Thursday, June 12, 2008
Spain 4-1 Russia
Magnificent performance from the Spanish against the team that knocked England out of Euro qualifying. David Villa's hat-trick could not have come without the unselfishness of Fernando Torres, but the last two goals scored by him was finishing at the highest level. Cesc Fabregas' goal looked a bit offside? No? There was no Russia player outside of play injured...
Sweden 2-0 Greece
That's what you get when you play so defensively. It's dangerous. Henrik Larsson's return to the international squad paid dividends when he laid the ball off for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and he duly cracked the ball into the top corner. Larsson then played in Ljungberg, and after a scrappy play, Greece 'keeper Nikopolidis was smiling after somehow Peter Hansson forced it home.
Switzerland 1-2
TurkeyA last minute winner from Turkey's Arda Turan knocked the first team out of the tournament, co-hosts Switzerland. They started well, going one up through Hakan Yakin, but Turkey fought back to equalise, and Turan broke so many
neutral hearts with a goal close to the end.
Czech Republic 1-3
Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo had a hand in all three of the goals, scoring one, assisting one, and
doing something for the first one. Deco scrambled in a goal after Ronaldo's close-range effort his Petr Cech. Ronaldo scored his own when Deco squared the ball for him in the eighteen yard box to fire home, and in the last minutes, he broke free of the Czech's offside trap and unselfishly squared the ball for substitute Ricardo Quaresma to score. He's tryin to show he ain't selfish no more? Hmm...
my thoughts at 10:16 am