Sweden .vs. England

Going into this match English hopes were high after a very respectable 1-1 draw with France and Sweden trying to get over a demoralising loss to co-hosts Ukraine with both teams playing very attacking sides so we all knew this would be a fantastic game.

The first half consisted of mainly English position and a few Swedish chances but the game sparked into life when a ball from just inside the Swedish half was launched into the box by Steven Gerrard finding Andy Carroll who powered a header low into the bottom left hand corner to send English fans into dreamland. England Joe Hart made a few critical calls during the first half to make sure that England went into the break 1-0 up at least which they did showing the English Bulldog Spirit.

Andy Carroll celebrating his goal against Sweden.

HT – Sweden 0-1 England

The first 20 minutes of the second half was a whirlwind for both teams with so much sloppy defending yet again by England allowed Olof Mellberg bundle the ball home after Glen Johnson tried to keep the ball out of the net but just failed to hitting the post and deflecting in. That goal sank English hearts so much that only 10 minutes later England were played at their own game with a long free-kick floated in and no-one picking up Olof Mellberg yet again and heading home past Joe Hart into his far left hand corner, at this point England needed inspiration and that inspiration came in the form of Theo Walcott firing home from 20 yards as the ball dipped and swirled past the Swedish goalkeeper to give England hope, the wind by now was firmly in England’s sails and then on 78 minutes Walcott fires down the right wing and sends a delightful cross towards Danny Welbeck who placed the ball past the Swedish goalkeeper with his heel to prove that England should never be written off in any match.

FT – Sweden 2-3 England

Man of The match – Man of the match for me had to be Andy Carroll who not only gave England a first half lead but he tracked back and helped the defence to great effect but Theo Walcott had changed the game dramatically and defiantly deserves a lot of praise and so does the entire team to get the score back to 3-2.

Theo Walcott preparing for the Sweden game.

Spain .vs. Ireland

Going into this game Spain had a point to prove after a below par performance against Italy and Ireland had to get a result to have a chance of qualifying for the next round and keep the green army’s hopes alive.

The start of the match was an utter disaster for Ireland, a good tackle from Richard Dunne fell to Fernando Torres who took it round the edge of the box and then smashed it into the roof of Shay Givens net. After that Ireland don’t get much of an attack going and focus on keeping the score line as low as possible as we all know with Spain you concede one you’re probably going to concede more, and Ireland successfully held Spain for the rest of the first half.

HT – Spain 1-0 Ireland

The second half started very much like the second a poor defensive mistake leading to a goal this time a cross coming in from the left and Shay Given hesitates and punches it straight to David Silva who had just enough time to shift the ball on to his favoured left foot to calmly place the ball into the bottom left hand corner. That goal effectively told Ireland they were going home so they thought they would just hold out for the score as it is but Spain weren’t quite finished some more sloppy defending saw Torres through on goal again and one on one with Shay Given you will always favour Torres and yet again he scores to confirm Irelands departure from the championship. Apart from a Robbie Keane shot that was well saved by Casillas, Ireland didn’t have many attempts on goal. On 83 minutes the Irish defence went to sleep yet again and a short corner to Cesc Fabregas who sold a defender a dummy and then powered the ball past Given hitting the far post from what seemed an impossible angle and deflecting in. Truly sinking Irish hearts.

FT – Spain 4-0 Ireland

Man of the Match – The man of the match for me had to be Fernando Torres, seeing him score those types of goals again like he did back at Liverpool would have brought a smile to every football fans face. His pace and clinical finishing in this match shows us what to expect from Torres for the rest of this tournament and next season.

Fernando Torres during Spain .vs. Ireland

After this performance it’s hard to say that Spain don’t have a chance to win this tournament as long as Torres stays in form and the defence stays solid I can see this Spanish team lifting the cup for a third time equalling Germanys record in this tournament.   

A Managers Impact

After the fiasco with Harry Redknapp leaving Spurs and Roberto Di Matteo signing a new 2 year deal with Chelsea after winning the FA Cup final and The Uefa Champions League final it was hard to deny him the managers role at the club, but I'm here to focus on the impact of managers in the modern game.

Di Matteo lifting the Champions League trophy as caretaker
manager of Chelsea.

Personally I feel that managers have been over-rated for a long time and many of them using very strange tactics but when the team does well in certain matches or competitions the manager get the praise yet when a team fails to perform more often than not the team is to blame, I would like to see more managers like in the 80's with a manager who will not only give his all for the team and take responsibility for their bad performances but take hold of the head coach role and not leave it to his assistant and personally I think Di Matteo is a new bread of an old type of manager.

My European Dream Team

This is my dream team from past and present European Championships

Goalkeeper

Peter Schmeichel (Denmark) - After Euro 1992 it's hard to deny Schmeichel a place in the dream team, after not qualifying for the tournament and then being the replacement for the USSR and helping his side to a historic 2-0 win over Germany in the final making some unbelievable saves along the way.

Defence

Ronald Koeman  (Holland) - Playing for Barcelona in his prime Koeman can't be forgotten for this dream team with his powerful shot when needed and always reliable in defence Koeman is the perfect overall Centre Half.

Stuart Pearce (England) - After his thumping penalty against the Spanish at home in Euro 1996 very few people can deny that Pearce is a very passionate man about the game and his country and a man that never gives up for the ball and has the towering presence that he has I find it impossible to leave him out.

Laurent Blanc  (France) - Having won the historic Euro 2000 championship after extra time against Italy and being a very important part of the team for France Blanc was named in the team of the tournament and he is also a pivotal part of this dream team.

Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) - When you think of Germany you think of power, precision and efficiency and Beckenbauer was all that in one person with the presence to scare every man on the pitch and the precision of his passing was second to none and always getting the job done were all in his nature.

Midfield

Michel Platini  (France) - Captaining France to a European championship in 1984 Platini had become the most recognisable face in the game, with the ability to captain a side brilliantly and the shooting that a forward would love to have Platini is the ideal midfield maestro.

 Zinedine Zidane (France) - The game of football dramatically changed thanks to Zidane he could manipulate the ball in such a way you thought every time he was on the ball he would score and winning World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000 he was France's goal machine and has to be placed in this dream team.

Xavier Hernandez (Spain) - Very much the modern day midfield maestro being able to lift his team when they are down and making magic moments from what seems like thin air and picking out passes that seem impossible.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - After establishing himself as the worlds best player in resent years Ronaldo's shots are feared all across the world and his free kicks have been recognised by everyone by one single stance, even though he has not lifted an international trophy he seems to be very capable of it.

Forwards

Thierry Henry  (France) - Being Mr va va voom for many years payed off for Henry being the worlds best striker at one point in his career and scoring crucial goals in crucial games he is very much the ideal striker with pace, power and a poaching ability and is definitely needed in this team.

Ruud Gullit (Holland) - He was very much the heartbeat of the dutch national side in it's hay day and scoring when needed and sometimes just for fun Gullit made the strikers role look like the easiest position on the pitch when in fact it is one of the hardest to maintain.

My Ideal England

Having succesfully held a strong French team to a respectible 1-1 draw I think England must concentrate on a more attacking side than we saw on Monday, I would personally like to see an England side which would have Theo Walcott down the right wing and keep Oxlade-Chamberlain staying  on the left and cutting inside on his favoured right foot with Danny Welbeck in a lone stricker role with Ashley Young playing in just behind him.

My ideal England Line-up

England about to take on a French side unbeaten in 21 games.

Goalkeeper

Joe Hart

Defence

Glen Johnson
John Terry
Joleon Lescott
Ashley Cole

Midfield

Theo Walcott
Steven Gerrard (c)
Scott Parker
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Attack

Ashley Young
Danny Welbeck