GROUP A - Tues 12th
Greece 1-2 Czech Rep (Prediction: 1-2!!!)
Poland 1-1 Russia (Prediction: 2-2)
Woohoo! My second correct scoreline of the tournament was the only interest for me in the first match, Czech took a deserved early lead but let Greece back in towards the end which will surely give Poland hope, as will the way they played against Russia in what turned out to be a really entertaining end to end game which neither team deserved to lose, although how Kerzhakov keeps managing to start for Russia ahead of any other striker they have is beyond me, maybe the coach thinks Pavlyuchenko is too laid back or something.
GROUP B - Weds 13th
Denmark 2-3 Portugal (Prediction: 2-1)
Netherlands 1-2 Germany (Prediction: 2-2)
Poor ol' Bendtner, my outside bet for top scorer, on Paddy Power ironically, couldn't do enough to steal a draw in the end, Portugal looked alright, Ronaldo still not firing on all cylinders and it's possibly time to move him central, up front which most pundits seem to be calling for, but then again Postiga produced a top class finish in the game, and possibly deserves to keep his place. Gomez must be thinking "Bring It On" for the rest of the tournament after his amazing display against the Dutch and looked nothing like he same man who played so badly in the Champions League final, as for the Dutch, a team with two defensive midfielders I can't really understand how they keep giving away poor goals.
GROUP C - Thurs 14th
Italy 1-1 Croatia (Prediction: 1-2)
Spain 4-0 Rep of Ireland (Prediction: 1-0)
Italy continue to surprise me, Pirlo scored with a beautifully taken free kick and seemed to be leading Italy to a victory only for him to tire in the second half which allowed Croatia back in to the match and snatch a draw with a well taken goal from Mandzukic, a result that keeps both teams hopes of progressing alive. As for Spain/Ireland, well there's not much more you can say that hasn't already been said about that game. In the end, we did well to only lose 4-0, I still can't get over after losing the first match we didn't just get two narrow banks of four set up quick and force them to shoot from distance and give ourselves a chance of nicking something, in the end it's clear we were way out of our depth. As for people calling for Trapattoni to go, be very careful what you wish for, there's not many available who could improve on his work but loads who can make things worse. As for Keane's "tirade" I think he was trying to get across that the fans would have wanted/expected more from the team and got it muddled and then came across as an attack on the fans, which I'm not sure he intended.
GROUP D - Fri 15th
Ukraine 0-2 France (Prediction: 0-2!!!)
Sweden 2-3 England (Prediction: 1-2)
France looked efficient once the rain stopped, and showed some slight improvement from the first game, and continue to suggest I may get some return for backing them to reach the final. England showed some decent attacking play but also some really poor defending for both goals, Mellberg with a free header for the second was particularly bad. Hodgson utilising Walcott as a sub when defences look to be tiring could work for them again, and Rooney now available again means they should hold the ball up front better than they have been doing, but ultimately I have a sneaking suspicion Terry might be their undoing, he looked particularly slow and out of sorts last night and Ibrahimovic ain't quick.
PREDICTIONS
GROUP A - Sat 16th
Czech Rep 1-2 Poland Greece 1-3 Russia
So Russia and Poland going through.GROUP B - Sun 17th
Denmark 2-2 Germany Portugal 2-2 Netherlands
So Germany going through and Portugal (i think by means of head to head with Denmark??!!)
GROUP C - Mon 18th
Croatia 2-2 Spain Italy 2-1 Rep of Ireland
The Conspiracy theorist in me suspects Croatia and Spain will draw to both go through.
GROUP D - Tues 19th
England 2-1 Ukraine Sweden 1-3 France
Means England and France progress.