[Group1] [Greece vs. Poland] [Predicted Result – Greece will win 1-0]
2 Goals, 2 Red Cards, 1 Missed Penalty and such a hard fought wonderful match with all the ingredients of a roller coaster – what else can one ask of the open match in a tournament. Absolute delight!! After Poland took the lead in the 17th minute through Lewandowski the Greeks were looking clueless but they soon got their act together. And despite the unfortunate send off for Papastathopoulos after two harsh yellow cards, they still kept fighting and kept the spirits alive.
Greek substitute Salpigidis scored the leveler right at the start of the second half. But the drama was not over, and then came the send off for the Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the 68th minute and a penalty to seal the game off. But some jittery nerves and good anticipation from the new goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton kept the score at par. Overall the Greeks were unfortunate for the harsh send off and then an almost certain penalty (handball) being denied. But they are to be blamed themselves a bit as well for missing a straight forward penalty.
[Final Result – Draw – One of the best opening matches in any tournament]
[Group1] [Russia vs. Czech Republic] [Predicted Result – Czech will win 2-0]
The Russians played like a cohesive team with a game plan - strong on their defense, great on the counter attack. Every time they moved on the counter they looked like scoring a goal. They surprised the Czechs and they sure surprised me and had their tails up the entire first half. The Czechs on the other hand were in complete disarray with defense scattered all over (infact there was no defense). And what’s with all the long passes- you are known for your close knit short pass game – something that was entirely missing in this one. Yes, you’ve got the best goalkeeper in the world but you still need some support from the defenders.
The second half started with a beauty from Pilar which brought back the spring in the Czech step for a short time but the Russians decided to take the pace off the game with some midfield passing and the occasional run to the other end. Until the last 10 minutes when they decided to shift gears, played superb attacking football scoring 2 more goals. Alan Dzagoev showed why at a young age he is so hyped as a super talent by scoring 2 goals in the match.
[Final Result – Russia wins 4-1]
Looking at the first two matches, my predictions for Group 1 might go for a complete toss but still there are a couple of matches to go. Let’s see!!
[Final Result – Draw – One of the best opening matches in any tournament]
Robert Lewandowski (17')
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Dimitrios Salpingidis (51')
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[Group1] [Russia vs. Czech Republic] [Predicted Result – Czech will win 2-0]
The Russians played like a cohesive team with a game plan - strong on their defense, great on the counter attack. Every time they moved on the counter they looked like scoring a goal. They surprised the Czechs and they sure surprised me and had their tails up the entire first half. The Czechs on the other hand were in complete disarray with defense scattered all over (infact there was no defense). And what’s with all the long passes- you are known for your close knit short pass game – something that was entirely missing in this one. Yes, you’ve got the best goalkeeper in the world but you still need some support from the defenders.
The second half started with a beauty from Pilar which brought back the spring in the Czech step for a short time but the Russians decided to take the pace off the game with some midfield passing and the occasional run to the other end. Until the last 10 minutes when they decided to shift gears, played superb attacking football scoring 2 more goals. Alan Dzagoev showed why at a young age he is so hyped as a super talent by scoring 2 goals in the match.
[Final Result – Russia wins 4-1]
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