Italy will need a win with Croatia and Spain both on 4 points already.
Hopefully there is no draw in the Spain Croatia game, both teams should be playing for a win as a win gets them through and a draw could see them knocked out on Goal Difference.
Italy should have had their destiny in their own hands but poor finishing came back to bite them much like it did against Spain.
NM.. wrong information.
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Last edited by GirlySports; 06-14-2012 at 02:16 PM.
The loser of Spain-Croatia will be knocked out based on having only 4 points (if Italy wins)
Yeah that was for if Croatia/Spain draw.
Italy is still in a decent spot as long as Croatia/Spain don't pull a Euro 2004 and play for a draw that sees both teams through like Denmark and Sweden did.
Italy is still in a decent spot as long as Croatia/Spain don't pull a Euro 2004 and play for a draw that sees both teams through like Denmark and Sweden did.
yeah I fixed that!
Same situation as in 2004... 2-2 draw gets both Spain and Croatia in no matter what Italy does.
Italy can score 100 goals and it wont matter because the tiebreaker is JUST results of games between the 3 teams.
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Same situation as in 2004... 2-2 draw gets both Spain and Croatia in no matter what Italy does.
Italy can score 100 goals and it wont matter because the tiebreaker is JUST results of games between the 3 teams.
It that happens again I will probably cry.
This Italy team has looked good and could be dangerous if they make it through. Problem is I could realistically see a 2-2 draw which would kill us.
I hate the tiebreaker rule for the reason that it puts too much importance on the schedule. Spain and Croatia just get lucky that they play each other last and then know that a 2-2 draw sees both teams through. It really should include Goal Difference from all the games since it prevents teams from fixing that final match to ensure they go through.
It would be much better knowing that a tie would mean nothing for Spain-Croatia, and that Italy would have to go into the game against Ireland with the mindset to win by 3+ to make sure they get through to the next round.
Hopefully Spain will show up with a chip on their shoulder again and they can put a couple past Croatia.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 06-14-2012 at 02:44 PM.
WARSAW, Poland -- Nearly two dozen hooligans have been convicted in fast-track trials for their roles in violent clashes when Poland and Russia faced off in an emotionally charged European Championship match earlier this week, court officials said Thursday.
The trials in connection with Tuesday's disturbances are meant to show that Poland is serious about its policy of zero tolerance for violence as it co-hosts Euro 2012 with Ukraine.
I thought the tourney was over when Italy was up 1-0 with the 2nd half ticking away. Mandzukic saved the tourney for us with his goal. 3 in 2 games, he's been brilliant. Monday at work will suck.
I thought the tourney was over when Italy was up 1-0 with the 2nd half ticking away. Mandzukic saved the tourney for us with his goal. 3 in 2 games, he's been brilliant. Monday at work will suck.
SUCK.
As long as the Croatia-Spain game does not end in a 2-2 tie I will be happy. A high scoring tie would not surprise me though.
Croatia will have issues with the skill of Spain's midfield, especially now that Torres seems to be getting back into the groove and will be able to finish their plays.
Spain will have issues with the size and skill of Mandzukic and Jelavic at the back, only issue will be if Croatia's midfield will see enough of the ball to get it to them.
It will be a 2-2 draw though and Italy will once again be out on a tiebreaker rule that puts too much emphasis on the schedule. (and because they can't finish their chances)
Italy should have won, that one linesman was effing garbage! Costed the Italians two high percentage scoring chances. Linesman should be held accountable for their actions, can't believe how much impact these guys have in the game.
It's hillarious to see a German player with the name Gomez.... He was born in Germany to a German mother but his father is from Spainish decent but hails from Grenada.
Podolski's moved from Poland to W. Germany when he was two but his grandparents were Germans before the war and the land was then turned into Poland.
Klose was also born in Poland but his father was an Ethnic German and carried German citizenship.
Boateng was born in Berlin to an Ghanan father and German mom
Khedira is also a German born player with a mother that is German and a father that is from Tunisia
Oezil is a third generation German of Turkish decent.
The German Roster is all German.
It's always nice to beat the Dutch. However I have to give a little credit to Robben. He and Badstuber went up for a header and collided, both were cut open but Robben went to the sidelines and took staples right there on the spot.
Podolski also wanted to play for Poland but was rejected by the Polish FA in their infinite wisdom.
Similarly, you could make similar proclamations for every team in this tournament. For example, Podolski has every right to play for the country where he was brought up, but he is Polish by birth. European borders have moved around so much that there is nothing that would resemble a purely ethnic German, Pole, Italian, etc. The German team is multi-national and multi-cultural, just like the country that they represent. This is a good thing. There is no need to justify how German he is or isn't.
Last edited by joe_mullen; 06-14-2012 at 06:58 PM.
No surprise there. Was always going to be a question of how many.....
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So tonight Ireland's Euro 2012 effectively came to an end. Sure we still have to play Italy, and who would bet against the Irish playing out of their skins and causing a huge upset, this team has a lot of pride and will want to go out on a high, not just for themselves but for their loyal fans too. Tonight however they ran up against possibly the greatest team in the world in the Spanish, and the result was a predictable 0-4 trashing.
Bizarrely, what most will remember from the match will be the absolutely incredible display of support the magnificent travelling Irish fans showed, as the clock ticked down first to 90 minutes and then through the last three minutes of added time. With the match dying out, the masses of Irish fans ripped out a six minute long, stirring rendition of 'The fields of Athenry'. Several TV shows (I hear German, Dutch and even Spanish) deliberately didn't speak over the singing to allow their viewers experience it properly.
There are going to be plenty of cynics who try and bring this wonderful little moment down, but just ignore them. Crank up the volume, sit back and enjoy the 6 minutes video from German TV below. This is just a wonderfully unusual moment in sports, a moment of goodwill, kindness, passion and loyalty.
Enjoy it for what it is. Support, in the truest sense of the word. No Nazi banners, no bananas thrown on the pitch, no angry, hateful chants. Just pride and passion, displayed in a dignified, moving way by literally thousands of Irish who refused to let the score get in the way of their support for their boys.
We live in what can be a nasty, brutish world, it is heart warming every now and then to find an oasis of goodwill and humanity. Low lie, the fields of Athenry...
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Last edited by GreatWhiteEbola; 08-07-2012 at 03:18 AM.
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^I'm having a hard time deciding whether or not I agree with Keane's post match comments.
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Andrews went on to pay tribute to the Irish fans who made up the majority of the crowd in the stadium, saying: "The fans were an absolute credit to their country and unfortunately we have not been able to give them what they deserved." "We're playing (against Italy) purely for the fans and for our own pride. They've travelled in their thousands.
"With seven or eight minutes to go all you can hear is the Irish fans and we're losing three or 4-0."
But Andrews' reaction drew a furious response from former Republic captain Roy Keane, who insisted his nation needed to change their mentality if they wanted more success on the international stage.
Keane said: "I think the players and supporters have to change their mentality.
"It's just nonsense to say how great the supporters are. The supporters want to see the players do a lot better and not give daft goals away like that.
"Let's change that attitude towards Irish supporters. Let's not kid ourselves, they want to see their team winning, Let's not just go along for the sing-song now and again."
On the one hand I can't help but agree with his sentiments that they need to change their mentality in games like that and play their opponents tougher. Far too much respect was shown today.
On the other hand ...... living in the real world he's got to realise that Ireland basically have ...... no-one. I was sorta hoping to see what McLean could do on this stage.
And .... what Roy I feel doesn't really grasp is that in his small country soccer (which it is called there) is a distant 3rd most popular spectator sport and frankly whilst people would like to see them win, it's not the be all end all of other countries. Why mourne a loss when you can celebrate the occasion? It's a bonus that they qualified in that it's an excuse for a party. Anything after that is gravy.
Having said all that, and reading all the conundrums that could play out in the last day I wouldn't rule them out of being major spoilers and taking a draw from the Italians.
Best fans on the planet.
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Last edited by Bagor; 06-14-2012 at 08:09 PM.
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Keane does have a point. Ireland does have a good pedigree. It has made a World Cup quarterfinal. It lost to Spain on penalties in the 2002 World Cup. How can they be this much worse than Spain in 10 years? It has a larger population than Croatia and Croatia are world beaters!
Being loveable can be great but we can see that the team this year doesn't have an edge.
Even back in 2009, they should have even beat that broken French team to qualify for the World Cup. They should have never lost the home leg, it never should have gotten to Henry's handball.
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Well that was a good result from Spain, glad to see Torres get a pair as well. Hoping for a 2-2 draw against Croatia so Italy doesn't make it through, and it doesn't really matter whether they come in 1st or 2nd since I think they can easily beat whoever they play out of group D.
