For what it’s worth… my bets for tonight:
Italy 3-0
Sweden to win
Sweden half time and full time
Watching most of the games at home, but last night in the pub. Roooooooooooooney!
I’m going against all my principles to root for Germany tomorrow. Mainly because they pose no obvious future danger to England 
Tonight, come on not Italy!
Well well well… 2-2…
Seriously, I can’t believe that was a fix. But seeing the Italians celebrations turn sour was kinda funny, in an evil way…
So, just a serenedipitous ending then? Wish I was actually viewing some of these. Maybe on the weekend.
Had a work related activity tonight, so I didn’t see the matches, and I just got in. 2-2?? How… suspect. 
Still, the two teams that deserved it most went through, so fine by me. I hope the two teams that deserve to advance from Group D will, too.
I was flicking between both matches, spending more time watching Sweden - Denmark because it was a cracking game, and there’s absolutely no way it was fixed. They were really going for it.
Saw the Denmark - Sweden game, definetly wasn’t a fix, or if it was they made it look very convincing. Both teams had dominant points, one goal was a scorcher, the equalizer was a bit of a scramble.
Assuming we all watch the same pictures from the Portugese TV crews, has anyone else noticed the Portugese cameramen are a bunch of pervs? All the crowd shots seem to be of prety ladies, not that I’m complaining of course!
Ahahahahaha 
Sheer comedy!
So this is where all the football supporters are. I wondered at the apparent lack of interest in Euro 2004, I never thought to look in this forum.
On tonight’s game between Sweden and Denmark, the result had an air of inevitability about it after the comments coming from the Italians. If I was a national of either of those two countries (Sweden and Denmark) I would feel insulted by the insinuation that the game would be fixed.
Quite frankly the Italians just haven’t deserved to progress to the next round.
I must say how much more exciting it is having both last group games kicking off simultaneously. I seem to remember years ago before the format was changed Germany and Austria playing out a goalless draw in order for them both to get into the next round in one of the competitions.
I am a national of Sweden, and I felt slightly insulted in a strange way that the Italian press (or anybody else) would even insinuate any sort of fix before the game. Sounds like a poor excuse for Italy not playing well enough to make it to the quarters to me. That said, the end result is all that much more satisfying (although, it sure would’ve sucked had Sweden not scored the last equalizer with Italy scoring their winner in injury time). I’m sure that the last 2 minutes of time killing will be broadcast on Italian TV as ‘evidence’ of a fix. It would’ve been interesting to see how the game would’ve been played had the score been 2-2 earlier on. Probably would’ve been a very boring game to watch then…
Yeah, I’ve noticed this as well. I most definately approve. Crowd shots of beer bellies would not be nearly as nice…
Very much so, but it’s nothing new - it was the same during the World Cup too, particularly during Brazil’s matches. There’s definitely a drinking game in there somewhere…
I’ve got a dilemma - do I continue to support the surprisingly good underdogs, Latvia, or do I avoid the evil glares of Coldfire, gum et al and support Holland, who admittedly are a great team to watch? Ah screw it, I’ll just hope that Germany go out. They’re really not good enough to go through anyway.
Hmmmm, well I did think it is an uncanny coincidence. But I didn’t watch the Sweden-Denmark game, so it’s hard to judge. Don’t want to offend anyone.
Ah, now I will have to do without the dishy Gianluca, who was just about the best player in the team as well. 
Just hoping Holland will do better. If they go out to I’m no longer interested.
And the 2004 Alan Partridge Award for Silly Sports Commentary goes to the ITV commentator during the Italy-Bulgaria match last night…
“For those who don’t subscribe to Italian conspiracy theories, just remember - Machiavelli was Italian.” (pause) “He would have been five-hundred and thirty-five this year, the Italian philosopher.”
(later) “I may have said earlier that Machiavelli was five-hundred and thirty-five, but tomorrow morning, in Italy, he will be alive and kicking.”
Saw the highlights of the matches, and the Sweden vs. Denmark clash was definitely not a fix. Tomasson’s first goal was breathtaking! :eek:
What an ending, though, Sweden equalising in the NINETY-FOURTH minute, after Italy had gotten ahead of Bulgaria in the NINETIETH!
The looks on the Italian faces as they realised they had been ejected was gutting, but still, fair is fair: they didn’t deserve to advance this time around. Better luck to the Squadra Azuri next time.
It’s 10 in the morning, and I’ve run out of fingernails, guys… 7 more hours. :eek:
jinty, that is some bad commentary all right.
As for the camera antics vis-à-vis pretty birds whenever the ball’s not moving: I have a sneaking suspision that the director of Roland Garros is also doing Euro 2004.
I don’t really think the fix was in. It’s hard to play to 2-2. If 0-0 or 1-0 had gotten both teams through, you would have seen a really boring match indeed (witness the infamous Austria - Germany match in 1982), because 0-0 or 1-0 can easily be arranged, but 2-2? Nevertheless, it seems the Danish goalie made a less than 100% effort to hold on to the shot that caused the equalizer by Sweden. One of the more controversial Dutch TV pundits (Jan Mulder to be precise, father of Youri, who played for Schalke for quite a few years) said that, at the least, that goal was clearly fixed. Looking at the replay a couple of times, I would tend to agree with him.
Still, Italy clearly did not deserve to go through to the quarterfinals, so no bad feelings here.
I just want to point out that I am slowly becoming a nervous wreck leading up to tonight’s games. From Dutch TV yesterday I heard that the Czechs will change eight players in the team for the game against Germany. Bazek will be the keeper instead of Cech. Baros, Koller, Grygera, Nedved, Rosicky, Poborsky and Galasek will all be replaced. :eek: Since Galasek and Grygewra play for Ajax, maybe they can convince their teammates to go for the win. Then again, Koller and Rosicky play in the German league. Can you tell I’m worried?
According to my Dutch co-worker, one of them (can’t remember which) sent a text message to Sneijder (of Ajax) saying they would do their very best.
It’s a shame in a way that Italy got that winning goal at the end. If that game had finished 1-1, then the Italians wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on with their whinging.
Oh, and another contender for the Alan Partridge Commentary Award:
"And they they are, Swedish and Danish fans, united – together in the same bin bag."
(You had to see the pics, really…)
doh…that should of course be:
“And there they are…”
I just wanted to put the record straight, it wasn’t quite how I remembered it!
However the principle of having the final games of a round played simultaneously to prevent collusion between the teams is a good idea I think. Having the final table changing as the goals went in adds a bit more excitement.
This is the game I was referring to.
Quote:
That left a complicated situation in advance of the final game in the group, between West Germany and Austria on 25 June. A draw or a win for Austria would eliminate West Germany and send Austria and Algeria through to the second round. A win for the West Germans by a margin of three goals or more would knock out Austria, and send West Germany and Algeria through. Significantly, however, a West German win by one or two goals would suit both the teams taking part in the last group game, allowing both of them to progress and eliminating the giant-killers from Algeria.
The game in Gijon began conventionally enough, with West Germany attacking strongly. They soon made a breakthrough when Horst Hrubesch gave them the lead in the tenth minute. And then both teams seemed to stop trying. For the remaining 80 minutes, they simply passed the ball around listlessly, often slowing to walking pace, with neither side making any serious attempt to score. The crowd, which included many Algerians, whistled and jeered furiously, but the farcical match was played out to achieve the result that suited both sides - a narrow West German win. Despite their two wins, Algeria were eliminated on goal difference.
Nothing is foolproof, but it is more difficult now to fiddle a result when you can’t influence the other game.