Euro 2012

[alchemist]

It all kicks off on June 8th with the eagerly awaited () clash of Poland v Greece.

Group A

Czech Rep
Greece
Poland
Russia

Group B

Denmark
Germany
Portugal
Netherlands

Group C

Croatia
Ireland
Italy
Spain

Group D

England
France
Sweden
Ukraine


Can anyone beat Spain?

Can Germany end 16 years of hurt? (yes, it's been that long)

Can Hodgson finally get the best out of England?

Are Ireland doomed?

Who will escape the GROUP OF DEATH (Group B)?

Will either of the host nations progress?

Will the recent BBC documentary on football racism in Polkraine turn out to be scarily prophetic journalism or OTT scaremongering?

And who will win the Footy Competition Based On The Euros, open to all Chrons members?
Footy Competition Based On The Euro's?

[alchemist]

What Alan Shearer will have written on the palm of his left hand for the tournament

[thaddeus6th]

Ha, that flowchart is pretty good.

I wonder if we'll see the Greeks playing the Germans at some point.

[The Ace]

OK, so I'm supporting France, Sweden and Spain in the first round - nice to be certain.

[Mr. Aware Eagle]

As an American, I won't have a particular rooting interest in Euro. But I'll definitely be watching some matches. Not much better than international football.

[thaddeus6th]

Not the Ukraine, my grumpy Caledonian friend?

[The Ace]

Sorry, I keep forgetting that people don't know that I'm a registered Kievaholic - the Ukraine goes without saying.

[alchemist]

Less than a day to go, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I fancy the Netherlands and think Spain won't do as well as they've become accustomed to.

[Moonbat]

I agree with the Spain thought, I know everyone is drooling over them and saying how great they are but I think they are going to disappoint this time round.

The English have finally got reasonable expectations, win the whole comp in style or come home losers

[Fried Egg]

As far as England are concerned, I think it's all going to come down to that first game. If they can beat France, they will have every chance of going all the way, if they don't, they will likely be knocked out at the quarter final stage, if they make it out of the group stage...

[Moonbat]

Spoilers.......

Wow! There is no way that was a sending off!
Two really soft, if not wrongly given, yellow cards. What a shame, Poland were winning cleanly anyway and now the ref has ruined it. The first yellow would have been rescinded if replays were allowed, and I think the second one wasn't even a foul.

Still glad to be watching the footy. :-)

[Lenny]

HT: Poland 1 - 0 Greece

That was an entertaining first half! So much for thinking it would be a dull, 0-0 affair.

Poland are looking pretty decent - very attacking, with some lovely football. However, their passing is a bit hit and miss, and they lose the ball regularly. The back four are doing well, though.

As for Greece... they're all over the place! That famous defence of theirs is an absolute shambles, and their front man is getting absolutely no service from the midfield.

Also, the first red has been shown to... the Greek #19. His first yellow was a strange booking, as the ref had let a lot of worse things go. I'd say he deserved the second, but in total, it was a very soft sending off. Poor guy.

Now I'm off to a band rehearsal, so I'm going to miss the rest of the evenings' football.

[Moonbat]

And miss it you did.

FT: Poland 1 - 1 Greece

Only 20 Men left on the field. Quite an entertaining start to the Euros.

[Lenny]

Damn the Polish! As if I missed the drama (plus I've got Poland in the family sweep).

Tuned into the Russia match for the last ten minutes of the first half, and I'm amazed to see the Russian's dominating so much. I expected better of the Czechs. So much for tipping them to win.

Let's see if the second half is any different.

EDIT: As it is, though, I've already made my decision for the Russia vs. Poland game. Still unsure about Greece vs. Czech. I'll wait to see how the Czechs do in the second half.

EDIT2: Well, the Czechs got a goal back, but Russia got a third (good goal), and a fourth from Pavlyuchenko (incredible goal!), which has to be goal of the tournament so far.

[alchemist]

I got Russia in the work sweep

They look really good on the ball; lots of options. Still, they'll probably fall apart at the first sign of pressure.