At times it was a pretty interesting game, but a lot of the time it was a borefest. And Italy was just so frustratiing to watch - how many scoring chances do you need? I was half expecting England to score a goal and take the game. Much better than Spain - France which was a 90 minute snoozeorama (ok... it was a snoozeorama for the 30 minutes I managed to digest before turning it off).
what was this guy on about? they werent even consistent at all not in their history nor in recent times. Lets compare. Italy 1990 - 3rd place beating england in the place for 3rd 1992 Euro - england exit group, Italy dnq 1994 world cup - italy runners up, england dnq 1996 - italy 1st round exit, england semi finals 1998 - italy q finals, england 2nd round 2000 - italy runners upm england 1st round exit 2002 - italy 2nd round, england qf's 2004 - italy 1st round, england qf's 2006 - italy winners, england qf's 2008 - italy q finals, england dnq 2010 - italy 1st round, england 2nd round 2012 - italy knock out england and make semi's at least!!!!! yeah england, recently better than italyItaly played in 3 finals winning 1 and runner up in 2, 2 semi finals appearances where england just have 2 semi finals appearances. England did not qualify for 2 comps, italy didnt qualify for 1. what a joke.
england better than Italy since the 2006 world cup? england who didnt even qualify for the euro? better than italy who did and only lost on penalties to eventual champions spain without pirlo, gattuso and cannavaro? England who went one stage further than italy but who drew with usa and algeria then got swamped by germany 4-1? england better than italy who this morning played italy and conceded 35 shots on goal and 65 percent possession? No idea what so ever
As much as I agree with the rest of your post this is pretty counterproductive: England went one stage further, but it's a huge step further. Italy was dead last in a group featuring New Zealand. Honestly - trying to downgrade England's 2010 WC campaign and make it comparable to Italy's 2010 campaign is the worst argument ever!
Obviously I made my post a long time before yesterday, Italy were probably the joint worst team in 2010 with France, and 2008 they were not brilliant either. I still maintain that post WC to before this tournament that was true.
Yeah, right. 2008 Italy quarter finallists England - did not qualify 2010 - italy out first round england - 2nd round and swamped 4-1 so one tournament played in and a second round smashing at the hands of germany is better than 2 tournaments quailfied for and a quarter final appearance. Makes sense
But this isn't a team of nobodies. Only those who are completely ignorant about the Italian game would say this. It's not the best Italy side ever, but it's starting XI features five players from a scudetto-winning side that went UNDEFEATED. Then add players like De Rossi, Abate, Cassano and Balotelli. I don't understand how people continue to underrate them. The problem is that they are not taking their chances. You can argue that if they took their chances in this tournament, they could and should have one every one of their games, including against your Spain side (although the draw was the right result there). That said, they are still a side that went unbeaten throughout qualifiers, with the best defensive record and qualified with a game at hand. Add that to the fact that they are still unbeaten in this tournament, and no one can say they really should have beat Italy. Like I said, I hope people keep sleeping on them. That's when we win trophies.
Au contraire... England: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2012/may/30/euro-2012-england-animated-history Italy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/...y-animated-history-video?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3486
I dont know how the petty argument between their total history and even recent history started, but I dont think its relevant.....today atleast. Both are proud footbal nations,with top 5 in the world professional leagues......and some of the best,most educated fans around. They both played well. Italy were better,but wasted too many chances. England almost made them pay, as does often happen,when one side misses one too many chances. I like this version of Italy and have seen them all closely since 82 WC. Was present for several of the Italia 90 and USA 94 games. Someone had to win and someone had to lose.......the more ambitious side eventually won. Its a shame that Germany and Italy can not be the final,as these are the two teams that have impressed me the most,as they most often do.....going back some thirty years plus.
Barring a meltdown or an unfortunate break the final will undoubtedly be Germany vs Spain. I think this time around Germany has what it takes to beat them. Fun Fact: Spain has lost only one knockout game in international play since 2008, and it was to the United States 2-0.
Barring? Undoubtedly? Very strong words given Spain shouldn't have even made it out of the group, has 2 days less rest than Portugal, whilst Italy has a vastly superior head to head than Germany, the team has been playing some scintillating (if ineffective) football and Pirlo has been without a doubt the player of the tournament so far...
Without a doubt? Very strong words for a player who could only beat teams from the soccer-Neanderthalic Isles so far.
Hmmm...is the use of these words only allowed by you? He is giving his opinion using those words, you gave yours. I am sure there is plenty of doubt about who folks think is the player of the tourney.
germany will pwn italy i think, tiredness plus the germans have rested and rotated to good effect, i can see 3 - 0
Boring? The last adjective I'd use for that England-Italia is boring. It was fun to watch, if you analyze what's going on on the field. How each change and positional shift is answered by the other team. It was delicious.
Spain is clearly the favorite against Portugal. They've won the last two major tournaments and are currently ranked #1 in the world. Germany is head and shoulders better than any other team so far. I don't think I'm alone of this opinion. Head to head history is meaningless. Different times, different players.
Fan Dies Watching Euros... Man, read this. How he could stay awake through some of these games is anyone's guess.
What exacty makes you say Germany is better than Italy ? Sure they have not been great against Croatia, and their performances before the tournament weren't either (it's a guess as i didn't watch them), but against Spain and England they were just brillant ! On these two matches they showed more defensive stability and more attacking possibilities than Germany imo. And that's the Italy that's more likely to show up on thursday, don't expect to see the Italy that lost 3-0 to Russia. So yeah i'd be pretty scared if i were german right now. If they are better at finishing than they were against England, i don't give much chance to Germany ! (And add to that that they are known for not doing well against Italy...).
Yes Italy looked dangerous against England, but their finishing was awful. They won't have nearly as many opportunities against Germany so they really need to make them count. Germany is the only team that has shown fortitude so far. They won all four of their matches convincingly against teams that are not exactly pushovers. Spain might be the favorite because of their ranking and winning two consecutive tournaments, but they haven't shown me they have what it takes to win this. Their win against a "shell of its fomer self" France wasn't exactly convincing.