Euro 2012 kicked
off today, and boy was it ever entertaining!
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| Poland and Ukraine host EURO 2012 |
The day started
with the traditional tournament opening ceremony. The people in Poland
seemed happy and proud of their country hosting such an enormous tournament. To
me, it was a bit dull but ended pretty well. I think maybe they could have used
some fireworks and something to grab your attention rather than the usual
dancing and formation of words with bodies. Take nothing away from them, they
did nothing wrong in the setup or performance with millions watching. I guess I
just had higher expectations. Click here for a short preview. Were you guys impressed?
The clock struck
10:00am MST and Poland officially kicked off the start of the tournament versus
Greece. Along with Poland and Greece, Russia and Czech Republic complete Group A. Before the game, I had bet a friend that Poland’s striker, Robert Lewandowski, would score a brace. In the 17th minute, Mr.
Lewandowski grabbed himself a fine headed goal after a perfect cross. Polish
fans all over the country were celebrating as if they had won the cup. Things would
get better for them soon after as Greek defender Papastathopoulos got
himself a second yellow, so he was sent for an early shower.
The second half
began and Greece surprisingly struck the equalizer despites being a man down.
The stadium was silent. Minutes later, Polish goalkeeper Szczesny who
was tipped to have a great tournament was sent off as he brought down Salpingidis
in the box! Penalty! Greece’s captain Karagounis stepped up but missed
the penalty! So much drama in the opening game. Karagounis would go on to pay
for his missed penalty as the game finished in a thrilling draw, thus awarding
each team one point, instead of three points for the winner.
The opening day
did not disappoint; goals galore, penalties, red cards, and no racism.
Hopefully things continue like this. Russia sent out a warning to all other
participants and showed that they will not be pushovers with a convincing 4-1
defeat of the Czech. Tomorrow’s Group B games include one of the
favourites of the tournament Netherlands who take on Denmark, whereas all eyes
will be on the mouth-watering class between another favourite Germany, and
Portugal, captained by the world’s most expensive player Cristiano Ronaldo.
Who do you think will progress from Group A? Do you think Russia has a chance
to win the Euros? Who is your favourite to bring pride to their country?
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| Former FIFA World Player of the Year out to prove a point |
Russia may be this year's dark horse after their 4-1 thumping against the Czechs. The Polish were lucky to walk away with a point despite playing at home, scored the first goal and up one-man for more than 45 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI did not watch much football today, as I am saving energy for Saturday and Sunday. I am a huge Dutch fan and cannot wait to see them playing the Danes. Germany and Portugal is going to be epic, as I am anxious to see how the Germans 'triple-team' or 'quadruple-team' Cristiano Rolando!
Yes I agree, Russia look dangerous. They are incredible on the counter-attack. Poland surprised me in a bad way though. They dominated the early stages and then went up a man, but in the second half they were sluggish. Credit to Greece for not giving up.
ReplyDeleteAh, I guess I should not ask then how you liked the game today! Netherlands 0-1 Denmark. First shock of the tournament, sorry it had to be your team!
Shocking development today, as Russia bowed out of the tournament despite tied with Greece with 4 points a piece. People are starting to think about 2004 all over again, when Greece shocked the world to win the Euro 2004. I hope their 'flukiness' could stop soon, possibly at the Quarters against Germany.
ReplyDeleteThe Euro should count the goal differences instead of head-to-head results. Russia has a much better goal difference than Greece, yet they are gone because Greece beat them. That is not fair!
Poland just can't score, period. If you cannot score at home you cannot score anywhere else!
As for Dutch, they need to beat Portugal by at least 2 goals and hope Germany could beat Denmark in order to make it to the knockout stage. Not looking good as a fan but I will be watching!