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Commentary England Euro 2012 Europe Photography

Polkraine 2 (or, Arsenal Quarters Vindaloo)

June 21, 2012 — by Rob Kirby — 1

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Wojciech Szczesny and Nicklas Bendtner have all exited Euro 2012. Well, there goes that tournament… But among those soldiering on in the competition, building upon performances covered in the first installment of the venerable State of the Union: Arsenal, Polkraine, four still remain (five did until today, of which more right now). Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky sat out the quarterfinals against Portugal and will not return at a later stage as hoped, as his countrymen did not prevail and his Achilles issue did not heal in time. The unfit Rosicky kept the fit contingent of the team company on the bench today, having returned from returning to Prague for treatment after the second Group A match against Greece, to no avail. He had not not trained since going off injured in that match and given his team's exit today now targets recovery

Euro 2012: Quarterfinals Fixtures

June 21, 2012 — by Suman

The group stage is behind us--60 goals in 24 matches over 12 days--and now the quarterfinals of Euro 2012 are upon us. Four matches in four days, starting with the first kicking off in a few hours. Here are your fixtures, along with a link for each: Thursday, 21 June 2012 More » Czech Republic 20.45 Portugal Referee: Howard Webb (ENG) – Stadium: National Stadium Warsaw, Warsaw (POL) Zonal Marking's Czech Republic v Portugal preview: "The key battle is likely to be down the left flank. This is Portugal’s biggest strength going forward – they have the goalscoring potential of Ronaldo coming inside, and the overlapping threat of Fabio Coentrao bombing down the outside. But this means they’re also weak defensively down that side: all four goals they’ve conceded have originated from that side of the pitch, and Ronaldo’s non-tracking against Denmark was a problem Paulo Bento should have resolved earlier. As

Euro 2012 Matchday 12: Last Day of the Group Stage – Sweden-France & England-Ukraine

June 19, 2012 — by Suman — 3

We've nearly reached the end of the Group Stage. Two matches to go in Group D today: Sweden-France and England-Ukraine, which will determine the final two quarterfinalists. Already in the final eight: Czech Republic, Greece, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. The latter two claimed first and second in Group C with tense victories yesterday. Spain beat upstart Croatia 1-0 off a 88' tiki-taka type goal: Cesc Fábregas with a looping lofted ball over the defense to Andrés Iniesta, who was just barely onsides, and who then played a square ball to substitute Jesús Navas, allowing him to blast it home unopposed. But there were tense moments for Spain before that--most memorably, Spanish captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas denying Croatia's Ivan Rakitic when it was still scoreless. It was a crucial save, since a Croatia win, combined with an Italy win, would have see Spain shockingly eliminated. As it is, Croatia goes home,

Euro 2012 Matchday 11: Will Croatia Send the Azzurri Back to Italy (and/or La Furia Roja Back to Spain)?

June 18, 2012 — by Suman — 2

Though yesterday's Group of Death final day had the potential to surprise like Group A's did on Saturday, it ultimately worked out according to form. Germany finished off the group with 3 victories, while Portugal showed how pathetic this edition of the Oranje were--sending them to their third straight defeat, and back to a very unhappy Holland. On to Group C. Ireland is out of contention, but any two of out of Spain, Italy, and Croatia could advance. Remarkably, Croatia advances with a win or a scored draw--and a Croatia win combined with an Italy win would send defending World Cup and Euro 2008 champions back to Spain. Here are today's fixtures, current group standings, the scenario matrix, and some preview notes: 18 June 2012 Group C More » Croatia 20.45 Spain Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER) – Stadium: Arena Gdansk, Gdansk (POL) Group C More » Italy 20.45 Republic of

The source of Manuel Neuer’s Power – Revealed!

June 17, 2012 — by Sean

By now we can all recognize that Manuel Neuer, that strapping ideal of aryan idealism, is awesome. He may have let the Champions league trophy slip through his fingers last month, but not for lack of scoring a PK and saving a couple in the shootout. Today, while ensuring his goal was mostly unpenetrated, he came out to collect the ball around the 25 yard mark and swing play to the opposite flank. "Why, those are the duties of an old fashioned sweeper!" I hear you saying. But these skills, and surely more, have been mastered by the German batter-awayer of balls flying toward his face. What has made this young man so outstanding? Perhaps it's the time he put in on training grounds at Schalke before his big move to Bayern? Or maybe it has more to do with his formative years spent at the Gesamtschule Berger Feld (whose most

Euro 2012 Matchday 10: Who Will Survive the Group of Death?

June 17, 2012 — by Suman — 2

If Group B's closing matches today is anything like yesterday's crazy conclusion to Group A, we're in for a doozy. The two unlikely outcomes--1-0 victories for Greece and Czech Republic over Russia and Poland, respectively--led to those two teams advancing to the quarterfinals. The combinatorics of the Group of Death are just as convoluted as they were for Group A. Via wikipedia: On the last match day (17 June) the teams advancing from this group (winner; runner-up) will be:[6][7] If: Portugal win draw Netherlands win Denmark win Denmark, and Portugal or Germany1 Denmark; Germany Denmark; Germany draw Germany; Portugal Germany; Portugal Germany; Denmark Germany win Germany; Portugal Germany; Portugal Germany; Portugal or Netherlands2 Positions determined by score of Denmark v Germany (a) Portugal; Denmark – if Denmark win 1–0 (b) Denmark; Germany – if Denmark win by 1 goal and score at least 3 (c) Denmark; Portugal – if Denmark

Matchday 9: Group Stage Enters Final Round–Greece-Russia & Czech Republic-Poland Today

June 15, 2012 — by Suman

The last round of group stage matches starts today, with the last two matches in Group A--meaning that we'll have our first two quarterfinalists by the end of the day. It also means the day's two matches are played simultaneously. So get your picture-in-picture ready--or put one on your TV and stream the other on your computer. Or better yet, head to your local footy-friendly watering hole--we'll try to watch at least one of the next few days at our local spot, WoodworkBK. The match to watch today is Czech Republic-Poland. Poland will be playing in front of a partisan home crowd in Wroclaw, while Czech captain and playmaker (and Gunner) Tomáš Rosický ("the Little Mozart of football", as we detailed in an extended postscript to this post) is doubtful following an Achilles tendon injury suffered against Greece. So Poland are perhaps the favorites--but they have yet to win a match, and the pressure

State of the Union: Arsenal, Polkraine

June 15, 2012 — by Rob Kirby — 3

The Arsenal won't play a competitive match until August, but that's no reason to cease obsessing and expounding upon the team. With two of our strikers, a few top wingers and midfielders, a couple central defenders and a goalkeeper in Polkraine, we're fielding a mostly full team. No fit right back or left back, but then that was the month of January. This is familiar territory. As internationals enter the final round of the group stage matches of Euro 2012 on different teams, some have excelled in Poland and Ukraine, while others hide their heads as they make their way to the exit. In Group A, Russia captain Andrey Arshavin, Czech Republic captain Tomas Rosicky and Poland first-choice goalie Wojciech Szczesny have been facing off in a tightly competitive, if comparatively weak, group. Current Zenit St. Petersburg loanee Arshavin has had a great Euro comeback, putting in some of his best performances since

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Commentary England Euro 2012 Europe Photography

Polkraine 2 (or, Arsenal Quarters Vindaloo)

Euro 2012 Preview Schedule

Euro 2012: Quarterfinals Fixtures

Euro 2012 Preview Schedule

Euro 2012 Matchday 12: Last Day of the Group Stage – Sweden-France & England-Ukraine

Euro 2012 Preview Schedule

Euro 2012 Matchday 11: Will Croatia Send the Azzurri Back to Italy (and/or La Furia Roja Back to Spain)?

Euro 2012 Germany

The source of Manuel Neuer’s Power – Revealed!

Euro 2012 Preview Schedule

Euro 2012 Matchday 10: Who Will Survive the Group of Death?

Euro 2012 Preview Schedule

Matchday 9: Group Stage Enters Final Round–Greece-Russia & Czech Republic-Poland Today

Commentary England Euro 2012 Europe Germany Photography

State of the Union: Arsenal, Polkraine