Today's EURO matches

[ewerk 26297]

I know they could have ended up even in group A last night, and seem to remember it went to Penalties if so (or did I dream that?)

 

But being in different stadiums, how can they do that here?

 

Arrange it for the following evening I'd imagine, would be a strange event though.

[MattM4 0]

at 2-2 It would have been penalties between Turkey and the Czechs though

 

But you bring up an interesting question had it been two teams in different locations.

[Happy Face 29]

I know they could have ended up even in group A last night, and seem to remember it went to Penalties if so (or did I dream that?)

 

But being in different stadiums, how can they do that here?

 

Arrange it for the following evening I'd imagine, would be a strange event though.

 

Empty stadium? That would be class.

 

I wondered if they'd do a stattelite link-up, then I remembered the keepers wouldn't be in the right stadia.

 

[Guest alex]

I heard on Radio 5 that if it was two teams who weren't playing each other with identical records and level on the head-to-head etc. it would have gone on Uefa co-efficients. That was as much as the explanation gave though. It used to be drawing of lots (in World Cups anyway) although I don't think it ever actually came down to that.

[Happy Face 29]

That's no good. Missing a trick on entertainment value. Should get the managers to play rock, paper, scissors. Or get the keepers to have a thumb war with their gloves on, or have the under 21's ready compete in a playoff immediately after.

[Bombadil 0]

Looking forward to tonight's Grossdeutsches Derby!

Edited June 16, 2008 by Bombadil

[Happy Face 29]

I heard on Radio 5 that if it was two teams who weren't playing each other with identical records and level on the head-to-head etc. it would have gone on Uefa co-efficients. That was as much as the explanation gave though. It used to be drawing of lots (in World Cups anyway) although I don't think it ever actually came down to that.

 

 

And I can't see it happening tonight really either.

 

Tomorrow however.

 

If France and Italy Draw.

 

If Romania get tonked 3 nil off Holland.

 

It's a very possible 3 way tie.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/e...p_c/default.stm

 

[MattM4 0]

Would be doubly brilliant if France not only don't qualify but also lose to their new big rivals Italy!!

[TheInspiration 1]

I reckon it would be much better if both teams drew and got knocked out - to see both the world cup finalists getting knocked out in the first round would be a laugh. Wouldn't put it past Romania beating Holland either.

[DanTheMan 0]

I heard on Radio 5 that if it was two teams who weren't playing each other with identical records and level on the head-to-head etc. it would have gone on Uefa co-efficients. That was as much as the explanation gave though. It used to be drawing of lots (in World Cups anyway) although I don't think it ever actually came down to that.

 

It happened in World Cup 1990, Group F.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Cup_1990

 

Both teams qualified in the end though, would have been a horrendous way to go out!

[ewerk 26297]

I think it now comes down to fair play before the drawing of lots.

[adam_cann 0]

It comes down to Uefa co-efficient, i.e most successful side recently (last 5 years). If all teams were level on GD, goals scored and points obviously, Italy would qualify as they have the highest co-efficient currentl.y

[Happy Face 29]

Waving flags, singing their anthem? Shocking. Someone should put a stop to this rally.

[Happy Face 29]

@ Gomes

[Hadrian 0]

maybe in with a chances for gomez !! nobodys gonna put a bid in for him after he's played like shiite all tournament !!

still a great player, but he's been shocking .

Edited June 16, 2008 by Hadrian

[Meenzer 14035]

Canny strike to win it. Otherwise, yawn.

[Bombadil 0]

@ Gomes

 

Ameobi would have breen proud of that.

 

I quite liked the look of Austria's left winger Korkmaz. He looked dangerous in all three games - pacy, skilful and still very young.

[Craig 6302]

I heard on Radio 5 that if it was two teams who weren't playing each other with identical records and level on the head-to-head etc. it would have gone on Uefa co-efficients. That was as much as the explanation gave though. It used to be drawing of lots (in World Cups anyway) although I don't think it ever actually came down to that.

 

It happened in World Cup 1990, Group F.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Cup_1990

 

Both teams qualified in the end though, would have been a horrendous way to go out!

 

Yep, I was going to bring this one up.. Seem to remember us going into that last game against Egypt knowing that if we'd come out of it drawing 1-1 then all 4 teams in the group would have been absolutely equal and it'd have gone down to drawing lots.

 

Not worth imagining what it'd have been like if the Egyptians had managed a last minute equaliser...

[Tom 13840]

Chomp

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080615.euro -doyle16/GSStory/GlobeSportsSoccer/home

 

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — There's a good story doing the rounds here. It's about England's former manager, Steve McClaren, who lost his job when England failed to qualify and is in Switzerland doing some punditry on Euro 2008 for the BBC.

 

The story is that when McClaren arrived at a media centre to get his press pass, a UEFA employee stared at him for a bit and said, “I'm sure I recognize you.” McClaren beamed, delighted that his fame was well established internationally. Then the UEFA chap said, “Oh, that's right, of course, you used to be the manager of Ireland.”

 

I've no idea whether McClaren's pearls of wisdom on the tournament are worth hearing. But there's a consensus in the English press that he should have had the savvy to stay away from punditry on a tournament that he could not get his team into. England's failed qualifying campaign, in case you don't know, ended with two losses to Croatia, one loss to Russia and a draw with little Macedonia.

 

In truth, Euro 2008 is a better tournament because England isn't in it. And not just because England's squad is a truly mediocre, often hopeless team these days, and its dull, plodding play would have lowered the tone.

 

Without England, we are all spared the tsunami of coverage about David Beckham's foot or Michael Owen's groin. Because the English media are so large and relentless in their soccer coverage, if England is at a tournament, a lot of the twaddle enters the mainstream English-language media around the world and it somehow looks as if England is more important than it is.

 

English soccer is in decline, a fact masked by the European Champions League club success of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. All three teams are packed with great players, but from Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain. The idea of the current English squad being equal to the Portuguese or Dutch teams we have seen here is farcical.

 

Most players for England's national team are overrated, overpaid and over the moon about themselves. Most lack discipline and skill. Tellingly, few ever succeed when playing for European teams. A small handful have done it – Beckham and Owen at Real Madrid. But most, I suspect, are simply afraid of the rigours of playing in Spain or Italy.

 

Another story that has done the rounds in Europe for years is about an English international player who spent a season at a Serie A club in Italy. After the first game, he asked a club official for directions to “the players lounge.” (At English clubs, players have a private bar for a postgame drink with their wives or girlfriends and VIPs.) The club official told the player that such a place didn't exist. Baffled, the Englishman asked, “Well, where do the players go after a game?” And the answer was, “They go home.”

 

I'm delighted not to have to endure tedious games involving English mediocrities. I really didn't want to have to sit and watch while Rio Ferdinand takes a small age to walk from the English goalmouth to the opposing team's goal when there's a corner kick. Or have it suddenly occur to me that the game's been going for 30 minutes and Beckham is invisible on the field.

 

And if England does qualify for a big tournament, then as far as the European press and fans are concerned, England's presence is usually the comic relief. There's the laughable obsession with the WAGS (wives and girlfriends of the players), the inevitable heartbreak of some poor sod missing a penalty, the suspicion that all “foreigners” have it in for England and that players from other countries feign injury while stout-hearted Englishmen do not, and the absurd hyperbole about players who are, in reality, journeymen not stars.

 

Besides, the small-scale infrastructure of Euro 2008 – mostly held at 30,000-seat stadiums in small cities – could not have coped with the vast English army of travelling supporters. As well-behaved as the English fans are these days, they cause nervousness among local residents and the police that ruins it for everybody else. Without them, security is more relaxed and the bars in host cities are not closed down on game days.

 

Euro 2008 is about the games and the good times. It's about the vivacity of the Dutch attack, Italy on the brink and Spanish skills. Those famous English players, if they are watching Euro 2008 in their mansions or on holiday at some exclusive Caribbean resort, are watching players who are better than them. And nobody is missing them here.

[Guest alex]

I could see Romania going through tonight. They draw with the Dutch, Italy draw with France.

[Bombadil 0]

I could see Romania going through tonight. They draw with the Dutch, Italy draw with France.

 

Agree. Wouldn't be happy with that though, I want Italy to qualify.

[sammynb 2929]

I could see Romania going through tonight. They draw with the Dutch, Italy draw with France.

 

Agree. Wouldn't be happy with that though, I want Italy to qualify.

 

I wish they were in group A so they could have been the first team to go out.

[Bombadil 0]

I could see Romania going through tonight. They draw with the Dutch, Italy draw with France.

 

Agree. Wouldn't be happy with that though, I want Italy to qualify.

 

I wish they were in group A so they could have been the first team to go out.

 

Still bitter about the World Cup then?

[Guest alex]

I could see Romania going through tonight. They draw with the Dutch, Italy draw with France.

 

Agree. Wouldn't be happy with that though, I want Italy to qualify.

 

I wish they were in group A so they could have been the first team to go out.

 

Still bitter about the World Cup then?

Should change his username to Amaro

[Guest alex]

Tonight:

 

The Netherlands have won Group C and will play the Group D runners-up in the quarter-finals.

 

Romania will qualify for the quarter-finals if they beat the Netherlands, eliminating France and Italy.

 

If Romania fail to beat the Netherlands, the winner of France v Italy will go through.

 

If France and Italy draw, a point against the Netherlands would be enough to send Romania through. France must win to have any chance of qualifying.

 

If France and Italy share a score draw (1-1, 2-2, 3-3 etc), Italy will go through if Romania lose (by any score). In this scenario, Italy, Romania and France will be level on two points each but Italy would have scored more goals in games between the 3 teams.

 

Romania will finish bottom of the group if they lose and France and Italy draw 2-2, 3-3 or 4-4. France will finish bottom if they draw 1-1 unless Romania lose 3-0 or by a four-goal margin.

 

If France and Italy draw 0-0, Romania can lose by one goal, two goals or by a three-goal margin other than 3-0 but still qualify. In this scenario, Italy and Romania would have identical head-to-head records, but Romania would have better goal difference in ALL group matches or, in the case of the three-goal defeats, goals scored. France would finish bottom, having scored fewer goals head-to-head v Italy and Romania.

 

If Romania lose 3-0 to the Dutch, Italy would qualify with a 0-0 draw against France because of their superior coefficient points. France would finish bottom as they would have scored fewer goals head-to-head v Italy and Romania.

 

If Romania lose by four goals or more and the other game ends 0-0, Italy would proceed with a better overall goal difference than Romania. France would finish bottom as they would have scored fewer goals head-to-head v Italy and Romania.

 

If France and Italy draw AND Romania avoid defeat, then Romania go through.

 

From the beeb.