskis which deserved a goal and Germany haven't really had things their own way, or tested Kolinko.

With a finish like that it didn't deserve a goal. It wasn't even hard for Kahn.

Come on the Germans.

[Dazz]

While I think about it, where's Klose (haven't really been paying much attention)? Kiranyi hasn't looked up to much
You what?
Kiranyi was the man Vs Holland, I think he dived once, other then that he was one of their best players, yeah today he has been queit though.

I had high hopes for Klose, he was really good in the World Cup, I was sure he'd get at least two today.

[Wengerland]

With a finish like that it didn't deserve a goal. It wasn't even hard for Kahn.

Come on the Germans.

Which is why i said the run deserved a goal, finish was poor but he had just run half the length of the field.

[Wengerland]

Decent penalty claim for Latvia turned down.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Yeah I meant today Kuranyi (sp) was quiet. Then again Germany were quiet.

I made £35 off that draw though :love:

[Wengerland]

Finished 0-0 :love:

Germany should be out,i said it before the tournament and today showed that they have no chance.I think they looked good against Holland because they packed the midfield really.

[Cactus Sid]

UP THE LATVIA :D

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Any thoughts for Czechs - Holland?

I think the Czechs might sneak it actually, I dunno why. Haven't they got a decent record against Holland in recent years?

[Dazz]

Yeah I meant today Kuranyi (sp) was quiet. Then again Germany were quiet.

I made £35 off that draw though :love:

What stake and what odds?

Stop winning money, or better still, tell us the bets your making so we can win money too :mad:

I think it will be another draw, or maybe 2-1 to the Czech's.

[Wengerland]

Yeah i'm going for the Czech's,probably 2-1 or something.I can see them getting to the semi's.

They played in qualifying,drew in Holland and 3-1 to Czech Republic at their ground, so they seem the better bet. Holland weren't too impressive against Germany either.

[Loose Cannon]

jiti Cech Republikaaaaaaa

[Mr. Monday Morning]

What stake and what odds?

Stop winning money, or better still, tell us the bets your making so we can win money too :mad:

I think it will be another draw, or maybe 2-1 to the Czech's.

I put £20 on the draw at halftime at 7/4, cause by then I could see Latvia were doing well enough to hold out. Bit of a scare with the penalty appeal though :shifty:

I've thought 2-1 to the Czechs as well, think I might go for that :o (10/1)

[Wengerland]

Saw in the paper that Labrokes(sp?) have got Koller to score first and Czech Republic to win 2-0 as 50/1.Could be worth a go.;)

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Nah I'm thinking Stam will take Koller out of the game pretty much :$

[Dazz]

Saw in the paper that Labrokes(sp?) have got Koller to score first and Czech Republic to win 2-0 as 50/1.Could be worth a go.;)
Yeah good one. :roll:

Good job people rarely read your posts :|

[Loose Cannon]

Sh**, not good. 2-1 Holland at the half

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Game of the tournament so far, easily. And still 40+ minutes left. Come on you Czechs :mad:

[Danny Electric]

This is a great match, Van Diverlrooy's goal was dodgy but some great attempts on goal from Heintinga, Seedorf and Davids.

[91]

Get in line bro. I was telling people about Sweden weeks ago. Feel free to jump on the bandwagon though. 33/1 :D

I'm just pissed I never doubled up on Larsson for top goalscorer too.

I started rating them when they kept kicking my ass on Championship Manager 99/00. Mind you, I didn't have them pegged as having this good a chance of winning it until now.

On the other hand, don't brag too much, I got in there with the Porto raving before you. :p

[Danny Electric]

What a goal.
Come on LC give the Czechs some support.

[91]

If John Motson says "Nedvied" again, I'm going to scream.

[Danny Electric]

Lol 91

Come on. What a comeback.

[Danny Electric]

Why does Joe Royle keep saying that Heinze was the one who was fouled for the sending off, wasn't it Nedved?

[The Mask]

holy christ. top match.

holland :'(

[Cactus Sid]

MY BOYS WON :love:

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Stilian Petrov says:
,hhgjhmgrrghjyherytr

MMM >> El Mariachia que tiene fuera de consonancia says:
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

MMM >> El Mariachia que tiene fuera de consonancia says:
YES

Stilian Petrov says:
HEINZ IS THE MAN

MMM >> El Mariachia que tiene fuera de consonancia says:
YESYESYESYESYESYESYES

MMM >> El Mariachia que tiene fuera de consonancia says:
FUCK YES

MMM >> El Mariachia que tiene fuera de consonancia says:
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

MMM >> El Mariachia que tiene fuera de consonancia says:
ROFL BO SELECTA

MMM >> El Mariachia que tiene fuera de consonancia says:
SMICER YOU CRAP BASTARD I LOVE YOU

[Danny Electric]

Last two goals from Liverpool players.

Baros should be starting for us.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

I FUCKING TOLD YOU (the 2-1 bit aside :$:$)

Holy shit, I agree with RBF (:love: ) anyone who doubts football as a game should watch this match. F</>ucking fantastic. Think I'll download this soon as it's out :cool:

[Wengerland]

Yeah good one. :roll:

Good job people rarely read your posts :|

Yeah sorry,forgot about you being right about Germany dominating this tornament.:|

[Wengerland]

One of the best matches i've ever seen, if not the best.

[91]

Great match. Doubly good for Motson bringing up that awesome Spain/Yugoslavia game from 2000, but credit to Holland and the Czechs for that one. After Italy/Sweden yesterday, this tournament is coming along very nicely.

[Danny Electric]

Lol
Yeah Dazz, what was I telling you about the Czechs being a better side than Germany. :)

[Wengerland]

All that with a pretty crap ref too.Amazing.

[Danny Electric]

All that with a pretty crap ref too.Amazing.
Yeah I feel sorry for Heintinga, as ugly as he is.

[91]

Lol
Yeah Dazz, what was I telling you about the Czechs being a better side than Germany. :)

You'll find out for certain in a few days...

[Danny Electric]

You'll find out for certain in a few days...

I'm not sure whether the Czechs will play there best eleven. Seeing as they've already topped the group.

[Loose Cannon]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FK'N 3-2 CECH REPUBLIkA

[Wengerland]

It wasn't only the sending off, he just kept on giving free kicks for innocuos challenges.He was also conned by people diving a lot, shame Collina was only the 4th official. Like i say though, hell of a match, probably gonna watch the highlights too.

[Danny Electric]

Lol at Motson calling them Czechoslovakia.

[Wengerland]

They're right about one thing though, it would be a crime if those two didn't qualify.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

Not the best match I've ever seen (the first Liverpool 4 - 3 Newcastle game still takes that) but it's definitely up there.

[Cactus Sid]

Well, Liverpool may have fu</>cked up against France (albeit soon to be Chelsea/Birmingham players)

BUT at least we've put that bastard Van Nistelrooy out of the tournament (hopefully)

[Loose Cannon]

Smicer ma hrdina. WOOOOOOOOOOO :)

[Cactus Sid]

God I love football sometimes

[Danny Electric]

The beautiful game Sid. :love:

[Loose Cannon]

I couldn't watch the last couple of minutes after Smicer scored. I got so nervous.

[Rob]

I started rating them when they kept kicking my ass on Championship Manager 99/00. Mind you, I didn't have them pegged as having this good a chance of winning it until now.

On the other hand, don't brag too much, I got in there with the Porto raving before you. :p

Did you? I seem to remember saying they'd win it the minute they knocked out Man U. And if memory serves me right, you weren't back here until like a month before the final. :p

[Rob]

I swear the star of the tournament so far is Ian Wright. The guy has been just hilarious. :D

Czechs are gonna 9 point that group (I thought they would but not confident enough to bet on it). Everyone has tipped them for an "outsider" tip though. Personally I thought they had as much chance as a Portugal or England.

With any luck, a lot of Germans, Spanish and Italians are gonna be upset in a week :D

[Wengerland]

I've rated the Czech's highly for quite some time, even when i first saw the group during the drawing i believed they would qualify, though i didn't think they'd do this well.

Really hope Germany go out, even if i discount any bias i still feel Holland should be going through for entertainment value.

[Cactus Sid]

I swear the star of the tournament so far is Ian Wright. The guy has been just hilarious. :D



"But He's Having It Off With Him"

:love:

[Cactus Sid]

Also, I have always been a Czech fan, and said from day one they've got a good chance.

[Rob]

"But He's Having It Off With Him"

:love:

"Come on he's spooning him"

:love:

[91]

Did you? I seem to remember saying they'd win it the minute they knocked out Man U. And if memory serves me right, you weren't back here until like a month before the final. :p

I said Porto would win the minute Inter Milan got knocked out and I needed a new pick. :shifty: In any case, I might not have been here to rave about Porto, but I was picking them.

As for Ian Wright, that was just surreal today, but damned funny.

[Dazz]

Yeah well, I never rated Holland or the Czech's, something had to give, I still think they are both poor sides any anyone who thinks either would beat a good team neds their heads examined.

Hetinga is the clummiest shit in the tournament, seriosuly, the amount of fouls he gives away around the box is unreal. He isn't bad attacking, neither fullbak is, they have two defenders and thats Stam and Cocu, the rest of the team is too attacking, they won't amount to shit if they can't defend. Taking off Robben was a joke, and not replacing him with Overmars or Zenden sums it up, they will not go anywhere, I've said it from the start.

As for the Czech's, they have Cech, Baros, Smica, Nedved, Koller and Pborsky, tell me who else is any good for them. their defence is shit and had to rely on Cech a few times, Nedved has one hell of a shot on him, I can't believe they took off Koller but I guess it worked for the best, although he scored the first and set up the second. The team hgas some good players but I can't see them beating a good team, I will be shocked if they beat the Germans, really I would, they are the only team I rate in their league (They are just going through some poor form).

And yeah Ian Wright should be presenting that shit, he is a presenter and Lineker isn't very funny.

[Danny Electric]

Dazz are you telling me that Rocisky is not a good player?

[Dazz]

Yeah he isn't bad, but he doesn't stand out as much, I'm basing it on the two games, and the Premiership season.

[91]

In fairness, the main presenter isn't supposed to be the funny guy. Lineker is there to keep the mood good and break up any fights that occur. After that, you've got Peter Reid to talk tactics, Strachan to talk incoherently, Hansen to be melancholy and pretend to like England, Wright to go off on tangents and Schmeichel to sit next to Wright and have us all waiting for one to take a pop at the other.

[Dazz]

Wrighty is a T.V presenter though, and he does a better job then Lineker. Not that I'm really bothered because I don't watch pre or post match analysis, or at half time either.

[Danny Electric]

Rosicky had a great game today.

[Dazz]

Rosicky had a great game today.

I'm watching the game on ITV now, I haven't really noticed anything he did...you may be right, I just never noticed him.

[Cactus Sid]

Ufalusji didn't give Van Nistelrooy a kick, and Jankulovski had a fantastic game, the defence is hardly sh</>it.

[Rob]

In fairness, the main presenter isn't supposed to be the funny guy. Lineker is there to keep the mood good and break up any fights that occur. After that, you've got Peter Reid to talk tactics, Strachan to talk incoherently, Hansen to be melancholy and pretend to like England, Wright to go off on tangents and Schmeichel to sit next to Wright and have us all waiting for one to take a pop at the other.

I think Lineker does a good job. He knows his role. Can't even remember seeing Reid. Strachan is awesome so dunno where you get incoherent from. Hansen is a tosspot. The guy loves England. He is just as bad as that English baldy big head bastard on Sky every week. Schmeichel and Wrighty are great though. ITV looks poor in comparison. Townsend is an embarrassment. Southgate is useless. I guess Venables at least tries. Bobby Robson sounds like he is dead half the time. McCoist is their saving grace. Des Lynam is always the man though.

[Dazz]

Ufalusji didn't give Van Nistelrooy a kick, and Jankulovski had a fantastic game, the defence is hardly sh</>it.

Nistelroo doesn't do anything for himself anyway, when does the guy ever do anything but the final touch, he gets all the credit for doing the least work in a goal. If the defence was so good, then how come Holland scored twice, for Nistelrooy's goal was horrible defending and Petr Cech kept them in the game with quite a few good saves, they wouldn't have one if they had their sub keeper in goal.

[Cactus Sid]

Well, Van Nistelrooy's goal was bullsh</>it, I don't give a toss what the rules are, they need to changing, because that was crap, and I'm a striker. The next time I play, I'll just stand on the 6 yard box and every time we have an attack I'll casually start strolling back towards my own box, I can't be offside though can I?

The first goal was a case of stepping up at the wrong time, after that they kept the line really well.

The point I'm making is that, ok, Van Nistelrooy has everything put on a plate for him, but Ufalusji stopped him from getting anything in. I think he had 2 shots in the whole game.

Ok, Cech kept them in the game, but they played most of the game with 3 defenders anyway, playing against Holland, one of the best attacking teams in the world, with 3 defenders, and holding out (after Grygera went off, they didn't concede a goal) is pretty damn good if you ask me.

[Rob]

Dazz you come off so bitter ragging on Van Nistelrooy all the time. You'd think he was the only striker who played his style in the last 50 years or something. The guy gets paid to score goals and he does just that.

I don't like the offside rule either but that's the rule so no point in crying over it.

[Dazz]

Holland are good attacking, but they are so inconsistant that you can't really judge their opposistion by Holands attacking. Scotland kept a clean sheet against Holland in the first leg of the play offs, does that make their defence good? No because they got stuffed in the return leg and generally leak alot of goals. The point I'm making is that the Czech's let in two goals against Holland, who are sometimes on form and sometimes are, but who is to say that they wont get trashed in the quarters or semi's. The only reason I think that they might not get stuff, is because like ECG keeps saying, teams play too negative and after scoring a goal they often sit back.

Also, Holland scored twice and then sat back, and made stupid decisions like bring off both their wingers, after Hetinga got sent off they went more defensive, so I think saying Czech's defence is abit far considereing it was largely due to Holland stopping attacking.

[Dazz]

Dazz you come off so bitter ragging on Van Nistelrooy all the time. You'd think he was the only striker who played his style in the last 50 years or something. The guy gets paid to score goals and he does just that.

I don't like the offside rule either but that's the rule so no point in crying over it.

I have a problems with alot of players, but Nistelrooy is the one everyone talks about. Had their been any discussion about Gary Neville, Gavin McCann, Ashley Cole, Robert Pires, Kasey Keller or Tarrico, I would come off just as bitter, its not just RvN but he is the guy everyone talks about. I don't think he is the only one who plays like that, but he is the main one who does at the moment, he is incapable of scoring anything but tap ins and penalties, and everyone gets a hard one about it thinking that he is the man, when the team does all the work for him. :|.

[91]

Strachan is awesome so dunno where you get incoherent from. Hansen is a tosspot. The guy loves England. He is just as bad as that English baldy big head bastard on Sky every week.

Hansen loves England? I can understand that for Andy Gray, but do you remember that clip from the World Cup when England scored and Lineker and Reid and Wright are running around screaming their heads off, whilst Hansen has a face like a slapped ass, gritting his teeth? Classic stuff. As for Strachan, it's that Scottish accent - you're fine with it, I'm having to listen carefully.

[Dazz]

As for Strachan, it's that Scottish accent - you're fine with it, I'm having to listen carefully.

lol

[Loose Cannon]

Someone help me out here. OK Greece and Russia have 4 points. Portugal has 3. The goals scored and goals allowed look like this right now at 3:05 Easten Time.

GS GA
Greece 3 4

Spain 2 1

Portugal 3 2


Ok, so if Greece loses to Russia and Portugal and Spain draw at 0-0, does that make Portugal go through. Cause what I'm thinking is you take GS and you subtract GA and that would give you a number. That would give Greece -1 AND Portugal 1. Is this how it goes?

[91]

If it's level on points, teams are split depending on the result between the two of them. So if Greece and Portugal both finish on 4 points, regardless of goal difference, Greece go through because they beat Portugal.

[Loose Cannon]

If it's level on points, teams are split depending on the result between the two of them. So if Greece and Portugal both finish on 4 points, regardless of goal difference, Greece go through because they beat Portugal.

Oh, ok. I thought it all came down to GS and GA and then if they were even the same there, then it would come down to who beat who in the game before. Ok, I got it now. Thanks 91

[Dazz]

The Spain Vs Portugal match looks like it's going to be a boring 0-0 draw.

[91]

I don't know, Portugal are going to HAVE to come out and play in the second half, so it could perk up yet.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

They are "out and playing". It's Spain who are shutting the game down.

[Dazz]

For the first time (against a good opposition, Millwall don't count) Ronaldo has impressed me.

[91]

They've not really pushed the Spanish that much actually until now. Spain are finding themselves on the attack just as often. Hell, as I speak, the Spanish are keping the ball in the Portuguese half.

[Dazz]

Portugal were much more attacking in the first half, the amount of crosses they put in and all. They didn't actually make much of any of it but they have certainly been the more attacking side.

[91]

True, but it's almost if, bar a couple of players, there's absolutely no ambition to them. It's no use the wingers putting in crosses if nobody can be bothered to get in there. Spain are playing much smarter football right now. Still, if the Portuguese get themselves a little more motivated...

[91]

As I finished typing that, Barry Davies said pretty much the same thing. I seem to be making a habit of that...

[Loose Cannon]

GOALLLLLLLL PORTUGAL. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS