June 22, 201214 yr Being an american soccer fan I'm always cheering for teams where I have ancestors from. Luckily I'm Portuguese and Spanish! :lol:
June 22, 201214 yr Big news: Germany have dropped strikers Mario Gomez, Thomas Muller and Lukas Podolski all to the bench. Touch of genius from joachim loew, or just dropped a clanger!?
June 22, 201214 yr Regardless of who he plays you'd still expect Germany to win this game. It's a blessing having someone come in like Klose as well. Thinking he could continue his fine goalscoring form in international tournaments!
June 22, 201214 yr ^ Typical for Greece to come back. I knew that it would not be easy for Germany to advance. Might be a long evening. EDIT: 2-1 for Germany. :dance: :thumbsup:
June 22, 201214 yr 3-1 for Germany - goal scored by Klose - his 64th goal in international match for Germany.
June 22, 201214 yr Reus scored for Germany to 4-1 Impressive for Germany to have so many players who can make goals. :awesome:
June 22, 201214 yr Greece just lost it completely once they equalised. Got to their heads? Probably. Defensive discipline went out of the window not helped by an appalling performance by the Greek goalkeeper.
June 22, 201214 yr Germany 4 - 2 Greece Germany produced a dominant display to sweep past a limited Greece side and set up a possible Euro 2012 semi-final with England. Germany wasted a host of early chances before captain Philipp Lahm fired them ahead in spectacular fashion. Greece threatened a scare when Celtic striker Georgios Samaras levelled on the counter-attack, but Sami Khedira and Miroslav Klose soon responded. Marco Reus thumped home a fourth before Dimitris Salpingidis netted a penalty. Germany will now take on England or Italy in the last four in Warsaw next Thursday. German coach Joachim Loew raised eyebrows before kick-off with his decision to rest his first-choice strike trio of Mario Gomez, Thomas Mueller and Lukas Podolski. But his decision was vindicated as young replacements Reus and Andre Schurrle turned in energetic performances either side of the vastly experienced Klose, who saw an early strike ruled out for offside. Reus in particular could have had a couple of goals in a first 45 minutes completely controlled by Loew's side, with the coach growing visibly frustrated as the half wore on and his team wasted a flurry of openings. The breakthrough came just before the break when Bayern Munich full-back Lahm cut inside from his station on the left and thrashed a right-footed shot from 20 yards which bent wickedly past goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis and into the corner. Greece coach Fernando Santos made two changes at the break as he attempted to offer some sort of attacking outlet and, despite the opening 10 minutes continuing the pattern of German ascendancy, Samaras then struck against the run of play. Replacement Giorgos Fotakis released Salpingidis down the right, and he was able to pick out Samaras at the back post to slide in from close range. If it was an examination of this Germany side's credentials, it was one they passed with ease as they responded by scoring three goals in 13 minutes. First Khedira - playing in a far more advanced role than the one he fills for Real Madrid - showed fine technique to strike a volley into the roof of the net, before Klose took advantage of some poor goalkeeping by Sifakis to nod in a simple header from a free-kick. It was Klose's 64th international goal and his 17th in a major tournament. Reus then grabbed the goal his performance deserved with an emphatic finish off the underside of the crossbar after Sifakis had smothered Klose's shot, before Salpingidis reduced the deficit from a penalty awarded for handball against Jerome Boateng. It was a performance by Germany that made pre-match talk of Loew taking a gamble with his team selection look rather fanciful. And for semi-final opponents Italy or England, there is also the knowledge that the trio of Podolski, Gomez and Mueller - with 79 international goals between them - will now be desperate to earn back their places in the starting XI. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18355075
June 22, 201214 yr buah Please give us Engerland at the semi finals. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j09hpp3AxIE]Die Toten Hosen // ?Tage wie diese" - YouTube[/ame] the revange of the 1996 semifinal will followed on Thursday
June 22, 201214 yr Wo sind diese siegessicheren Engländer, ich will nun hören Italien wer ist das und dann kommt ihr germans ???
June 23, 201214 yr Spain v France: preview Spanish boss Vicente del Bosque again looks set to start two-goal Fernando Torres in an unchanged side. That would leave Cesc Fabregas, who himself has scored two Euro 2012 goals, on the substitutes bench once more. France will be without suspended centre-back Philippe Mexes following his second tournament booking, Laurent Koscielny will deputise for him. Yohan Cabaye is set to start after overcoming the thigh injury that saw him miss out against Sweden. Samir Nasri and Franck Ribery are both expected to be fit for France to face Spain in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals on Saturday. The two midfielders did not take part in Wednesday's training session, with Nasri nursing a knee injury and Ribery having picked up a blister on his left foot. "They are doing very well," said France assistant coach Alain Boghossian. "They missed training [on Wednesday] to look after some little niggles." "Iniesta is really impressing me. He's got so much influence in Spain's game. He reminds me of myself… but he is more pale than me!" Zinédine Zidane When three-time World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane clipped the ball past Iker Casillas in the dying seconds of France's 3-1 quarter-final win over Spain at the 2006 World Cup, it marked the last international goal from open play of one the game's all-time greats. But not only was that a moment when the curtain began to come down on Zidane's career; it also saw the dawn of a new era. That strike is the last goal Spain have conceded in the knock-out stages of a major tournament, encompassing a run of seven games during their Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup triumphs as they became kings of all they survey. Despite emerging from the group stage of Euro 2012 with the most goals scored (six) and fewest conceded (one), detractors are queuing up for some Spain-bashing - especially as Joachim Loew's young Germany side now appear to be flavour of the month. The classy Iniesta and co may not have been at their jaw-dropping best so far, but they have clearly demonstrated that they will take some beating. Croatia pushed hard to put them out in their final group match, but still the Spaniards kept calm to pocket a 1-0 win and secure top spot. Whether they play with a recognised centre-forward or not, Vicente Del Bosque's men smell an unprecedented hat-trick of major titles. That alone will drive them hungrily into the knockout stages. Next up are Laurent Blanc's France, who put in an erratic display in their 2-0 loss to Sweden in their final group match. That defeat was their first reverse in 23 matches, and reports of post-match dressing room unrest have fuelled parallels with the in-fighting that destroyed Les Bleus chances at recent major tournaments - most notably the 2010 World Cup. Blanc has assured the French media that calm has been restored but whether this is true remains to be seen? Eric Abidal's arrival, on invitation from the French Football Federation, could unite them and prove the FFF's trump card. The left-back underwent a liver transplant in April, ruling him out. But his Barcelona club connection means he has a foot in both camps; the whole football community will be delighted to see him. The French have never lost competitively to the Spanish; including wins at the aforementioned 2006 World Cup, the quarter-final of Euro 2000, and perhaps most memorably the final of Euro 84 - when Uefa President Michel Platini was among the scorers in a 2-0 win. Still, as England proved against nemesis Sweden earlier in the tournament, these sorts of streaks do have to end sometime. Head-to-head Spain have never won against France in a major tournament (one World Cup and three European Championship encounters). It is six competitive matches in total. Vicente del Bosque's men have won three of their last four games against France, all of them friendlies (the other match being the 3-1 World Cup defeat in 2006). France are the only side to have beaten Spain twice at the Euros - excluding penalty shootouts (beating them in 1984 and in 2000). Spain have never won a European Championship quarter-final in regulation time. They will equal the European Championship record for of 10 matches unbeaten if they avoid defeat. Spain were the only team to keep more than one clean sheet in the group stages of Euro 2012. If selected, Xabi Alonso will win his 100th cap for his country. France have reached the quarter-finals for the fourth time in the last five editions of the Euros. Greece (lost 1-0 at Euro 2004) were the last country to knock them out at this stage. France are one of only two countries whose strikers haven't scored at Euro 2012 - the other being the Republic of Ireland. Karim Benzema has had 15 shots so far at Euro 2012 - but no goals to show for his efforts. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18355234
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