Slayzer's EURO 2012 review/predictions/thoughts

[Slayzer]

Ok, so here are my thoughts on the EURO 2012. This year I will try to follow every single match and make as good predictions as I can, as well as the match analysis. The only match I haven't watched was ENG vs FRA as it was in my exam time but I have watched highlights and read few reviews of that match.
I will try to post predictions for every upcoming match at least a day before.(Starting from a round 2)
In next 4 posts I will cover first round before I start predicting upcoming matches.

GROUP A
1.Russia 3
2.Greece 1
3.Poland 1
4.Czech Republic 0

Poland 1-1 Greece
[4-2-3-1] [4-3-3]
Pre game prediction: X
Game review
First game of EURO 2012 saw co-hosts gain a draw from what was expected to be their ticked to the next round, Poland started a match pretty good and they were awarded as Lewandowski scored a first goal of the tournament. After the first goal Greece started playing much better, unfortunately for them they couldn't find the net in the first half, even more bad news as Papastathopoulos got 2nd yellow card(completely undeserved from my point of view). Poland were expected to get one or two more goals and secure what should'ev been an easy win versus 10 man Greece, surprisingly Hellens started playing with much more motivation and pressure on Polish defenders which resulted in many lost balls. Finally Salpingidis pulled one back and Greeks were back in the match in 51', again Polish were unable to cope with a high pressure which resulted in red card for Szczesny and a penalty for Greece which unfortunately for them Karagounis missed.
Post game impression:
Despite predicted draw, Greece deserved to win this match as they were a better team even with only 10 man.
Man of the match: Dimitris Salpigidis

Russia 4 - 1 Czech Republic
[4-3-3] [4-2-3-1]
Pre game prediction: 1X
Game review
Czechs as well as Greeks relay on the team and strong defense, honestly I haven't watched latest Russia games and I wasn't expecting this result. Czechs opened the game pretty well had ball possesion but weren't been able to convert it to chances. Soon Russia took over control and scored two goals. After the half time CZ started to play much better and the result was a quick goal by Pilar in 52', I was expecting them to continue attacking and try to get 2nd one, but instead Russia relaying on their individual superiority and scored two more goals.
Post game impression:
Czechs didn't have the best game against Russia but I do think that 4-1 is a bit too high, Russia played good but it remains to be seen if they will be able to make so many chances versus stronger teams as most of those came through individual skill of Russians.
Man of the match: Alan Dzagoev

[Slayzer]

GROUP B
Germany 3
Denmark 3
Netherlands 0
Portugal 0

Holland 0 - 1 Denmark
[4-2-3-1] [4-2-3-1]
Pre game prediction: X
Game review
Now I have to explain why my prediction was a draw. The thing about Holland team is that they play well if their main players(Roben,Sneijder,Persi) perform well, as Roben was in terrible form lately and having seen Holland with big ups and downs in recent form, Denmark managed to steal a narrow 1-0 victory versus what looked as a very tired opponent. Although on the first look both teams used same formation, Denmark's 4-2-3-1 was much more defensive oriented and they were pressuring Holland's defense with not much result, on the other side Netherland tried to exploit their technical superiority in the midfield as Roben rue missed chances. There are 2 big mistakes Marwijk made, not subbing Roben when it was obvious that he isn't playing well, or simply swapping wingers so that Roben can make crosses for Kuyt/Huntelaar who came off the bench. To summarise Holland did make more chances, but Danes had better and even more important they used their best chance as Krohn-Dehli scored a magnificent solo effort.

Post game impression:
A deserved win for Denmark.
Man of the match: Michael Krohn-Dehli

Germany 1 - 0 Portugal
[4-2-3-1] [4-3-3]
Pre game prediction: 1
Game review
I do usually cheer for Germany in big matches, but in this particular case I wanted to see Portugal getting at least a draw out of this. Panzers were perhaps a better team in the first half but weren't capable to find their shoots on the target, they were completely dominant in the midfield as only 3 of Portugeese weren't enough to cover so much space. In the second half Nani and Ronaldo caused a lot of trouble to German defense. However lack of concentration cost Portugal a game. Gomez scored a perfectly placed header out of nothing to give Germany lead 1-0. Interesting thing to notice, if you watch replay of the goal you can see how fast Muller and Podolski joined Gomez in Portugal's box, causing a havoc in PT's defense, they were 3v3 in that situation making it easy for a top class striker to score. Portugal however did not forfeit and they tried to score but the ball simply didn't want to get in. I had to say that I was surprised at how well Hummels played simply faultless in both defense and transition.

Post game impression:
Despite everything I do think Portugal deserved at least 1 point out of this as they did have more shoots on goal (7-4)
Man of the match:Mats Hummels

[Slayzer]

GROUP C
Croatia 3
Spain 1
Italy 1
Rep of Ireland 0

Spain 1 - 1 Italy
[4-3-3] [3-5-2]
Pre game prediction: X
Game review
Firstly I have note that I set Italy's formation to 3-5-2 this could however be 3-3-2-2 or even 3-4-2-1 as they were transforming it brilliantly during the whole match making it hard for opponents to man mark their strikers. The main problem of Spain is that they have too many players from Barca, now what I mean when I say this is that they are used to walk-into-goal style and don't like to mix it too much. This was by far the best tactical game as Spain's pressure on the Italian back line didn't work at all, they were moving very well without the ball. Important thing here was the movement of the Balotelli and Cassano they were often switching sides to be able to mark them down which reduced the number of spaniards in midfield. It was completely open game and finally an Andrea Pirlo's magical ball found Di Natale to open a score sheet 1-0 for Italy. However Spain did make a slight change in their gameplan as they weren't dancing around anymore but trying to pump the ball into the box, one of those actions saw Fabregas scoring an equaliser. Fernando Torres managed to miss unmissable securing a draw.
Post game impression:
Spain didn't deserve to win this, Italy didn't deserve to lose it, both teams will perhaps be happy with the final result. Spain despite having more chances should be happy as Italy had better of those.
Man of the match: Andrea Pirlo his long passes forced Spain to drop deeper.

Rep. of Ireland 1 - 3 Croatia
[4-4-2] [4-1-3-2]
Pre game prediction: X2
Game review
One of the strangest games of the tournament, I think that a quick goal by Croatia completely changed the match as Ireland were never entirely back in the game. The surprising thing was that Croatia actually won where Ireland was supposed to be strongest, in the air. I expected Croats to dribble and create chances with few one-two's, instead of that we saw lot of shoots from the distance, none of those actually being accurate enough. Ireland managed to pull back as Ledger scored a header from a free kick, and just when they hoped to get some rest in the half time Jelavic scored a beautiful goal in the 45+3' to bring peace to Croatia's bench before half time. In the second half Croatia proved their dominance by scoring one more goal.
Post game impression:
Croatia timed their goals perfectly, they were never in panic of losing 3 points and I feel Ireland were broken by a pre-half-time goal. It remains to bee seen how both of the teams will do versus favourites in group, Croatia going with a great result from the first round, Ireland with a massive support from the stands.
Man of the match: Mario Mandžukić

[Slayzer]

GROUP D
1.Ukraine 3
2.England 1
3.France 1
4.Sweden 0

France 1-1 England
[4-1-4-1] [4-4-1-1]
Pre game prediction: big X
Game review
As I mentioned earlier I haven't watched match live so I won't go into detailed analysis. French were maybe a slight favorites as they really played well in last few matches. The big problem for England is that they actually lack creativity in midfield as Frank Lampard and Gareth Bale are injured with addition of Wayne Rooney that is a bit hit for team from island, in this match they had to relay on captain Gerard and a few young players such as Lescott who actually scored equaliser. On the other hand France are a great team having great player at every position and are one of the favorites for the trophy. I won't spend too many words on French play as they play standard attacking game no matter who opponent is.
Post game impression:
From what I've seen France should have won this, England are happy to have drawn.
Man of the match: Samir Nasri (!)

Ukraine 2 - 1 Sweden
[4-3-1-2] [4-2-3-1]
Pre game prediction: 12
Game review
Neither of teams would accept draw as a result, I expected Sweden to handle Ukraine attacking force especially as Milevsky didn't start the match, Ukraine started very aggressive and were attacking 45 minutes but without result. At the half time I expected Sweden to turn the game into their favor as Ukraine lost more energy as they run all over the pitch. Ukraine opened second half a bit nervously which made easier for Sweden to use their best weapon a fast counter attack, when Ibrahimovic scored in 52' I honestly thought Ukraine was going down. But than a big surprise came from Ukraine as they started deploying their balls to the head instead of foot as they used till first goal. Quick goal by Shevchenko brought Ukraine back to life. And then an extremely cheap 2nd goal from the corner. And again I point out that Ukraine's coach swapped Milevsky with Shevchenko in last minute before the game, maybe he recognized the weakness in Swedish defense as they conceded quite a few goals from the air latest one versus Serbia in a week ago. So my thought is that Erik Hamren didn't expect opponent's midfield to play so well, they made very few mistakes and there was very little space for Swedish counters, thing he counted on.
Post game impression:
I am surprised how smart and calm Ukrainian players looked, however I don't think Sweden deserved to lose this.
Man of the match: Andriy Yarmolenko, despite Shevchenko scoring 2 goals both were made by Yarmolenko, he was simply faultless.

//Predictions for GR vs CZE and PL vs RUS coming during the day//

[2Pac]

interesting , if your predictions will be correct money in the air :P

[phaNtom]

If those were your own predictions written before the game, then gj.

[Slayzer]

Poland ? - ? Russia
Pre game prediction: 2
Poland
After a very poor performance in the first match co-hosts will look to prove their place in EURO. Match versus Greece saw them lucky as they could have easily lost if Karagounis haven't missed the penalty. I don't expect Poland to outscore Russia as they are far inferior in every segment of the game. First 15 minutes can be crucial for Poland if they don't concede an early goal they might hope for something. I expect Poland to play with a slightly high defensive line to close gaps between defense and midfield as that is where Russians are most dangerous.
Russia
Russians are well known for not performing constantly, they can beat great teams, but they can lose versus much weaker ones at the same time. However Advocat's should be able to score an easy win as his team has a lot more to show. A 4-1 victory in the first round should be enough for them to qualify even with only 4 points, I don't expect them to lose to Greece in the last round but still, everything is possible. They should score an easy win versus what should be a weakest team in the Championship.
Key man to watch
Robert Lewandowski[PL]
Andrey Arshavin[RU]

Greece ? - ? Czech Republic
Pre game prediction: X
Czech Republic
Despite heavy loss in first round Czechs aren't in that bad position actually, having drawn versus Greece, Poland has opened a way for Czechs to qualify with a victory in the second round. The main concern is that they reacted badly to conceding first goal versus Russia, they might have been a better opponent in first 15 minutes, should they manage to calm down and play keep the possession than they can win.
Greece
Elenikos were a bit frustrated at gaining only a draw after great performance in the second half of their match versus Poland, and will be looking to take their chances in today's match. Personally I do like Greek side as they know how to play on the result something like Italy used to do, although they did have better players. Greece benefits from very aggressive play in the middle of the park, they don't like to drag the game too much they keep it simple, Samaras could be a key player for Greece as if he manages to hold the ball well it would give time for others to join him in the box. The main problem for Greece will be lack of their defensive players(2 injured and suspension for Papastathopoulos), therefore I'm looking for their coach to make slight changes in tactics for this match.
Key man to watch
Michal Kadlec[CZ]
Georgios Karagounis[GR]

[MR.baby]

Slayzer add fans pictures to that will make the thread more interesting

[Slayzer]

nice idea

[2Pac]

and make it example :
but pretier one than this plz

Hidden Text click here to show

VS

Hidden Text click here to show

[mILOSbRE]

No need for pictures,maybe flags only,but keep it simple as it is.

[mILOSbRE]

I wont read your predictions anymore

I changed my opinion after i rode your bullshit here and ofcourse, i lost my precious money

[MR.baby]

No need for pictures,maybe flags only,but keep it simple as it is.

WTF !!! Flags ? i mean those Awesome Chicks

[2Pac]

I wont read your predictions anymore

I changed my opinion after i rode your bullshit here and ofcourse, i lost my precious money

dude as you said they are only predictions ... You never know what happens

[mILOSbRE]

Well yeah but he writes half wall with some shitty arguments and make me change my decision about betting

I know i dont have to read if i dont like it,its my problem Just saying that i get confused after reading here

So before my dear friend Slayzer writes something i will say how i see today games.

Holland - Germany

Well in first match Germany didn't show perfomance which is expected from them alltho they played against Portugal which is not such a strong team(they aren't that strong as team as they are individually)
Holland lost first match against Denmark,maybe they underestimate their enemy but they won't underestimate Germany for sure,especially when they know that they must win or atleast x. They weren't so bad,they had their opportunities but didn't score.Holland and Germany are teams with approximate qualities,but still I TYPE ON HOLLAND.THEY WILL WIN OR ATLEAST X.

Denmark-Portugal

Portugal played well against Germany,had their opportunities but didn't score.And what to say about Denmark.They made biggest suprise on tournament winning against one of favourites.They are very disciplined,but still Holland had their chances so why Portugal wouldn't have them ? I hate that player Bendnter,i think he didn't deserve that chance that he got in Arsenal and now he is ''star'' in his national team.He just dont have those qualities,he doesn't deserve chance to be in starting 11.I TYPE HERE ON PORTUGAL,I DONT EXPECT EASY WIN BUT I BELIVE THEY WILL MAKE IT.