We are now down to the last
quarterfinal to be played between England and Italy. So far all the favourites
in their respective matches have made it through.
Portugal defeated the Czech Republic
1-0 thanks to a 79th minute goal from their captain Cristiano Ronaldo who looks
to have brought his domestic form with Real Madrid to Euro 2012. The Czechs lacked
a cutting edge in the final third especially with their captain and playmaker
Tomas Rosicky missing with an Achilles injury. So much so that they only
managed 2 shots all game and neither of them were on target. Hard to win a
match like that ain’t it?!
Germany emphatically defeated
Greece 4-2 although that scoreline was a tad generous for the Greeks. With Greece
playing very defensively and deploying one lone striker similar to the Czech
Republic, Germany dominated possession and it was only a matter of time before
they broke through. German captain Philipp Lahm provided that six minutes
before the break as he cut in from the left and let fly with his right foot
from outside the 18-yard box. His shot swerved and dipped away from Greek
keeper Michail Sifakis who just managed to get a hand to it but it was not
enough to keep it out.
Ten minutes after half-time
Germany were shocked as Giorgios Samaras beat his marker and got on the end of Dimitris
Salpingidis’ low cross and slid the ball under the diving German keeper Manuel
Neuer. However, they could not repel the relentless German attacks and within
six minutes Sami Khedira timed his run perfectly into the box to meet Jerome
Boateng’s cross and volley into the roof of the net with Greek defenders left
flat-footed.
Seven minutes later Miroslav
Klose, preferred in place of joint tournament top goalscorer Mario Gomez, headed home into an empty net as
Sifakis decided to come out but got nowhere near the ball. In the 74th minute Marco
Reus, another of the three changes that Joachim Löw made to his starting line-up,
justified his selection with a sweet volley that crashed in off the underside
of the bar to make it 4-1. The Greeks then had a penalty in the 89th minute
converted by Salpingidis after Boateng was harshly ruled to have handballed
inside the area as he jumped and had his back to the ball trying to block it. It
was of little consolation sends the Greeks back home to pick up the pieces of
their game, and economy.
Tournament favourites Spain are
also through after a 2-0 win over a disappointing France who went with a 4-5-1
formation just like the Czechs and Greeks, leaving Karim Benzema isolated
upfront. The French barely tested Spain and ended the match with four shots,
one on target. Despite Spain lining up again with 6 midfielders in their 4-3-3
formation and using Cesc Fábregas as the ‘false nine’, they were allowed to
control proceedings and duly took the lead in the 19th minute as Xabi Alonso
was left free in the area to meet Jordi Alba’s cross with a downward header
into the far post. Alonso then crowned his night in which he earned his 100th
international cap with a second goal from the penalty spot after Pedro was
brought down in second half injury time.
Seems to be a pattern here! Set
out a defensive stall with a 4-5-1 formation and kiss the tournament goodbye!
Spain next take on Cristiano
Ronaldo, oh and Portugal, whilst Germany, now having made the semi-finals of
four major tournaments in a row, await the winner of the final quarterfinal.
So what can be expected from the
England-Italy match? I would imagine that Roy Hodgson would stick to his 4-4-2
formation, using a flat four in midfield with two wingers in Ashley Young and
most likely James Milner over Theo Walcott. Wayne Rooney will lead the line
alongside his Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck. Mind you, Hodgson has
been known to utilise a 4-5-1 though, most recently with West Bromwich Albion,
and if he does that it would spell disaster!
Italy too will stick with their
version of a 4-4-2 having moved away from the 3-5-2 formation at the start of
the tournament which includes a diamond midfield. Expect Andrea Pirlo to play
in the holding midfielder role as a deep-lying playmaker with Daniele De Rossi
and Claudio Marchisio in front of him. Brazilian-born Thiago Motta is
struggling with a hamstring strain and could be replaced in the ‘No. 10’ role
by Alessandro Diamanti or more likely, Riccardo Montolivo. Cesare Prandelli
will bring in Mario Balotelli upfront alongside Antonio Cassano after he scored
with a spectacular volley in their previous match. Expect some fireworks there!
Balotelli will be up against a few of his Manchester City teammates who surely
know what buttons to press that will make him see red!
I expect that this will be the
first game of the tournament to see extra-time and a penalty shootout. Now we
all know about England’s record in the penalties at major tournaments…
Do not be surprised to see a
Spain versus Germany final now with Spain making history in the end.
Random fact: There were 2.5 goals
more per round in the English Premier League than in the Serie A last season.
