The first round of games from Euro 2012 have been played and to be honest, it’s not yielded many surprises.
The most entertaining game was the opener, co-hosts Poland vs Greece. As far as opening games go, everyone thought this was a bit of a damp squib before it kicked off. But boy were they wrong. It was the best opening game of a tournament since the 9 men of Cameroon beat Argentina 1-0 in the opening game of the 1990 World Cup.
It had everything – a Greek red card in the first half (from two shocking refereeing decisions), more drama when Polish goalkeeper Szczęsny was sent off for bringing down Dimitris Salpingidis, the resulting Greek spot-kick saved by substitute ‘keeper Przemysław Tytoń, and even a disallowed goal for Greece.
The only other upsets were the Netherlands being defeated by mighty Denmark and co-hosts Ukraine coming from 0-1 down to beat Sweden 2-1. Other than that it’s been business as usual. Germany won 1-0 against Portugal with a goal from nowhere by Mario Gómez, Spain drew 1-1 with Italy in a game where the Italian counter attack and Spanish passing game cancelled themselves out. Russia expectedly trounced the Czech Republic; the Croatians technically dismantled a spirited Irish team.
My favourite photo of Euro 2012 so far. “Slaven Bilic, the Croatia fan and the steward” #euro2012 twitter.com/ChristianMcr/s…
— Christian Machowski (@ChristianMcr) June 11, 2012
The English had been watching with baited breath. It’s awful having your first game second last. Especially when there have been whisperings about Hodgson’s selection. Why Downing? No Ferdinand? Just play one up front? When it came to announcing his squad, the most shocking inclusion was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. We all know he’s got bucket loads of skill, but there was a big question over whether he could shoulder the responsibility.
Turns out he can. In what turned out to be a cagey game with few clear-cut chances for either team, he was brilliant. Alongside Parker, Welbeck, and Gerrard there was a decent attacking force. England looked sharp, playing good solid football, and looking dangerous. In defence the much debated over back four did well.
All said and done it could easily have been two or three goals to one if it weren’t for the awareness and organisation of Joe Hart, he’s really had to fill his boots this tournament and he looks like he could be wearing England’s goalkeeper kit for some time to come.
One criticism of a good result for England is that the defence was way too deep. At some points in the game the entire back four were in the penalty area. The defence was excellent though – well organised and tight defending made it hard for the French to break through. In large portions of the match England out-passed France.
A good cornerstone for England to build on, and with bogey team Sweden up next, this point could prove very valuable indeed.
Image Rights: Phogel
