Match Day 4
Spain 1 - 1 Russia
Greece 1 - 0 Sweden
Printable View
Match Day 4
Spain 1 - 1 Russia
Greece 1 - 0 Sweden
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
+ Louis's new sig...
:inquisitive: Louis? Did you secretly become Dutch?
Spreek je al wat Nederlands?
Hup Holland Hup?
Anyway, this hurts if you're belgian*, but, well, here we go:
HUP HOLLAND HUP ! Congratulations guys! Continue like that and bring that Cup to the Netherlands! :bow:
*Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I think some of the dutchpayers were swapped by octosquids. There's no other explaination, is there?
Erm, yes. In fact I'd even go so far as to predict that our defence will not concede a single goal all tournament. And we definitely won't be going out on penalties this time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
Lots of credits should go to the referee who just let the game be played.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moros
You should join in....It should be fine i think (though Quintus is really the right person to give the go ahead :sweatdrop:)... Everyone has a headstart on you... I would say go ahead and make your predictions for today's games before they start... you have about 20 mins before the first game starts....:juggle2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichigo
Match Day 5:
Czech Republic 1-1 Portugal
Switzerland 1-2 Turkey
Match Day 6:
Croatia 1-1 Germany
Austria 0-2 Poland
I still wonder if Domenech is the problem. France always starts lethargic, but this time, they seemed so...clueless as well. No urgency, no determination, no drive forward. Did Domenech even look at the table, at the opposition in this group? Three points are worth a risk.
This performance was as exciting as watching paint dry. Less so. At least with paint you know the end result will look good.
I want him to dump Makélélé and Anelka. (Maybe he should've brought Trezeguet after all...). Oh, and he should've brought Mexès too. And dump the 4-4-2. Back to 4-2-3-1, suits this selection better I think.
And darn the Scots for showing the world that France can't crack open a 7-2-1 formation. The Rumanians are excellent students. :furious3:
But those are all incidental problems. The real problem is the lack of a playmaker. No Platini, no Zidane = rubbish French. Clueless, lethargic. No vision.
82, 84, 86 were fantastic. Then after Platini quit, it took French football ages to recover. We didn't even qualify for 1990 and 1994.
Similarly, 98 and 2000 were divine. Then in 2002, Zidane didn't recover in time. He missed the first two games. The rest of the team was completely lost because of it. As rubbish as yesterday.
In 2006, the older players took over from Domenech in the tournament after the first dismal matches, when France looked set for another disaster. The place in the final was only the result of Zidane's willpower. Just like his and the other older players return saved the qualification campaign earlier.
But who must do it this time? Normally, a coach should inspire a team to greatness. But Domenech isn't going to do it. He can't energize a team. Ribéry is a winger, not a player who should direct a team. He's still young too. Benzema only just turned twenty as well. Henry, if he isn't past his prime in the first place, will be busy recovering from his injury. Viera and Thuram can maybe do it, but they are 74 and 82 respectively.
~:mecry:
On the upside, there'll be more space against the Dutch. And maybe les Bleus will have woken up. There's too much quality in this team for more dismal performances like yesterday's. Plus les Bleus are at their best when it is almost too late. :knight:
Predictions:
Sure Bet: France - Netherlands 2-2
Sure Bet: Romania - Italy 3-0
Sure Bet: France - Italy 5-1
Sure Bet: Netherlands - Romania 1-0
58th minute. Materazzi substituted. Priceless look on his face. Beer bottle hurled at television in euphoria.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andres
Hahaha! Tu parles, Charles.Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
Like your analysis of teh Bleus though. But don't all teams depend on a singular great talent for true, tournament-winning inspiration?
And that also sheds a light why Turkey was acting like true cowards who were out of any ideas of how to attack last Saturday.Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
Emre was playing as deep as the defense line. No Emre, no playmaker, no organization.
Matchday 4 Partial Prediction
Greece 0-2 Sweden
[Greece are solid, and certainly had an unusually free-scoring qualifying campaign, but Sweden look too
strong in terms of forwards.]
Finally we see both teams score in a game. It was about time, though for the sake of the
tournament, I think we could do with seeing it when a game is still there to be won.
Spain looked handy. :sweatdrop:
Uh-huh.Quote:
Originally Posted by InsaneApache
I loved the Iniesta-Villa couple, like two spicy red peppers. Man, that David Villa is fast. :bow:
Although, just like Louis, I think England is getting better all the time in this tournament. They've managed to stay out of trouble and keep all their options open. :mellow:
*ducks*
That Spain will be forced to bend over if a team with solid defense is against.
Shall France and Spain meet in order to prove out my anticipation and France shall run over the kids in red eventually.
Once more I am learning to hate the Greeks.
The 'phalanx' is back and hate nothing more than this anti-football.
In addition now they are playing against Sweden...
I am going out to watch grass growing...
All hail Greek defense !
I love intelligent way of defense, and these Greeks have mastered it. I want to see them qualifying to the quarters.
Heh, it is a horrible sight, I'll grant you that. :whip:Quote:
Originally Posted by cegorach
Let's not solely blame the Greeks for it though. I've seen Dutch teams eat grass instead of play ball in the past and, God forbid, I may do so again one day. Italian catanaccio can be stupefyingly boring as well. Etcetera.
You have to admire the way the Swedes continue to play on despite all the kicks in the groin area though...
The last time they played like this in a Euro tournament, they were the champions!!! Did you really expect them to change?:inquisitive:Quote:
Originally Posted by cegorach
"If it ain't broke don't fix it!" comes to mind.
Ibrahimoviç makes a dazzling return.
He put one rocket in which made to be his first goal since 2005.
Chaos brings darkness upon the mighty phalanx.
2-0. Very weird instance there.
Sorry for the delay, updating leader board now.
Sure, you can join in now. The same goes for all the others wanting to participate, the opportunity officially closes after the group stages.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ichigo
Table updated.:yes:
Pure negative football from the Greeks. I mean passing around the 3 centre halves just isn’t the way to go, especially as defending champions… Spain did very well, although I still don’t think it’s gonna be their year.
Match Day 5
Final Prediction
Czech Republic 0 – 2 Portugal
Switzerland 1 – 0 Turkey
Emre is injured, out of the match squad for tomorrow's clash. Very likely that Arda will be replacing him.
That makes either Tuncay keeping his position in the left wing or Uğur Boral replacing him.
As our :daisy: coach said today: "For us, torunament is kicking off tomorrow".
Day 5
Czech Republic 1-1 Portugal
Switzerland 1-1 Turkey
Day 6
Croatia 1-2 Germany
Austria 0-2 Poland
:2thumbsup:
Quote:
Originally Posted by atheotes
He, he, he not this time ! :viking::viking::viking:
Matchday 5 Prediction
Czech Republic 0-2 Portugal (1800)
[Can't see the Czechs improving greatly, as they've been playing the same kind of football for a while
now. Portugal should have far too much for them, despite their reasonably solid defence.]
Switzerland 1-2 Turkey (2045)
[Hoping this one'll be a bit feisty, thanks to the infamous World Cup qualifiers. I think the Swiss chance
died in the first game when Frei limped off the pitch and the luck failed to go with them. Even with key
Turks out, I can't see anything more than a consolation goal for them.]
It seams we have another big favourite - Spain; Villa is a very good player.
Oh, thank you Vikings for breaking that boring ultra defensive Greek phalanx...i turned off my tv set in the first half...:juggle2:
Match Day 5:
Czech Republic 1-2 Portugal
Switzerland 2-0 Turkey
Match Day 5:
Czech Republic 1-3 Portugal sure bet
Switzerland 2-1 Turkey
Actually i would like to change it to
Switzerland 1-1 Turkey
other ones fine
Match Day 5:
Portugal 2 - 0 Czech Republic
Switzerland 1 - 1 Turkey
How annoying. I intended to change my prediction to a Sweden win but missed the deadline because I was playing FF7. :2thumbsup: Glad they won though. Gotta hate Greek football.
Match Day 5(?)
Czech Republic 1 - 2 Portugal
Switzerland 0 - 1 Turkey
Poor old Russia. :laugh4:
Match Day 5
Czech Republic 0 – 2 Portugal
Switzerland 0 – 1 Turkey
Yes.. I agree.
*CHANGE* Czech Republic 0 - 2 Portugal
Leave other game as is please. :balloon: ~:)
Alright, lemme show you Euro's how this is done.
Match Day 5
Portugal 3-0 Czech
Swiss 0-2 Turkey
:2thumbsup:
Match Day 5
Portugal 2-3 Czechs
Swiss 0-1 Turks
:mad:
Match Day 5
Czech Republic 1 - 2 Portugal
Switzerland 1 - 0 Turkey
Czech Republic - Portugal 1 - 1
Switzerland - Turkey 1 - 0
My little review of today's games...err yesterday's games
Spain - yes they played a lack luster Russian team who was very slow for most of the game, but they showed some weakness where they let the Russians get off some very good chances. 4-1 could have been 4-3 for Spain or easily 2-1 in Russia's favor. A bit of luck and some excellent play in the second half really showed that Spain was here to play.
Sweden - They played Greece, a bunking team who takes their chances on the counterattack. Sweden looked very good and I can't wait for their game against Spain, that's gonna be fun. And Ibrahimoviç's goal was fantastic!
Match Day 5:
Portugal 3-1 Czech Republic
Turkey 1-2 Switzerland
Onwards and (hopefully) upwards.....:charge:
Czech Republic 0-1 Portugal
Switzerland 0-1 Turkey
Emre and Gökhan's absences are confirmed for today 's match. Gökhan's partner, Servet's situation will be evaluated through the game.
Our defence was already weak :/
Typical, the day I don't watch is the day 7 goals are scored. Ah well, onto tomorrow:
Match Day 6
Germany 2-1 Croatia
Poland 0-0 Austria Sure bet
Germany looking depressingly strong this year, should be enough to overcome Croatia. As for the other game, seems to me it will be a miracle if either team score so I'm going all-in on this one in an attempt to reverse my inexorable slide down the table. Though given how badly I'm doing at this it'll probably be a 5-3 thriller.
Quintus, how many sure bets do we get by the way? Is it 1 per round?
About time I joined in on the fun.
Match Day 5:
Czech Republic 0-1 Portugal
Switzerland 0-1 Turkey
Can't see the Czech side beating the current Portugese team (they were impressive in their first game) and even though Switzerland 'll be having the home advantage I can't see them beating the more experienced Turks (hamstrung as they may be).
:balloon2:
Meh, I give in although I didn't read the rules and will probably bet very wrong:
Match Day 5:
Czech Republic 0-2 Portugal
Switzerland 1-2 Turkey
Match Day 5:
Czech Republic 1-2 Portugal
Switzerland 0-1 Turkey
no chance of me winning now but what the hec..
Match day 5 Predictions:
Czech Republic 1 - 1 Portugal
Switzerland 0 - 1 Turkey
Gah! Don't be so German! You're sneaking to tournament victory in tried and tested Germanic fashion - ruthless, devoid of frivolity or any ado, and with merciless efficiency!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ser Clegane
Poor Louis on the other hand continually finds himself unable to distinguish between wish and prediction. ~:mecry:
I should maybe follow Ser Clegenbauer's predictions, but here are my predictions for Match Day 5:
Czech Rep - Portugal 0-1
Schweiz - Türkiye 1-0
Portugal 2-1 Czech Rep
Switzerland 0-2 Turkey
Quick!
Resistance is futile :stare:Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
oh cratieboy, you poor boy, shouldve stuck with 2-1 :P
i predict a 2-1 for turkey...
Well, 3-1 now.
Oh TS. What a pleasure to see you :wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by The Stranger
Doesn't look like it would have made a difference in the end. 10 more points anyway. And 10 points Ser missed out on :2thumbsup:
Well that went well. I more expected Cristiano to get 2 in that game but that was good play by him for the third goal:2thumbsup: The Czechs looked strong but couldn't put Portugal away when they had the chances and payed for it...
Now for Switzerland's first win:medievalcheers:
Gah, so close to getting my first correct score. Stupid Portugal being too good at football. Still I guess 10 points is something.
Come on Switzerland, you can do better (but not too well please).
Last minute change, and hopefully one I won't regret.
Switzerland 2 - 1 Turkey.
I think I'll change as well.
Switzerland 2 - 1 Turkey
:dizzy:
Ha ! :smoking:Quote:
Originally Posted by Craterus
The leader board is updated again. Ser Clegane , who led the table from day 1 is deposed by LittleGrizzly after his daring 'sure bet' paid off. While a number of players are on 100. Most of the newly joined players have now got their first points. ~:)
What do you mean 'Ha!'?Quote:
Originally Posted by LeftEyeNine
Turkey looked awful in their first game, didn't even pose a threat. Switzerland, on the other hand, created a few good chances in their game against Czech Republic. Furthermore, Turkey's got a few important players injured. Thirdly, Switzerland will have the crowd behind them. And, finally, Turkey aren't a great team to begin with.
Gooooo Switzerland! :balloon3:
Everything or nothing.... :juggle2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
I haven't really thought about it. Use it all you want, it does grant you extra handy points but also get -10 if you don't get the perfect score. So for the group stages the usage of 'Sure bet' is unlimited.. For now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Poor Bloody Infantry
Just in time. ~:thumb:Quote:
Originally Posted by Byblos
ha, did you see that ball stop? Water, gotta love it.
Half time with the Swiss up 1-0! Maybe they even have a chance at the quarter-finals, however distant.
Disgusting pitch. We have all those players who enjoy short touches on the ball, however the pitch is absolutely awful for them and Arda, Gökdeniz, Tümer are all totally ineffectual.
There's nothing we can do against nature indeed.
Ha ! :smoking:Quote:
Originally Posted by LeftEyeNine
Match Day 6
Final Prediction
Germany 2 - 0 Croatia
Poland 3 - 0 Austria
Day 6
Final Prediction
Germany 2:1 Croatia
Poland 2:0 Austria
Not sure if there would be penalty kicks if there is a tie, but if there aren't:
Germany 1:1 Croatia
Poland 1:0 Austria
Not in the group stage FH.
:laugh4: Good thing it is now broken!!! :smash:Quote:
Originally Posted by cegorach
Tells you how little I know about that! :grin:Quote:
Originally Posted by Craterus
YAY!
Turkey 2-1 Switzerland, just like I predicted. ~D
Sorry, but I had that feeling Switzerland just isn't a great football nation.
Not as great as Germany anyway :yes:
Day 6
Germany 2-1 Croatia
Poland 0-1 Austria
I CAN'T HEAR YOUUUU ??
:turkey: TÜRKİYE !!! :turkey:
Well the Swiss deffintely blew that game. They had that game in the bag quite a few times there near the end but they just could not put it away:wall: At least it was entertaining despite the weather. Turkey's keeper deff. kept them in the game with some great saves.
Match Day 6:
Croatia 0-3 German
Austria 1-2 Poland
Ha indeed! Congrats, LEN.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeftEyeNine
Felt sorry for the Swiss. Again. The art of losing with honour part II for them. Fun game though. The elements should play a bigger part in football if it were up to me! Snow, ice, rain, soaking pitches - it's always a guarantee for great matches.
Day 6:
Germany - Croatia 2-0
Poland - Austria 1-0
After all all goals in that match were composed and scored by Turks. :smoking:
Day 6
Germany 3-1 Croatia
Poland 1-0 Austria