Portugal come up short as Spain edge semi-final clash

With many touting Spain as favourites to retain their European crown this summer prior to the tournament, it was perhaps no surprise when they confirmed their place in the semi-finals. Their opponents, Iberian neighbours and ever-unpredictable Portugal, were in no mood to roll over, though. On the back of their successful group stage campaign, progressing at the expense of the refreshingly positive Danes and a disappointing Netherlands side, the Spaniards had a game on their hands.

Cristiano Ronaldo, previously criticised for his lack of performances on the international stage, went in to the game brimming with confidence, having scored three goals and struck the woodwork four times already. Add to that the growing stature of the midfield trio of Raul Meireles, Joao Moutinho and Miguel Veloso, with Nani an outlet on the flanks, Portugal had grounds for optimism.

Greece tear up form book as Russia are sent crashing out

With Group A the first to be settled at this year’s tournament, one would be forgiven for falling foul of an assumption or two regarding the outcome of at least one of the ties tonight had in store. On the back of their respective opening two fixtures, Russia and Greece appeared binary opposites as they took to the field for their third and final group game tonight in Warsaw.

With Russia adopting a flowing, passing game, serving them well in their early 4-1 dismissal of a plucky Czech Republic outfit, and their admittedly less-glamorous, yet equally as useful in a tournament format point against co-hosts Poland on June 12, Greece didn’t appear to stand much of a chance. Propping up the group after a dull and uninspiring brand of football brought them a solitary point on the opening night, followed by defeat to the Czechs, Fernando Santos’ men had it all to do.

Russian fans had reason for optimism ahead of their clash with Greece

And they did just that. Sokratis Papastathopoulos returned to the starting line-up following his harsh dismissal against the Poles, and was put through his paces as the Russian attackers, supported by the dangerously attack-minded Yuri Zhirkov, subjected he and his defensive colleagues to a barrage of early pressure. Ironically however, it was Zhirkov’s habit of wandering forward that proved pivotal. With the full-back turned winger caught up-field, Giorgos Karagounis made no mistake in arrowing the ball beyond the hapless Vyacheslav Malafeev, the Zenit stopper beaten right on the stroke of half-time after some lapse Russian rearguard action.

Group phases enter climactic period with the culmination of Group A

With only the Republic of Ireland and Sweden mathematically eliminated as we enter the final round of group stage fixtures, Groups A and B remain entirely open to a whole host of dramatic last-minute modifications, despite the likes of Greece failing to impress in either of their opening two ties.

Tonight’s Group A climax calls for a slight alteration of scheduling on UEFA’s part, with both games pencilled in to begin at the later time of 19:45 BST, instilling a greater sense of intertwined tension and meaning to a round of fixtures reliant on one another’s outcome, something UEFA would have been pining for in the event of such an open group.

Hodgson’s patched-up England pass first test with grounds for optimism

With injuries to a whole host of key players and the infamous case of Wayne Rooney’s untimely banishment to the stands for the start of Euro 2012, England’s national side have enjoyed a spell of relative calm and relaxation in this their first appearance in the European Championships for eight years.

As seems always the case with England, preparation was far from ideal in the weeks and months leading up to their opening game against a re-modelled French side under the guidance of Laurent Blanc. The protracted search and eventual appointment of Fabio Capello’s successor, and the largely disgruntled reception when Roy Hodgson got the nod over the endearing Harry Redknapp set an all too familiar precedent for the ensuing preparatory work.

Injuries to Gary Cahill, Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard and John Ruddy to name but a few was met with groans of well-rehearsed scepticism from a nation used to disappointment. Yet, these potentially damaging omissions from the 23-man party have in fact led to a refreshing, albeit forced change of personnel. 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the stand-out example of a bold, exciting selection by Hodgson, and with the forced delving deeper in to the English talent pool, the likes of Liverpool’s Martin Kelly and Jordan Henderson have also been given an invaluable chance to impress.

Russia 4-1 Czech Republic: Arshavin and Dzagoev sparkle as the Czechs are brushed aside

Any pre-conceived assumptions that opening rounds of fixtures at major competitions are inherently drab and mundane affairs were dashed last night, as the first pair of games threw up two red cards, seven goals and an early contender for the imperative ‘dark horses’ moniker.

Russia’s game with the Czechs always offered far greater grounds for optimism after what many would have deemed, on paper at least, a Poland versus Greece tie bereft of players capable of really sparkling and setting the tie alight. Imperiously dominant both in performance and the scoreline, the ‘Sbornaya’ certainly didn’t disappoint.

Spearheaded by a rejuvenated Andrei Arshavin and the much-heralded future of Russian football Alan Dzagoev of CSKA Moscow, the 4-1 final scoreline was somewhat tame when considering Aleksandr Kerzhakov’s profligacy in front of goal for the most part.

Will UEFA’s firm stance on officiating at Euro 2012 yield any results?

On Wednesday of last week, UEFA’s chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina, affectionately known worldwide as one of the finest officials the game has ever seen, read out the riot act to his refereeing subjects at their training camp in Warsaw. Attended by all manner of nationalities, including England’s very own Howard Webb, the session saw an array of somewhat paltry running drills and other various ‘fitness’ tasks being undertaken by all twelve ghastly purple and yellow-clad yet incredibly enthusiastic referees and assistants alike.

The full list of referee appointments can be seen below;

Cüneyt Çakır (TUR)
Jonas Eriksson (SWE)
Viktor Kassai (HUN)
Bjorn Kuipers (NED)
Stéphane Lannoy (FRA)
Pedro Proença (POR)
Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Damir Skomina (SVN)
Wolfgang Stark (GER)
Craig Thomson (SCO)
Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
Howard Webb (ENG)

Aside from the increasingly unconvincing nature of the seriousness of the session, of most note was Collina’s set of priorities and areas of focus for the tournament. This included protection of players and the game’s image, punishment for mobbing the referee, and disciplinary action for incidents of mass confrontation. At first glance, these seem like logical directions to take officiating at Euro 2012 in, clamping down on some of the European games’ most denounced issues over the past few domestic seasons.

Group B – The mandatory and elegantly-coined ‘group of death’

As with every major group-oriented competition, this year’s European Championships draw has managed to conform to procedure and conjure up one stand-out group from the depths of the Ukraine Palace of Arts, Kiev. A group whose victors and top-two progressing sides come the end of the group phase is as clear as a smog-ridden Kiev morning, Group B is this year’s guilty quartet.

With the seeding for the draw placing the co-hosts automatically in to Pot 1, and thus placing the remaining nations in descending order according to UEFA’s coefficient rankings, each and every four-strong pot had its respective ‘big hitters’. With Spain and the Netherlands completing Pot 1, Pot 2 contained Germany, Italy, England and Russia, Pot 3 housed Croatia, Greece, Portugal and Sweden, with Pot 4 accommodating sleeping giants France, along with Denmark, Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland.

The political stigma of Euro 2012 threatening to tarnish the event’s integrity

Former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko finds herself at the centre of a Euro 2012 boycott threat.

Often criticised for their reluctance to risk the reputation and perceived virtue of their respective quadrennial headline competitions, governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have recently bowed somewhat to pressure encouraging them to give previously dismissed host applicants a chance to prove their sceptics wrong.

This shift in attitude has culminated in the selection of three soon-to-be hosts raising eyebrows the world over. This year’s European Championships will, of course, be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, with the FIFA Executive Committee selecting Russia and Qatar for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively. Whilst the political and humanitarian problems facing Russia, and the highly controversial circumstances surrounding allegations of bribery aligned with Qatar’s successful bid, UEFA’s decision to grant Poland and Ukraine Euro 2012 at first seemed a comparatively safe one.

Germany announce preliminary 27-man squad, continue reliance on youth following World Cup 2010

Joachim Loew has today revealed his initial 27-man selection, tasked with propelling the side one step further than their semi-final disappointment at the hands of Spain in South Africa two years ago. Praised for their trust and confidence in the ability of youth, often pitted against the more experienced yet less-dynamic squads of other nations, Loew and the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB) have again turned to their younger representatives to bring them their first major tournament success since their third European Championships title at Euro ’96.

Will Roy Hodgson’s appointment as the man to guide England at Euro 2012 have any impact on the preferred starting XI of a side just beginning to find its rhythm at the end of Fabio’s reign?

Reading a piece in a national newspaper whilst idly flicking through the sports pages at the barbers last week, a small feature at the bottom of the page caught my attention. It raised the question; what impact, if any, will Roy Hodgson’s recent appointment as England manager have on those previously connected with the much-travelled successor to Capello’s ill-fated regime?

The piece dealt with both the supposed ‘winners and losers’ of the appointment, discussing whether or not Hodgson’s apparent soft spot for the likes of Ben Foster between the sticks at West Bromwich Albion and his role in the emergence of Chris Smalling at Fulham, for example, would lead to any significant tweaks in what is so often a rinse and repeat process as far as squad selection, and often starting XI is concerned. The antithetical argument was channelled via the case of Steven Gerrard. Much maligned with injury and lack of form during Hodgson’s reign at Anfield, the piece questioned, rather naively for my liking, whether or not this would have any bearing on the Liverpool captain’s degree of involvement with the national side this summer.