EURO 2012 Quarter-final: England v Italy

ENGLAND 0 - 0  ITALY 

                  Gerrard, 2-PSO-4 Balotelli, Pirlo, 

                     Rooney              Nocerino, Diamanti

England start off in a 4-4-1-1 shape, starting 11:

GK: Hart  LB: Cole, CB: Lescott,  CB : Terry,   RB Johnson, RM: Milner,

CM: Parker, CM: Gerrard,  LM: Young, Ss: Rooney,  ST: Welbeck.

SUBS USED: Welbeck/Carroll 60  Milner/Walcott61 Parker/Henderson 94   

Italy start off in a 4-3-1-2 shape, starting 11:

GK: Buffon,  RB: Abate, CB: Bonucci, CB:Barzagil,  LB: Balzaretti, DPM: Pirlo, LCM: De Rossi, RCM: Marchisio, False 10: Montolivo  ST: Balotelli ST: Cassano

SUBS USED:  Cassano/Diamanti 78  De Rossi/Nocerino 80 Abate/Maggio 91

A Little look:

Italy go into this quarter-final losing only two out of nine attempts, while England have only won three out of ten and, more significantly, they have only beaten Italy once in nine tries before today. England start with the same starting eleven that beat Ukraine. Italy will keep the same formation as in the Ireland game, although they were without Chiellini who has picked up an injury, so his Juvenutus team-mate Bonucci steps in, along with Motta giving his place up to Montolivo over fitness issues.

WHY WHO AND HOW

"It's a game of two half's" and after inventing football, England have taken a back seat on the development of the game tactically. Maybe their biggest regret is making it a two half game, as they only ever turn up for the first. Here, there and everywhere; that's where Italy were better in this game; they made over double the passes of England today, with 744 completed out of 833 (89%) compared to England's lowly 269 from 364 (74%). The evidence is made stronger by the fact that Montolivo made the same amount of passes in the attacking third (39) as the top three England players combined. England were always going to give up possession, and while that's not a bad thing if you counter well,

EURO 2012 Quarter-final: Spain v France

SPAIN 2 - 0 FRANCE 
 Alonso 18,90
Spain start off in their 4-2-3-1 shape, starting 11:
GK: Casillas, LB: Alba, CB: Ramos, CB: pique, RB: Arbeloa, CM: Busquets, CM: Alonso , LAM: Iniesta, AM: Xavi, RAM: Silva, F9: Fabregas
SUBS USED: : Pedro/silva 64  Fabregas /Torres 66 Iniesta/cazorla 84 

France start off in a 4-3-3 shape.starting 11:
GK: Lloris, LB: Clichy, CB :Koscielny,  CB :Rami, RB: Reveillere , DCM: M'vila  RCM: Cabaye, LCM: Malouda   LFW: Ribery, RFW :Debuchy , ST: Benzema.
SUBS USED: Malouda /Nasri 65   Debuchy/Menez 64  M'vila /Giroud 79   


A Little look:

Spain go into today's game with the same starting eleven that played Italy; this meant we were treated to the joys of  a False 9 in action again. The French however, like every other team, had to change things around to deal with the Spanish. France have moved Debuchy forward into the front three and bought in Reveillere at right back, this change was made to deal with the width Alba gives along with trying to slow down the unstoppable Iniesta. They have also dropped Diarra for M'vila, along with brining in Koscielny for the suspended Mexes.

EURO 2012 Quarter-final: Germany v Greece

GERMANY 4 - 2 GREECE 
Lahm 39                                           Samaras 55
Khedira 61                                        Salpingidis 89
Klose  67
Reus 74


Germany start in their 4-2-3-1 shape, starting 11:

GK: Neuer, LB: Lahm,  CB: Babstuber,  CB: Hummels, RB: Boateng, CM: Khedira  CM: Schweinsteiger, LW: Schurrle, CW: Ozil,  RW: Reus, ST: Klose

SUBS USED: Schurrle /Muller 66  Klose /Gomez 79 Reus/Gotze 80

Greece start off in a 4-5-1 shape: starting 11:

GK: Sifakis, LB:Tzavellas, CB: Avraam Papadopoulos, CB: Kyriakos, Papastathopoulos, RB: Torosidis CM: Katsouranis, CM: Maniatis,CM: Makos  LM: Samaras, ST:Salpingidis , RM: Ninis 
SUBS USED: Ninis  /Gekas 46  Tzavellas/Fotakis 46  Makos/Lymp 71

A Little look:

Both teams go into today's game without ever tasting the bitter fruits of defeat in a Quarter Final of a European Championship. Germany feel at one with the Euro's; they have reached the final six times out of seven when making it past the group stage, winning it in '72, '80 and '96, which is more than any other nation. Greece go into tonight's game with a few changes. Tzaveals comes in at left back  for the suspended Holebas, whilst their creator, Giorgos Karagounis, watched from afar. This allowed Makos to be given a starting berth. Germany, knowing this game was going to be played in one half, mixed things up a bit by bringing in players such as Reus and Schurrle who are as fleet of foot and as sharp on the pitch as Stephen Fry's wit. 

EURO 2012 Quarter-final Portugal v Czech Republic

PORTUGAL 1 - 0 CZECH REPUBLIC 
Ronaldo 79

Portugal start off in their 4-3-3 shape, starting 11:
GK: Patricio,  LB: Coentrao, CB: Pepe,  CB: Alves  RB: Pereira,  DCM: Veloso, CM: Moutinho, CM: Meirelse,  LFW: Ronaldo  FW: Postiga,  RFW: Nani.
SUBS USED:  Postiga/Almeida 39 Nani/Custodio 84  Meireles/Rolando 88

Czech Republic start off in their 4-2-3-1 shape Czech Republic starting 11: 

GK: Cech, LB: Limbersky, CB: Kadlec  CB: Sivok, RB: Gebre-Selassie, CM: Hubschman , CM: Plasil, LFW: Pilar, AM: Darida, RFW: Jiracek, ST: Baros.

SUBS USED: Darida/Rezek 60  Hubschman/Pekhart 86


A Little look:
Both teams will wing it today, it's not that they don't have a plan, they just both like attacking down the wings, staying deep and hitting on the counter. Gebre-Selassie has been very exciting to watch but will have his hands full tonight with the Portuguese  left side.Rosicky will be a big miss for the Czechs. Portugal have made it to the knock-out stage at every attempt (7) while the Czechs have played  two QF before this one,they won both without conceding.

EURO 2012 Quarter-final's: A Little Look

CZECH REPUBLIC  V  PORTUGAL  21, JUNE Howard Webb (ENG) National stadium Warsaw 

The Czech's will have one more days rest before this Match and will feel luck is on their side; they looked as good as gone after the first game, and with Russia falling at the last hurdle, they will want to make the most of this second chance, but will be wary of the comparison to the great teams that came before. Portugal will feel that they are in the ascendancy and have got better as they have gone on; Ronaldo had a great game against Holland and if he reaches that level again, Portugal will be very hard to beat. This could well be a stop start game, as the Czech's  have committed the most fouls, 61, with Portugal coming Second with 53. 

GERMANY v GREECE   22, JUNE Damir Skomina (SVN) PEG Arena Gdansk (Gdansk)

Group D: England v Ukraine Post Match Analysis

ENGLAND 1 - 0 UKRAINE 
Rooney 48


England start off in a 4-4-1-1 shape, starting 11:
GK: Hart  LB: Cole, CB: Lescott,  CB : Terry,   RB Johnson, RM: Millner, CM: Parker, CM: Gerrard,  LM: Young, Ss: Rooney,  ST: Welbeck.
SUBS USED:Milner/Walcott 69  Welbeck/Carroll 82   Rooney/Oxlade Chamberlain  86

Ukraine start off in a 4-4-1-1 shape,starting 11:
GK: Pyatov LB: Selin, CB: Khacheridi, CB: : Rakitsky,, RB: Gusey, CM: Garmash, DM: Tymoshchuk, LM: Konoplyanka, RM: Yarmolenko, Ss Devic , ST: Milevskiy
SUBS USED: Devic/Shevchenko 69  Butko/Milevskiy 77 Garmash/ Nazararenko 77

A Little look:

England went into tonight's game with the added bonus of Rooney's return (who, in his one and only previous appearance at the Euro's, scored 4 in 4).  The team unit has been strong when playing reactive football, and they will feel they can build from their solid base. Ukraine will have to work hard to deal with  England's left. Shevchenko will start on the bench so Ukraine will have to up their level as, excluding Shevchenko, they have only managed one shot on target in the first two games.    

WHY WHO AND HOW
Ukraine started as expected; they pressed high all over the pitch, and the full backs played wide and pushed right up. This caused England a lot of problems, as the more attacking side (the left) was forced to stay deep; they were always worried about the out ball the full backs gave.

Group C Spain v Croatia Post Match Analysis

SPAIN 1 - 0 CROATIA 
Navas 88

Spain start off in their 4-2-3-1 shape, starting 11:
GK: Casillas, LB: Alba, CB: Ramos, CB: pique, RB: Arbeloa, CM: Busquets, CM: Alonso , LAM: Iniesta, AM: Xavi, RAM: Silva, ST: Torress
SUBS USED: Torres/ Navas 60  Silva/Fabregas 73 Xavi/Negredo 89 

Croatia  start off in their 4-2-3-1 shape, starting 11:
GK: Pletikosa, LB: Strinic, CB: Schildenfeld CB: Corluka, RB: Vida, CM: Rakitic CM: Vukojevic AM: Modric,  LM: Perisic  RM Srna, ST: Mandzukic.
SUBS USED: Vida/Jelavic 65 Pranjic/perisic 65  Vukojevic/Sduardo 81 

A Little look:

Knowing the danger that Spain hold, Croatia have dropped Jelavic to allow Bilic to push Modric and Srna further forward while Rakitic will come inside and play central midfield. Spain have stayed the same and will play the same game as they always do. Croatia have been very good going forward but not so when defending, and I believe this is the reason for the change of personnel and tactics.The key to this game will be how they deal with not having the ball for long periods of time, along with not  rushing things when they do get the ball.

WHY WHO AND HOW

Early on, -in the first half  as well as the second- Croatia set their stall up to close down very high and as one unit which caught Spain out a little. Croatia found it hard to keep this sort of pace up and as the half's went on, they started to press a little deeper along with the back line dropping off a bit. This played into Spain's hands, as they started to do what they do so well and gave Croatia the fitness class they never wanted to take.

Group B: Germany v Denmark Post Match Analysis

GERMANY 2 - 1 DENMARK
Podolski 18                                      Krohn-Dehil 23
 L Bender 80 

Germany start in their 4-2-3-1 shape, starting 11:

GK: Neuer, LB: Lahm,  CB: Babstuber,  CB: Hummels, RB: Bender CM: Khedira  CM: Schweinsteiger, LW: Podolski, CW: Ozil,  RW: Muller, ST: Gomez.

SUBS USED: Podolski/Schurrle 64  Gomez/Klose 73, Kroos/Muller 83

Denmark start off in their 4-3-3 shape, starting 11:

GK: Andersen, LB: Poulsen, CB: Agger, CB: Kjaer, RB: Jacobsen, CM: Zimling, CM: Kvst,CM: Poulsen  LM: Krohn-Dehil,  RM: Eriksen,   ST: Bendtner.

SUBS USED:  Zimling/C Poulsen 78 Poulsen/ Mikkelsen 82


A Little look:

Denmark made one change, which was Poulsen for the injured Rommedle and Germany also made one change: L Bender coming in for the suspended Boateng. Denmark changed to a 4-3-3 with Polulsen coming into the center and Eriksen starting out wide Germany stayed with the same line-up and their  tried and trusted 4-2-3-1 formation.

WHY WHO AND HOW

Group D: England v Sweden Post Match Analysis

ENGLAND 3 - 2 SWEDEN 
Carroll, 22                                       Johnson o.g 49
Walcott,64                                     Mellberg, 59
Welbeck,78


England start off in a 4-4-1-1 shape, starting 11:
GK: Hart  LB: Cole, CB: Lescott,  CB : Terry,   RB Johnson, RM: Millner  CM: Parker, CM: Gerrard,  LM: Young, Ss: Welbeck  ST: Carroll
SUBS USED:Oxlade Chamberlain/Welbeck,81  Walcott / Millner,61
Sweden start off in a 4-4-1-1 shape,starting 11:
GK,Isaksson, LB,Martine Olsson, CB,Jonas Olsson CB, Mellberg  RB,   LM, R. Elm  CM Kallstrom CM,Svensson RM, Larsson SS, Ibrahimovic ST,Elmander
SUBS USED: Granqvist/Lustig 66  Elmander/Roesenberg 79 Elm/Wilhelmsson 81

A Little look:

Sweden  go into this game making a few changes from the last game: Rosenberg lost his place up top, Elm moved to the left, Svensson started in the centre and Granqvist went to the right back slot, which gave Jonas Olsson his first start of the Euro's. Hodgson made a slight change to his line-up, putting his trust in Carroll, this meant Young moved to his preferred position on the left. Ibrahimovic likes to move to the right side and with Larsson coming off the flank Parker, Young and Cole will have to keep their eyes open. Wellbeck may have to adjust his game slightly as Carroll does not use the ball like Young or Rooney.

WHY WHO AND HOW

Group C Spain v Ireland Post Match Analysis

SPAIN 4 - 0 IRELAND

Torres, 4, 70
Silva,49
Fabregas, 83

Spain start off in their 4-2-3-1 shape, starting 11:
GK: Casillas, LB: Alba, CB: Ramos, CB: pique, RB: Arbeloa, CM: Busquets, CM: Alonso , LAM: Iniesta, AM: Xavi, RAM: Silva, ST: Torress
SUBS USED: Alonso/ Javi Martinez 65 Torres/ Fabregas 74 Iniesta/Carzorla 80

Ireland start off in a 4-4-1-1 Starting 11:
GK Given LB: Ward  RB: O'Shea  CB; Dunne  CB; St Ledger  LM;Duff  CM;Andrews  CM; Whelan  RM; McGeady  ST;Keane  ST; Cox
SUBS USED: Cox/ Walters 46 Duff/McClean 76 Whelan/Green

A Little look:
The only change for Spain was the inclusion of Torres, this was to add depth to the attack although the Irish tend to sit deep and he likes balls in behind. Ireland will have two banks of four and the key tonight will be how they deal with the balls between their lines and how they proceed when they do get the ball back.

WHY WHO AND HOW