If Spain goes out, it's all del Bosque's fault. What is he thinking? No wingers to start the game and then he takes out the striker and only brings in wingers later on in the second half. So it's now to extra time and unless Inesta comes up with some magic, it's difficult to see who can score from the 11 he has on the field. Just terrible player management!
I think Portugal and Germany will end up in the final. Waddayaknow, maybe Holland wasn't as crap as everybody thought they were.
^I didn't think Holland was especially crappy; they just gave the first group match away. Anyway, on to penalties now.
Prandelli for Bondscoach!!! Wow, they are playing more Dutch football than our team ever did under BvM. Hope they don't get tired in the 2nd half.
FORZA ITALIA! Should really not have even been close had Italy been clinical on the breakaways. It will be an interesting final and Italy won't be as disadvantaged with only one day less of rest.
Well done Italy. I really hope they go all the way, they've been the only thoroughly entertaining side in this tournament. I hope they thrash the excruciatingly boring Spanish in the final.
After seeing so many teams these days playing with a sole striker (or, zero in the case of Spain), it was very refreshing to see a two-forward setup in Italy. I thought both Balotelli and Cassano were outstanding today... they had a good understanding of each other, and both were comfortable with the ball (Balotelli with his hold-up and finishing; Cassano with his passing). But the difference-maker today was Italy's hard-working midfielders. Suffocating. Pirlo, De Rossi, Marchisio, and Montolivo (and Motta on 2nd half) closed down very quickly and were able to initiate the attack when they were in possession. Thumbs up for Italy, they deserved the win.
Cheap penalty for Germany. Netherlands had 2 hand balls against Denmark and were waved away. They were lucky to score 1 goal, Italy was better and also won the game. Italy is playing great football. What about the German lineup? What about the German mentality to never give up? They never had a chance and as I said their defense is weak. Italy is a true finalist and I hope they can give Spain a run for their money.
Am I the only one who had trouble hating on the Italiens today..? brilliant football! I wonder if Germany regrets playing dutch football now.. Because this is part of the package! But I love to see the Germans cry though! C****!
Yes, I thought the penalty was cheap too. It's simply not an deliberate hands ball, I'm getting tired of this. It's not close to interrupting the game. Lovely that Germany is out, no hate or anything, but man they are so bloody arrogant! I'm looking forward to an exciting final, the first game between Spain and Italy was very interesting, think Italy can win it this time (if their poor efficiency doesn't punish them)
I have liked Italy throughout this Euro. They play great football. Stay classy. They have played better football than the Netherlands apart from all our first 10 minutes in the 3 matches. However you are wrong on one account considering Germany becoming like Netherlands. Netherlands does not lose that often from Italy in competitive matches. Actually Netherlands has a winning record over Italy in competitive matches: Germany does not know what it's like to win from Italy in competitive matches let alone to win from them with 3-0 like we did in 2008.
Germany abandoned their counter attacking style and it hurt them. the 4-2-3-1 just doesn't work if your game plan is to dominate possession and attack. Their attack was completely ineffective while their back line was badly exposed. Well done to Italy, I hope they destroy Spain.
Mario Gomez is really not a great center forward but rather one who relies more on opposing teams to make mistakes (which the Italian defense rarely does). He never got the ball in any kind of position to score and cannot make the kind of individual plays that van Persie does to score (though as we know van Persie's shooting was poor this tournament). Ozil tried his best to find an open player but there never was one to be found. Podolski has slipped in form considerably and Arsenal are probably wondering what kind of player they bought. The German back line is ponderous and not very good on defense (we saw signs of this in the Dutch match but going down 2-0 quickly was problematic). For all those who think this German team is the next coming of Brazil, we saw that exposed. I think they are still one of the top five teams in the world but not as good as the pundits were making them out to be.
Germany seems to have lost that ability to bring their best game when it really matters, i.e. in the last stages of a tournament. I think Loew was partly to blame for that last night though. I don't understand why he hampered his own attack to try and contain Pirlo with Kroos. Seeing as their attacking play is Germany's main strenght, it's baffling to see a coach sabotagejust that. Podolski's been mediocre for the Germans a while now, so what was he doing in the line-up? If they'd played Reus and Mueller from the start and played to their own strenghts, perhaps it'd have been different. Klose seems more useful than Gomez as well. Gomez is good to have in your side when you know you'll be creating lots of chances for him to finish. When you really have to work to create your chances, like you will always have to against top teams like Italy, I'd always pick Klose. Gomez reminds me a bit of Huntelaar, when things don't go your way. You just don't see him. Anyway, nice to see an Italian side that plays positive, attacking football. Hope they beat Spain in the final.
the interesting thing about Italy is that they have been playing 3 DMs (4 at times) in a 4-4-2 diamond formation and they had no problems moving the ball around.....with Pirlo playing deep and the rest being able to distribute. Our midfield in last WC and this tournament has been criticized for playing 2 DMs (thugs/anti football comments) and we were fixated on playing only one to be like Barcelona (obviously without having the same defensive approach in regards to high pressing/movement). 1. players that can dominate the midfield (teams were having a field day when we played the de jong-VDV-Sneijder trio) 2. backline that can defend as a unit 3. fullbacks that can support the attack
I also find it funny that Prandelli stuck to Balotelli after the fans/media frenzy that resulted from the England game. It takes balls and personality. He was also rewarded for having faith in him. When I compare this (and many other examples) to our situation this tournament I really find it sad that the coach folded to pressure and Huntelaar and VDV were played the entire game against Portugal.