Bound to beat Russia? Greece aren’t all that, and Russia aren’t whatever the opposite of “all that” is. Anyway, I’ll happily take qualification on any terms. Given the luxury of selecting a QF opponent, I would unhesistatingly choose Greece over Portugal or Spain, thank you very much. So I hope your little prediction comes true.
You seem to forget that England struggled against Greece last time they met.
A replay of Euro 96 quarter final would be good.
That England Spain game was good, until England went and spoiled things by actually winning a penalty shoot-out.
What are you basing the ‘Greece aren’t all that’ theory on? They came top of a qualifying group with Spain in and now have 4 points from Portugal and Spain, I think they should be given due credit for that. Russia are not good, and I don’t see the Greeks having major problems with them. Am I right in thinking that Portugal need to beat Spain now?
Has the England team been anounced yet?
Any referees here? If a player ran up behind Edgar Davids during the game and pulled off his glasses, would that be a bookable offence? Sending off?
Originally posted by Avenger
Nah, I’d think that player would have an excellent taste in fashion. 
FWIW, Davids wears those glasses for a medical reason. It’s not like he’s trying to be cooler than he already is by default. 
Why stop there? The idiot commentator last night was discussing what England’s semi-final and final tactics would be. And England weren’t even playing. :rolleyes:
This bloody tournament is a bookies bonanza. Spain can’t beat the bubbles? Who’da thought it. Another score to the bad in Owl Towers. The Spain v Portugal game is set up nicely now.
The sun seems to have got to Sven. Either that or Ulrika shagged something loose in his head (or possibly Nancy punched something loose). The Swedish Montgomery Burns has reverted to the poxy diamond formation.
Memo to Sven: English players play in England. This means that they play 4-4-2. It’s what we do here. It’s all we understand. We’re always crap when we play the diamond. Beckham, Gerrard Lampard and Scholes are more than a match for the Swiss (cheese with holes eating neutral monkeys). Let them play their natural game.
The odds on tonights games are shocking. Both Engerland and France are 2/1 on.
I’m surprised there’s no comment yet on the Russian goalkeeper being sent off. I can understand why it was given from the angle the referee was at, but the TV replays show that the poor guy pretty much just fell over after half-making the tackle and was unlucky enough to have the ball, which had almost stopped dead, under where his hand fell. The commentators were saying that he should have kept his hand up, but I didn’t think there was much he could do about it.
Ah well, should make it easier for Greece to go through. I love it when rank outsiders prove all the pundits wrong. Admittedly, Spain were generally atrocious in front of goal, but part of football is having the luck on the day.
I didn’t think the Russian goalie had too much cause for complaint. If goalkeepers come charging out of their penalty areas and go full length into challanges, then they are asking for trouble if the ball ends up near their arms.
I’m not sure about Sven’s diamond either. On the one hand, English players are a lot more tactically flexible than they used to be, and I think that Beckham and Gerrard are actually quite suited by their positions. But Lampard does not have the attributes that you need at the defnsive point. Scholes, on paper, would seem to have what you need at the attacking point, but has played there a number of times for England and for United and never actually looked remotely like demonstrating it in real life. It could also interfere with Rooney’s game, he looked very good dropping off against France, but that won’t work so well if Scholes is already occupying the areas he is going into.
Help!
I’m stuck at work today… where (online) can I listen to the England game (for free)??
Bad news for Italy today - Francesco Totti is suspended from the next 3 matches for spitting at an opponent in the opener against Denmark. I’m starting to really like Sweden’s chances in that group.
DakotaDog , I think the BBC website has live audio.
The bbc site has live audio - Its on “five live” (this is the radio commentary).
Go on the Greeks!
(Who are just about looking like they will qualify at the expense of either Portugal or Spain! Can’t see a rather poor Russia side troubling them.)
Good luck to England later today too, so that my newly adopted team can (maybe) get to play you in the next round.
- Aro, (who just happens to have be stuck with Greece in the office sweepstakes)
Right decision, though. It was vile when Rijkaard did it, and it is vile now. Saw the images on the news last night (a Danish TV cam caught the incident by luck), and he looks his opponent right in the eye as he launches a loogie in his face from less than a meter’s distance. Disgusting.
Only 15 minutes till England kick off.
Fact: Switzerland’s Stéphane Chapuisat plays for the Young Boys of Berne team. As if this name wasn’t bad enough, they play at the Wankdorf stadium.
Ideal commentary fodder… “And Chapuisat has been playing with Young Boys for several years now…”
Predictions: England to win 1-0 or 2-0. A draw could be enough, as long as France thump Croatia, and don’t then ease up against Switzerland. (Which they might do just to spite us…)
Those correct score bets always stitch me up… I was torn between wanting another goal, and wanting to hold onto my winning bet, but in the end…
Gerrard made it 3-0 to England. And I loved Rooney’s second that hit the post and then bounced off the back of the keeper’s head and in… hehe
Good result for England, somewhat patchy performance.
Today’s question: how many games does Michael Owen need to play in the style of an 11 year old girl before his place becomes under threat? Vassell covered more ground in the five minutes after he came on than Princess Michael had all game.
Well that scoreline should scare the rest of Europe. Assuming they didn’t actually watch us play of course… :dubious:
I must remember to turn off the sound next time I watch an England match on ITV. There’s only so many times I can listen to Bobby Robson contradict himself (60’ - “Lampard’s certainly not looked as good as he did against France”, 75’ - “Lampard’s had a great game, chasing everything down and making some good passes”) and Clive Tyldsley (it was him right?) mispronounce everything non-English - Swiss club Basle being a most prominent example (Bar-zil, Bar-zle and even Baz-il). Way to continue our reputation of not caring about our opponents, Clive.
Not meaning to defend Clive too much, but “Bar-zle” is the correct pronunciation of “Basel” (German spelling) according to my dictionary.