Euro 2012 Quarterfinals

There sure were a few surprises in the first round.  Greece befuddling a superior Russian side to advance was the upset of the tournament thus far.  The Russians looked broken in the second half; their composure was seemingly obliterated by the late first half goal by the Greeks.  Russia just couldn't crack the solid Greek defense.  Sometimes you have to lose to win.  That loss may be a character building lesson for the Russians, one they should use to mentally prepare for such a game in the 2014 World Cup.  

The biggest disappointment has to be the Netherlands.  I read something yesterday where the team was jawing at each other over who was to blame for their poor showing.  Not good.

I had really hoped one of the host countries might have advanced, but it wasn't meant to be.  Poland came out firing against the Czech Republic; their problem was that they fell flat in the second half and were out classed by a superior Czech team. The Ukrainian, Poland, and Russian losses were similar in a way.  All three teams came out with great energy in the first half of their respective games, but each seemed to feel the pressure of the moment in the second half.  To the Ukrainian team's credit, they never stopped firing, but they were not poised enough to knock one into the net.  The officials got the non-goal call wrong.  However, since they didn't call offside seconds earlier, both bad calls negated each other.  

France and England advance.  France looked awful.  If they play like that against Spain, it will be a blowout.  With Rooney back, England played their style of futbol (try and score early, defend and counter attack) and squeaked by Ukraine.  

Matchups:

Czech Republic vs. Portugal - At the bare bones of this contest it will be Ronaldo vs Chech.  A predominate scorer against an equally savvy goalkeeper.  The back lines of each side may determine this match.  Neither employ brilliant defense, so the advantage goes to the one who has the best finisher.  Great game to watch.  Portugal moves on.

Germany vs. Greece - This game seems lopsided in Germany's favor to most futbol fans.  Germany has much better composure than the Russians and will not stop shooting on goal.  However, the German defense is susceptible to lapses just like the Russians.  Good timing on offense and a stellar defense give Greece a very small chance of squeaking out another win.  Will it happen?  Highly unlikely.  Germany moves on.

Spain vs. France - A clash of the futbol titans.  Spain has snapped back into form after a stagnant game against the Italian team to open the tournament.  France on the other hand has regressed into their 2010 World Cup manifestation, with half-hearted and ineffective play.  Granted, Ibrahimovich scored one of the classiest goals I have seen in some time against them--it does not excuse the French for just giving up after that amazing goal.  They left it up to the English to decide their futbol fate.  Boo... poorly played.   As I mentioned before, if they play as uninspired as they did against Sweden then they are in for a shellacking.  Spain moves on.

England vs. Italy - This has a chance to be a truly brilliant, albeit slow-paced game.  Italy is on its way down but is still cagey enough to pull this thing out.  England seems to be on its way back up but their old habits may come back to bite them before this tournament is said and done.   England moves on.

It should be four exciting games to see who moves on to the semis.  Keep an eye out for the first and last matches for the big surprises, those two games look to be the most hotly contested matchups.  

-aap