All Euro 2008 Results and Analysis

[Genesis]

That was one hell of a dramatic end for Turkey v Croatia!

Damn... Does Turkey have its name written on the cup? lol
The match was really stale, but to score a goal with two minutes left then
score an equalizer just 3 minutes afterwards is not something you see
everyday!

Monday is Germany v Turkey... Wondering who'll get Bronko's allegiance!

[Fawzi]

Unbelievable end to the game. But I feel for the Croats, especially Klasnic and Modric. To come back from 2 kidney transplants and score 2 goals is a great achievement for Klasnic, while Modric proved to be one of the players of the tournament, earning comparisons with Johan Cruyff, and not only for his looks.
Turkey strikes at the death again, for the 3rd time in a row.

[TranceFusion]

What i don't understand is why the referee gave additional time in the extra-time. Usually the referee has to signal the end at the 15th minute no matter what.
Anyway i'm disappointed and ed... for me a EURO tournament can't be a real EURO tournament with a non-European country in it. Blah... i wanted so much Croatia to kick their asses... too bad Olic sent the ball on the bar in the first half of the game... Now for the first time in my life i'll support the Germans which is something very hard for me to accept hopefully the last time too. Podolski & co will have to show what hell looks like! And plz finally send those Turks back home!

[Raneem]

^ Turkey has a region included in Europe..You can't ignore it.
Blame the people who drew the maps and decided to put the European limit inside Turkey

[lebanese_raver]

[A-Cube]

Croatia 1 - Turkey 1 (1-3 on penalty shootout)

Another victim of the Turkish lady luck...I can honestly say that the Croatians deserved to win this game...from beginning to end the Croats controlled the game created the biggest chances on the Turkish goal but it was all eventually in vain...Recber Rustu signed his come-back to the first team after a long absence and had some determining saves to keep his clean sheet...Dario Srna Ivica Olic and others failed to put the ball in the net in regulation while on the other end the Turks had only 2 dangerous strikes from Altintop and Mehmet Topal in the first half but that would be all we'd see from this team...in the second half the tempo calmed down as both teams were on the look-out for mistakes...but then again none of that happened...both coaches decided to shake things a bit by replacing the strikers that could not deliver...it looked like we were heading to the penalty shootout when Rustu did a Nikopolidis-like mistake when he left his goal and Luka Modric denied him the ball and delivered it to Klasnic who seemed to have propelled his team to the semis...but it was again the referee-ing that would play the decisive role...Mr Rossetti after denying the Turkish a righteous penalty in the first half, for an unknown reason didn't let a Croatian substitute take place even though the line assistant clearly signaled him that a substitution was taking place and the 4th referee was about to raise the electronic board...so instead of waiting Mr Rossetti allowed the game to go on and Semih in a more than miraculous angle hit the Croatian goal and mystified a whole continent...it was once again the Turkish come-back that destabilized the whole Croatian squad ahead of the penalty shootout where they failed miserably...

We have seen once again a poor piece of refereeing with a dramatic ending for this game...but we have to move on as usual and say "it happens"...unfortunately it keeps happening...the Croatians were the second best team in this Euro behind the Netherlands and should have won yesterday...but "should have" does not mean "won" and Bilic's boys failed to make it to the semi-finals...Croatia are the first people to be blamed for not making the most of their chances...Rustu had some big saves and Olic could have done better upfront...nevertheless the future looks bright for this squad...they have Modric and Rakitic to build on and if Eduardo comes back to his old form after that painful injury this team will have too much arguments...they don't have much weaknesses but we will have to see who will replace the Kovac brothers especially Robert who is clearly the most important element of this rear guard...

As for Turkey I'm starting to believe that they can go a long way in this tournament...but they will have to compose against Germany without 4 of their starters who will be all suspended...it's a team that never gives up and has the potential(and luck) to bring down any defense...you can only expect a huge game in the semis...

Tonight the Dutch will experience the quarter-finals yet again against a Russian team that has really proved to be a fine side led by Hiddink...Holland should be aware of the Russian trap...

[TranceFusion]

"It happens" but the big problem is that it happens too often. And nothing is being done to make it happen less often. It doesn't even look like something is going to be done about it. Referees abuse their power/authority/whatever and it's poisoning the game. Unfortunately football has been becoming more and more like politics with the men in power just talking, giving their opinions about this or that, doing nothing about the issues. Eventually a referee will admit he made a mistake once every 2 years and that's all.

As for Europe's border, a few square km don't justify the fact that 99% of the country is in Asia. If so, then the Mediterranean countries should also "send an application" to join the continent.

As for tonight, GO HOLLAND!

[Genesis]

^ Turkey is in Europe as much as it is in Asia. Regardless how large of a
land in Europe do they have it exists; it's there. And to be honest, if
Israel can play in European tournaments and qualification rounds (baring in
mind that it's nowhere close to Europe) and so should Turkey.
If anything: Lebanon, Syria and Turkey stand separating Israel from
Continental Europe. If Israel is allowed to compete (where they have no
geographical connection at all) then Turkey should as well: at least they
have a geographic advantage. And if it's about how much of the country is
actually in Europe, then Russia shouldn't be competing in Europe
either as the vast majority of the country is in Asia.

Anyway, I'd love the Netherland to win because they play good football.
But I kinda want to Russia to go through so they'd knock tournament
favorites out and make it easier for Germany

I'm lost....

[tareknaj]

[TranceFusion]

I'm speechless... the team that created an earthquake in the first game and a tsunami in the 2nd game was different from the one i saw today. I'm gonna leave all the analysis to Alain since i wasn't focusing on the game most of the time

Another favorite is out (after Portugal and France). Germany, Spain, Italy? Who will be out next? I have the feeling that the final will be Russia - Turkey...
On the other hand, i'm very happy that a Slavic nation has reached the semi-final! I hoped that Croatia would do it though

[Nicktalopia]

God awful performance by holland they played terrible,The Russians deserved the Win.

[TranceFusion]

^ Guus Hiddink betrayed his country haha! Well yea the Russians played very well, specially in the extra time. They have nothing to lose and play for the pleasure.

[Fawzi]

Arshavin is class

[A-Cube]

Russia 3 - Netherlands 1

So you think Russia made the biggest upset and surprise of the tournament??did you watch the game??if you did and still think that it's a big surprise...then you're a big idiot...The Russians schooled the Dutch...suffocated their offense...tore their defense apart with their energy...and eventually walked out with the ticket to the semis...I say it for the million time Guus Hiddink is a football wizard...everywhere he went turned a team into a potential contender...and the Hiddink charm is spreading over the Russian team...back to the game to a first half that was somehow balanced with occasions for both sides...but for an unknown reason the Dutch didn't seem eager to play...they were very careful and didn't attack the opponent's goal like they did in the first round...they were very careful not to adventure upfront because of the quickness of the Russian strikers...but that is not the Dutch way of football...Kuyt was ghost-like and Van Nistelrooy seemed out of shape whereas Sneijder and Van Der Waart didn't seem to get their shot right...the defense was also a mess and failed to contain the likes of Pavlyuchenko and Arshavin(what a pair those two form)...several strikes by CB Kolodin almost hit Van Der Saar's goal...the only player who seemed in shape was Boulahrouz who played despite his dramatic personal reasons...the Russians played with no complex whatsoever...and it was reflected in their game-play...to the second half where Van Basten tried to shake things by putting in Van Persie...then took place the weirdest decision of the game...Van Basten took out Boulahrouz and replaced him with Heitinga...my question is why replace the guy who kept the right lane safe from the Russian assaults with a player who...well you will see in a second...on an attack on the right side Arashvin found himself all alone with Heitinga still trying to figure out where he should be on the pitch...rest of the story is a great delivery to Pavlyuchenko who put the Russians upfront...you would expect Van Basten to send in Huntelaar or Robben for an under-achieving Van Nistelrooy...instead it's the unexperienced Affelay that went in and contributed nothing to the team's effort...the Dutch didn't attack and it was instead the Russians who failed to knock-out the game on several attacks...but never count out the Dutch and 4 minutes before the end of the regulation a defensive mix-up left Nistelrooy all alone on the second post to propel the game into extra-time...you would think the momentum would be all in favor of the Dutch at that point...WRONG!!!...the Russians almost took back the lead immediately in extra-time but were denied a blatant penalty(Lubos Michel is B-L-I-N-D...stop refereeing for heaven's sake) and the crossbar was all that stood between Pavlyuchenko and Van Der Saar's goal...you could feel the goal was near and it was all translated halfway through the 2nd half of extra-time with a huge run on the left by Arashvin(Earth calling Heitinga) and who delivered a chef d'oeuvre of pass to Torbinskiy who was left all alone on the second post and put Russia ahead...and it was not over because in the spur of the moment Arshavin made a decisive run that put his team completely in the safe zone...Holland never woke up from that smack on the head and so we wish them a safe trip home...

The Russian team totally deserved the win and the combination upfront is just deadly...with a game based on short passes and quick sprints the Russians have the potential to bring down any team...many counted them out after their first game but they eventually bounced back and are today in the last 4...but they will have to count out Kolodin their powerful CB and Torbinskiy their joker...but whoever plays against them in the semis should realize that this team can go very far...

As for Holland...nothing can justify this under-achievement...they were supposed to be the smart bet but failed to confirm their great first round...I still think that it was their first real test since we all saw that France and Italy were far from their best form in this Euro...and when the time came to take on a serious challenge they went all Portugal-like and left the competition...what a huge blow to this team and its potential...and the question is: will it bounce back??I'm confident they will...but we'll see how fast they will do it...

Tomorrow is the last quarter-final...and it seems so far that all the teams who rested their players on day 3 are getting eliminated...will Italy shock us once again??Spain is still the favorite but Italy has been through these battles before...and you don't want to upset them too much...you don't know what they are capable of yet...

[JAD]