Euro 2008: The stage has been set
After the grueling group stages, only 8 teams have moved on. Before we move to take a look at the future, let’s highlight a few ideas of the group stages.
Group A
In typical fashion, Portugal comes out on top, followed by a solid effort from Turkey. In Group A there wasn’t much drama, and everything happened as predicted.
Group B
Group B has a nice little cinderella story going on. Croatia took out the heavily favorited German squad in order to lead the group. The Germans were able to regroup however to maintain a bid in the quarterfinals. It’ll be interesting to see how they play against the Portugal powerhouse.
Group C
Group C is the largest talking point of the Euro’s thus far. The Dutch took out both Italy and France to solidify it’s place at the top of the Group. Italy narrowly escapes the group stage. Meanwhile France sits on bottom with 1 point from a Nil-Nil tie with Romania. The French must be deeply disapointed with their efforts.
Group D
Finally Group D is led by Spain who swept the group with wins. Russia comes off with a solid 6 points to move on to the quarterfinals.
QuarterFinals
Germany vs Portugal
In my opinion, this is one of the top matches to watch in the QuarterFinals. The consistent, displined Germans up against the touch and style of the Portugese. It’s the first quarterfinal to be played and might very well be the making of the most entertaining as well.
Croatia vs Turkey
The second game of the quarters involve Croatia and Turkey. Croatia is on a high from their undefeated group stage (including a reserves win against Poland) so I foresee them having the added motivation to pull off a win against Turkey.
Netherlands vs Russia
After such a surprising effort in the group stages, I don’t foresee the Dutch stopping anytime soon. I see them beating Russia readily to move onto the semifinals.
Spain vs Italy
Ordinarily I’d immediately call for an Italian win, especially after the World Cup showing. With their form in the group stage though, this semifinal spot is up for grabs. Will we see the Italy against the Dutch, or the Italy that played the French. Spain might be able to pull one out here, but it’d be an interesting bout.
Tags: 2008, croatia, dutch, espania, euro, euro 08, euro 2008, euro08, france, french, German, Germany, italian, italy, netherlands, portugal, russia, spain, turkey
