| ITALY |  | 1 | : | 1 |  | CROATIA |
| Pirlo 36' | Madzukic 71' |
My match rating: ★★
Another dominating first half by Italy that results in a much smaller lead than it should have. If we had converted all even a quarter of our chances, we would have gone to rest up 2-0. That one goal makes a huge difference, both psychologically and for actual scoring purposes. This is even more infuriating given the high quality of Pirlo's masterpiece performance. Not only does he still got it, but how. What a fantastic player.
Instead, Italy allowed Croatia to regain its strength, and regain it they did, as the rational and direct team that they are. Modric's midfield dominated large parts of the second half and the Italians kept falling further and further back. With that said, the equalizer only came due to a monumental marking error by Chiellini. As by now is beginning to become usual, Prandelli's boys don't seem to be holding up for the whole 90, physically but most of all psychologically. Of course, this is an alarming sign. It speaks of a weak mind, and weak-minded teams always lose in the end.
Now it becomes very hard for Italy and easy for Croatia. As usual, in four-team groups you must win, and if you don't, it doesn't matter how well you play or how many goals you score when you draw. Let us hope that Spain and Croatia don't decide to "fix" their match, which would automatically knock Italy out even should they beat Ireland. More on all this tomorrow after the end of group D.
My man of the match: Pirlo (I)
UEFA report ---|||--- Player ratings ---|||--- Photos ---|||--- Highlights
UEFA report ---|||--- Player ratings ---|||--- Photos ---|||--- Highlights
Instead, Italy allowed Croatia to regain its strength, and regain it they did, as the rational and direct team that they are. Modric's midfield dominated large parts of the second half and the Italians kept falling further and further back. With that said, the equalizer only came due to a monumental marking error by Chiellini. As by now is beginning to become usual, Prandelli's boys don't seem to be holding up for the whole 90, physically but most of all psychologically. Of course, this is an alarming sign. It speaks of a weak mind, and weak-minded teams always lose in the end.
Now it becomes very hard for Italy and easy for Croatia. As usual, in four-team groups you must win, and if you don't, it doesn't matter how well you play or how many goals you score when you draw. Let us hope that Spain and Croatia don't decide to "fix" their match, which would automatically knock Italy out even should they beat Ireland. More on all this tomorrow after the end of group D.
| SPAIN |  | 4 | : | 0 |  | IRELAND |
| Torres 4', 70' Silva 49' Fabregas 83' |
My match rating: ★★
EL NINO! Torres is back, and oh my gods is he ever. Way to send a clear "fuck off" message to the critics. Or, to be a little more optimistic, way to say "thank you!" to Del Bosque. The coach's faith in Nando was rewarded immediately with a stellar goal in the opening five and another late in the second. Even more importantly, Torres displayed a lot of confidence and played like a classic main forward: a tall, strong post who can keep possession (giving the rest of the team ample time to arrive) or create mouth-watering opportunities for himself.
Torres isn't all that worked well, though. The whole team seemed to regain confidence and fall back on the team play that gave Spain a back-to-back Euro and World Cup in 2008 and 2010. As ESPN commentator Ian Darke so well put it at the end, Spain hadn't gone anywhere: they had simply met a like-minded and highly technical team, like Italy, who gave them a run for their money. As soon as they could play against a lesser opponent, they got back into it.
Indeed, Ireland was not a very worthy opponent at all. The Irish were frustrated by Torres's early goal in what was for them an elimination game. You simply don't play well when you're under from the get-go and you know you must win, or at least draw. But even considering that, there simply doesn't seem to be a lot of talent in this Irish team, which is now mathematically out of Euro 2012.
Much like for Croatia, instead, the odds for Spain are looking quite good, both to simply advance but also to win the group. Again, look for my "third-round special" post tomorrow evening!
GROUP D STANDINGS
My man of the match: Torres (S)
UEFA report ---|||--- Player ratings ---|||--- Photos ---|||--- Highlights
UEFA report ---|||--- Player ratings ---|||--- Photos ---|||--- Highlights
Torres isn't all that worked well, though. The whole team seemed to regain confidence and fall back on the team play that gave Spain a back-to-back Euro and World Cup in 2008 and 2010. As ESPN commentator Ian Darke so well put it at the end, Spain hadn't gone anywhere: they had simply met a like-minded and highly technical team, like Italy, who gave them a run for their money. As soon as they could play against a lesser opponent, they got back into it.
Indeed, Ireland was not a very worthy opponent at all. The Irish were frustrated by Torres's early goal in what was for them an elimination game. You simply don't play well when you're under from the get-go and you know you must win, or at least draw. But even considering that, there simply doesn't seem to be a lot of talent in this Irish team, which is now mathematically out of Euro 2012.
Much like for Croatia, instead, the odds for Spain are looking quite good, both to simply advance but also to win the group. Again, look for my "third-round special" post tomorrow evening!
GROUP D STANDINGS
| team | points | wins | ties | losses | goals+ | goals- |
| SPAIN |
4
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
1
|
| CROATIA |
4
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
4
|
2
|
| ITALY |
2
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
| IRELAND |
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
7
|
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