Just to brag a bit... Cro:Ger 2:1

[Keiser Soze]

Hehe.... Croatia!

will post pics of the city just after the game.. empty streets in the capital of Croatia in usual rush hour I would say

[Cpt.Miller]

Got to say well played, i was gutted when we lost to you in the run up, but now dont feel to bad.

I was saying Croatia will do well to everyone who asked me, altho i did think that you would finish behind the Germans.

Hope you noticed it was an English ref that gave the penalty for Austria so that you would be garanteed a place in the next round, well done Howard Webb

Can you ask your team to loose to Poland and hopfully Austria will beat the Germans, that way it would be the 3rd time that Germany didnt make it past the group stages

Good luck for the next round

J

[Dutchman]

Doesn't matter what Croatia and Poland do, just as long as Austria beat the Germans, they're not going tru, as far as I'm aware

[Mr. Mac]

Yep ur right Dutchman CRO has 6 points GER 3 AUT & POL 1 point so Aut only need to win against Ger & they are off into next round

http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/tournament ... 00417.html

If Poland wins against Croatia, Austria wins against Germany then gets little tricky Then CRO will have 6, AUT & POL 4 & GER 3 point

Maybe penalties will decide then who goes into next round AUT or POL

[Dutchman]

The penalty rule will definately be used if Czech Rep and Turkey draw their last game as they're even on points, goals scored and goals against.
Not sure what will happen with Austria and Poland if they draw level on points tho, would have to look up what the tournament's rules are when 2 teams are tied on points, but having them take penalties will be tricky as well as they don't play against eachother so would need to meet up somewhere to take the penalties. Would be fun if it just came down to rock-paper-scissors with the captains meeting up at UEFA's HQ in Lausanne

[Dutchman]

This is what I found in the tournament's regulations:


(clicky to enlarge, the regulations pdf file wouldn't let me copy any text... bastids)

So in Poland and Austria's case it may come down to how well they've done in the past 2 qualification tournaments. Austria have of course not had to qualify for Euro '08 but I reckon Poland's done better on average over both Euro '08 as World Cup '06 qualification.
Unfair rule imo, they should scrape that and go straight to the fair play conduct rule and eventually drawing of lots. Although I think the latter should be replaced by my rock-paper-scissors idea

[Dutchman]

Hope you noticed it was an English ref that gave the penalty for Austria so that you would be garanteed a place in the next round, well done Howard Webb

btw, about that. Imo it's worth a penalty, the Pole just should've kept his hands off the Austrian. Sure, it may be a minor fault, but he should know better in his own penalty box. Some refs don't give penalties for it, others do. Can only say it's a disgrace that even now the Polish PM has felt the need to have a go at the ref. I can understand why Beenhakker (Poland manager) was furious after the game and responded accordingly but even he went a bit too far imo.
Ah well, UEFA are imo too scared to do something serious about remarks like these. Least the English FA are not scared of giving fines and touchline bans to managers who go too far and accuse ref's of all sorts of things when in the end it's the team itself that failed to win the game.

[Keiser Soze]

to get back to the game of Cro:Ger....
The best referee on Eu2008 so far seen.. fair and square

[Mr. Mac]

[Keiser Soze]

They all cheering Germany..Germany!

[Dutchman]

hmmm 4-1

to get back to the game of Cro:Ger....
The best referee on Eu2008 so far seen.. fair and square

imo the ref's are all doing a very good job this tournament
and for perhaps the couple of errors they may have made, they're also only human

[zvonca]

imo referees are doing very bad job and its a time to let them to look at video replays and than decide... same like in hockey.
They are doing to many crucial mistakes that affect on final score.

and regarding austria-poland penalty
cmon i this is not foul even in basketball and i dont want to watch basketball, its football... and there are many this so called minor fauls during the game, this is something that you dont whistle or we will have every 10 min a penalty and result 12:13 at the end.

[Keiser Soze]

and red for those shown on reply are faking!

[Dutchman]

imo referees are doing very bad job and its a time to let them to look at video replays and than decide... same like in hockey.
They are doing to many crucial mistakes that affect on final score.

and regarding austria-poland penalty
cmon i this is not foul even in basketball and i dont want to watch basketball, its football... and there are many this so called minor fauls during the game, this is something that you dont whistle or we will have every 10 min a penalty and result 12:13 at the end.

A 12-13 final score might actually make the majority of the games more entertaining
I'm just saying that with the current rules, it was a clear penalty. If they want to avoid those things, they should change the rules, as simple as that.
In regard to the refs, I meant that in their circumstances they're doing a very good job. They've only got a couple of pairs of eyes vs the millions of pairs of any country that feels they were not treated fairly. A lot of people still tend to forget referees are only human and have very little time to make a neutral decision, and doesn't have the luxury of being biased like the majority of the viewers.
I'm not against electronic/computerised help tho, I think it would be a great improvement and might finally end the endless bickering done by coaches n players alike, but it'll definately change the game alltogether as you'll need to stop the gameplay various times to review what's happened. I know it works well in various (funnily enough American) sports, but I do wonder if the current football world would be ready for it.

Keiser, Uefa said they were going to review any schwalbes (fake diving) after the game and would suspend accordingly. Have not heard of a player being suspended yet tho, but then again am not aware of any clear schwalbes so far this tournament

[Cpt.Miller]

I felt sorry for Poland as it was a bit harsh to give a pen. Yes the defender was pulling his shirt but the ball was going way above his head and the attacker would never of got to it. Unless it stop a clear goal scoring chance then imo it sould be at most a freekick. You see shirt pulling going on all over the pitch and 9 times out of 10 they just get on with it. Like Dutchy says, pulling the shirt of the is against the rules, the defender knew this, he is a pro player and thefore knew what could happen is the ref saw it.

I think not only diving show be reviewed, but players faking being hit in the face, In the Ger-Cro match the Cro player who got pushed in the chest, but went down holding his face, this is unsporting imo and maybee it would have been only a yellow if the player didn't over react in that manor.

Video replays in game, tbh im undecided on this, what will it be used for? Goals only, penaltys, freekicks, offsides, fouls, throw-ins, ect..
Once its brought in for lets say goals, then people would then pressure for the others, ie a wrongly awared throw-in led to a goal. What i would not mind seeing is add a fith official who views the game in real time and gives advice to the the ref who then make final decision.

B4 i go, got to say well played the Dutch 4-1 over France and best performance so far, can anyone stop them?

J

[Dutchman]

btw, quick note, if I'm not mistaken Poland's goal was very much offside, so can they really complain and couldnt you say justice was done?

[zvonca]

I
I think not only diving show be reviewed, but players faking being hit in the face, In the Ger-Cro match the Cro player who got pushed in the chest, but went down holding his face, this is unsporting imo and maybee it would have been only a yellow if the player didn't over react in that manor.

J

Yes, he was faking (he got yellow card for that) but this is not important...
Schweinsteiger tryed to hit him (intention) and this kind of reaction should be punished with red card every time.
He is professional player and he should know how to control himself not to act like animal.

[Keiser Soze]

Hehe diving... welll what Italians would say on reds
After a few minutes only goal keeper would be in game

[Dutchman]

Aye, you are definately right there zvonca. Even tho the fault itself was not that major, it was the intention which justified the red card.
btw, a France player should've been sent off in their game against us but escaped with yellow after elbowing van der Vaart.
So far it seems like the majority of the players are behaving tho, seeing as there's only been 1 red card so far and the amount of yellows isn't very high either, is it. I certainly like the fact that so far we've only got 2 yellows

So the coming 4 nights will finalise the group matches, and with Portugal, Croatia, Netherlands and Spain already qualified, who do you think will join them?

Group A: Czech Republic or Turkey - I'm putting my money on the Czechs on this one, they seemed to be in quite a good display despite losing against Portugal, but Turkey didn't quite convince me in their narrow win over Switzerland. It would be fun to see this match to go to penalties tho, preferably (for the neutral fans) after a goal-fest draw.

Group B: Germany or Austria or Poland - Poland's got the slimmest chance, as they need the other match to go in their favour. Plus they're playing against a Croatia side with a high spirit after their win over Germany, who imo, even tho they've won the group already, will not just sit back and enjoy the ride as they'll want to keep their good form going. I think Germany has the best chances against undoubtely one of the weakest sides this tournament, altho Austria are of course playing in front of a major home crowd again and Germany's confidence was dented against Croatia.

Group C: Romania or France or Italy - So which of the 2 giants is going to crash out of the "Group of Death", or will it be both. I don't think the Dutch will, like Croatia, just sit back and enjoy. Sure, some subsititutions will be made to rest key players, but it's not good for your confidence to head into the quarter finals after losing your final game. I reckon France will put up a very good fight against the Italians and come out victorious. They've impressed me in their last match against us and were unlucky not to draw level earlier in the game. Although Italy played a lot better against Romania than they did in their first game, I think France will come out on top and qualify for the quarter finals.

Group D: Sweden or Russia - Tough one, I was definately impressed by the Swedes against Spain and they were unlucky to lose to a late goal, in a game that could've easily gone the other way. Didn't see much of Russia's either 2 games to form a proper opinion, but I think that if Sweden can bounce back from their Spain loss, they might edge Russia, also knowing that a draw is enough for them to go through. At least Greece is already out, current holders who play anything but attractive football.

So the quarter finals would then be:
Portugal - Germany
Croatia - Czech Republic
Netherlands - Sweden
Spain - France

[zvonca]

Group B: Germany or Austria or Poland - Poland's got the slimmest chance, as they need the other match to go in their favour. Plus they're playing against a Croatia side with a high spirit after their win over Germany, who imo, even tho they've won the group already, will not just sit back and enjoy the ride as they'll want to keep their good form going. I think Germany has the best chances against undoubtely one of the weakest sides this tournament, altho Austria are of course playing in front of a major home crowd again and Germany's confidence was dented against Croatia.

So the quarter finals would then be:
Portugal - Germany
Croatia - Czech Republic
Netherlands - Sweden
Spain - France

Only three first team players will play for Croatia... we are already first in group, no need to take a risk of cards and injury.
So there is still a chance for Poland.

[Keiser Soze]

So the quarter finals would then be:
Portugal - Germany
Croatia - Czech Republic
Netherlands - Sweden
Spain - France

i would agree with this

[Dutchman]

Have you got that many players who are already booked then?
Only 3 first team players might not be the wisest choice imo, as you'll want to keep the good form you're in.
I reckon the Dutch team will see some changes, but not that many. We've only got 2 players who've already been booked, so they certainly won't be playing as you don't want to risk a suspension, but I reckon the likes of Robben and van Persie to make it into the starting eleven as they haven't played that much yet and especially the latter could benefit greatly by playing some more after this injury plagued season at Arsenal.

Still think it'll be Germany through, since they're playing Austria and I expect them to bounce back.

Ah well, Group A's up first tonight, we'll see what happens and whether the Turkish community in this country (which is large) will have something to celebrate all night long

[zvonca]

Have you got that many players who are already booked then?
Only 3 first team players might not be the wisest choice imo, as you'll want to keep the good form you're in.

Good form is not important here, saving players for next game is. This game is nothing more than friendly match for us.
Same Portugal did tonight and lost, thats why i said that Poland chance becoming bigger.

[Dutchman]

Have to be careful tho, changing a few players might not make too much of a difference, but fielding a whole new first XI has done more harm than good in the past.
Suppose future will tell whether it's been a good choice or not.

Still Poland doesn't have the biggest of chances, as Germany need only draw against Austria and they're through. Poland know what they have to do, but even a reserve Croatia side may be very hard to cope with as they'll want to prove themselves and try and claim a place in the starting line-up for the quarter finals. I remember 4 years ago when it came down to the last game in our group with Germany who would go through. We sailed past Latvia and Germany faced a reserve Czech side and still lost 2-1.

Speaking of the Czechs... My oh my, what a game against Turkey. Didn't expect them to lose it anymore after they went 2-0 up, but what a mistake by Cech and the drama only 2 minutes later!
Nice for the Swiss to win their final game though, didn't see it cos I was watching the other game, but even tho Portugal didn't seem to care about the result, finishing the tournament in style like that can only have given their fans a joyful evening

[Keiser Soze]

Seem the bench was quite enough

[Dutchman]

Yea, seemed like it, didn't watch it tho, found Austria-Germany far more interesting and Austria were just unlucky not to score

We seem to be fielding most of our first XI tonight, with which I'm pleased. The two yellow carded players will of course remain on the bench, but imo we're better off not replacing too many players. Again, the future will tell what's the better choice.

[Dutchman]

Well, hardly any of our first XI players played tonight, which made it a very dull match, especially are Romania seemed to have forgotten that they needed to score to win a game...
Ah well, still pleased with the 2-0 win, don't think it would've been much different if we'd fielded different players, as they were certainly lacking motivating to crush the Romanians

[Keiser Soze]

Well, hardly any of our first XI players played tonight, which made it a very dull match, especially are Romania seemed to have forgotten that they needed to score to win a game...
Ah well, still pleased with the 2-0 win, don't think it would've been much different if we'd fielded different players, as they were certainly lacking motivating to crush the Romanians

to bad because of dutch Italians are going further.. struggling for those goals against France with one player more

as always a lot of luck on their side

[Dutchman]

It was a deserved red card tho, so France can't moan about that.

imo one shouldnt say that Italy qualified because of us. We simply did what Romania couldn't do, and that was win. And Italy simply did what it had to do to have a chance and that was to win.
Ah well, doesn't matter to us if we'd face Italy in the semi final again, we've defeated them before.
Going to be a very exciting quarter final though, Italy v Spain, and we'll just have to see who we'll face, Russia or Sweden. Can't say I prefer either country

[Keiser Soze]

yea red one was deserved... was just a joke

you did well

[Dutchman]

How about a Croatia v Netherlands final?

[Keiser Soze]

How about a Croatia v Netherlands final?

somehow i was talking about that yesterday

[Dutchman]

Looks like I was only right about Germany making the quarter finals, unless Sweden manage to score another two in under 10mins, which I very much doubt and I find it more likely that Russia add another one

[Dutchman]

So these are the quarter finals:

Portugal v Germany

Croatia v Turkey

Spain v Italy

Netherlands v Russia

Anyone fancy betting, as I seem to be terrible at it

[zvonca]

semifinal

Germany - Croatia
Italy - Netherland