November 12, 201114 yr Keith Andrews headed the Republic of Ireland into a 13th-minute lead in Tallinn Euro 2012 play-off: Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland The Republic of Ireland effectively sealed their place in the Euro 2012 finals thanks to a big win in Tallinn. Ipswich midfielder Keith Andrews rose to head in a 13th-minute opener and then Estonian defender Andrei Stepanov was sent-off for a second yellow card. Ireland took advantage in the second half with Jonathan Walters forcing in a header and Robbie Keane making it 3-0. Estonia were down to nine men when Raio Piiroja was dismissed before Keane got the fourth with a late penalty. The skipper slotted in his 53rd goal for the Republic after substitute Stephen Hunt went down under Ats Purje's challenge. A carnival atmosphere can be expected in Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Tuesday when Giovanni Trapattoni's men will surely confirm their place in next summer's finals in Poland and Ukraine, an outcome that improves Trapattoni's chances of a new contract from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Estonia made an encouraging start with Konsantin Vassiljev's shot deflecting off Andrews and looping over the bar. However, the opening goal came at the other end as Keane supplied Aidan McGeady on the left and his chipped cross from the edge of the box set up Andrews to head in his third international goal. Stoke City's Jonathan Walters, in for the suspended Kevin Doyle, sent a couple of efforts off target while Vassiljev had a worried keeper Shay Given diving for a shot from distance that looked only inches wide. Stepanov's dismissal for a second yellow card came 11 minutes before the interval, and Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai could well have flashed a straight red as Keane looked to be the last man when the home defender clattered into him. The Irish did not immediately go all out to try to kill off the contest, but they hammered home their advantage in the second half. Walters headed in from Keane's looping ball to the far post in the 67th minute after McGeady's free-kick had been parried by keeper Sergei Pareiko. Keane tapped a rebound into an empty net to make it 3-0 on 71 minutes. An Andrews free-kick deceived Pareiko and, when he could merely flick out a foot to block the ball, LA Galaxy striker Keane pounced. Keith Andrews headed the Republic of Ireland into a 13th-minute lead in Tallinn The Republic of Ireland effectively sealed their place in the Euro 2012 finals thanks to a big win in Tallinn. Ipswich midfielder Keith Andrews rose to head in a 13th-minute opener and then Estonian defender Andrei Stepanov was sent-off for a second yellow card. Ireland took advantage in the second half with Jonathan Walters forcing in a header and Robbie Keane making it 3-0. Estonia were down to nine men when Raio Piiroja was dismissed before Keane got the fourth with a late penalty. The skipper slotted in his 53rd goal for the Republic after substitute Stephen Hunt went down under Ats Purje's challenge. A carnival atmosphere can be expected in Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Tuesday when Giovanni Trapattoni's men will surely confirm their place in next summer's finals in Poland and Ukraine, an outcome that improves Trapattoni's chances of a new contract from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Estonia made an encouraging start with Konsantin Vassiljev's shot deflecting off Andrews and looping over the bar. However, the opening goal came at the other end as Keane supplied Aidan McGeady on the left and his chipped cross from the edge of the box set up Andrews to head in his third international goal. Stoke City's Jonathan Walters, in for the suspended Kevin Doyle, sent a couple of efforts off target while Vassiljev had a worried keeper Shay Given diving for a shot from distance that looked only inches wide. Stepanov's dismissal for a second yellow card came 11 minutes before the interval, and Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai could well have flashed a straight red as Keane looked to be the last man when the home defender clattered into him. The Irish did not immediately go all out to try to kill off the contest, but they hammered home their advantage in the second half. Walters headed in from Keane's looping ball to the far post in the 67th minute after McGeady's free-kick had been parried by keeper Sergei Pareiko. Keane tapped a rebound into an empty net to make it 3-0 on 71 minutes. An Andrews free-kick deceived Pareiko and, when he could merely flick out a foot to block the ball, LA Galaxy striker Keane pounced. Piiroja's night went from bad to worse 13 minutes from time when he was booked for a second time, this time for handball, joining fellow central defender Stepanov back in the changing rooms. Keane capped a memorable night with an 88th-minute penalty after Purje was adjudged to have impeded Hunt. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15572442.stm
November 12, 201114 yr Croatia were 3-0 ahead by the 51st minute, stunning the home crowd Euro 2012: Turkey thrashed at home by Croatia in play-off first leg Guus Hiddink's Turkey lost 3-0 at home to Croatia in the first leg of their Euro 2012 qualifying play-off. Ivica Olic tapped in an early opener and Mario Mandzukic headed in before half-time. Vedran Corluka nodded in the third after slack Turkey defending. Elsewhere, Portugal were held to a 0-0 draw in Bosnia-Hercegovina. The Czech Republic enjoyed a 2-0 home win over Montenegro, as Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky set up goals for Vaclav Pilar and Tomas Sivok. Friday's other play-off tie saw the Republic of Ireland take a huge stride towards Euro 2012 with a 4-0 win against Estonia in Tallinn. In Istanbul, Croatia led as early as the second minute when Olic was left with a simple, close-range finish after goalkeeper Volkan Demirel parried a low cross from Corluka. Despite a long period of Turkey possession, the visitors doubled their lead in the 32nd minute when Mandzukic headed in a cross from Darijo Srna at the back post. Turkey's misery was complete in the second half as Corluka headed in after Srna whipped in a free-kick. The game in Zenica, between Bosnia-Hercegovina and Portugal, produced few goal-scoring chances on a bumpy surface. Portugal had the best of them but Cristiano Ronaldo squandered several openings. Bosnia-Hercegovina's Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko blazed over the best chance for the home side in the 71st minute. But the hosts, aiming to qualify for their first major international tournament, remain in decent form and are now unbeaten in seven games, conceding once in that time. In Prague, the Czech Republic dominated possession before eventually breaking through against Montenegro just after the hour mark. Pilar collected a pass on the edge of the penalty area from Rosicky and rifled in. Rosicky dictated play throughout and his free-kick also supplied Sivok, who headed in his team's second goal in stoppage time. The Czech team's other hero was goalkeeper Petr Cech, who played with a specially designed mask after breaking his nose playing for Chelsea at Blackburn. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15703211.stm
November 12, 201114 yr Bosnia's Edin Dzeko is challenged by Portugal's João Pereira, right, Pepe, left, and Miguel Veloso. Bosnia keep Portugal at bay on bumpy pitch in Euro 2012 play-off Bosnia and Portugal's Euro 2012 play-off remained in the balance after a goalless stalemate on Friday on a barely playable pitch at the ramshackle Bilino Polje stadium. The Portuguese, who celebrated a 2-0 aggregate win over Bosnia at the same venue in their 2010 World Cup play-off, dominated the match but were almost caught napping late in the game after a subdued home side finally came to life. Portugal had the upper hand in the opening stages with Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani looking lively on either flank, but failed to create any clear-cut chances as their final passes kept going astray on a bumpy surface littered with holes. The consistently unpredictable and awkward bounce of the ball forced Helder Postiga to fire his close-range volley high over the bar several minutes before Sanel Jahic blocked a stinging Ronaldo shot from 12 metres. The Portuguese continued to press after the interval and Ronaldo missed an excellent chance in the 51st minute, scuffing his shot wide after a defence-splitting through ball hit a clot of mud in front of him. Postiga then curled his shot from the heart of the penalty area just wide of the far post as the Bosnians began to tire and needed several last-gasp clearances to keep the visitors at bay. Bosnia's in-form Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko had a quiet game and attempted his first shot on goal only in the 71st minute, blazing an effort from 20 metres high and wide. The second-half substitute Vedad Ibisevic injected some attacking intent into the home side but squandered Bosnia's best two chances in the closing stages, the first when he sliced the ball wide from seven metres after a poor first touch. The striker was then put through by a delightful Miralem Pjanic pass but shot over the bar when he had only the keeper Rui Patrício to beat. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/nov/11/bosnia-herzegovina-portugal-euro-2012?newsfeed=true
November 12, 201114 yr The Czech Republic's Vaclav Pilar embarks on a solo celebration after scoring his side's first goal in their 2-0 defeat of Montenegro. Tomas Rosicky leads from the front as Czech Republic defeat Montenegro The Czech Republic moved closer to qualifying for their fifth European Championship finals tournament in succession by defeating Monetenegro 2-0 at Stadion Letna in the first leg of their play-off tie. The home side's captain, Arsenal's Tomas Rosicky, created both goals in a match which the Czech Republic dominated but it took them more than an hour to break through Montenegro's well-disciplined and spirited defence. They had to wait until the 63rd minute to ease the crowd's tension, Rosicky holding the ball after running down the left wing and picking out the run of the Viktoria Plzen midfielder Vaclav Pilar, who hit a fierce 20-yard shot past Mladen Bozovic. The goal was the shot in the arm the Czech Republic had been seeking from the start. They continued to press for a second and Tomas Sivok finally achieved their pre-match target in stoppage time when he headed in Rosicky's free-kick. The captain looked back to his impish best and was the major source of trouble for Montenegro all night, creating several chances with his nimble footwork and eye for a threaded pass. The home side had been given a boost before the game when Chelsea's Petr Cech declared himself fit to play despite suffering a broken nose in the victory over Everton on Saturday. "If I were to start, then it would only be while wearing a mask. I already wear headgear and I think that I would look like Batman," he said while preparing for the tie and he was as good as his word, wearing both the cranial protector that has become such a familiar sight and a specially designed mask. Cech was forced to make a few saves at the start of the second half but for most of the game the Czechs kept Montenegro at bay and forced them into long-range efforts at goal. The Czechs will travel to Podgorica on Tuesday for the return leg. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/nov/11/czech-republic-montenegro-euro-2012-play-off?newsfeed=true
November 15, 201114 yr Croatia, Republic of Ireland and Czech Republic all safely through to Euro 2012. Bosnia-H hanging around like a bad stink though in Portugal, down to 10 men and 3-2 down after an hour. Will we see Ronaldo wink or cry later?
November 15, 201114 yr nani scored a lucky one off his backside earlier [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rc5t74nrZA]??? ??? ???! ???? - YouTube[/ame]
November 16, 201114 yr David Beckham missed a penalty in England's last game in the European Championship finals - a quarter-final defeat by Portugal in 2004 Euro 2012: Seeds confirmed for finals draw England have been named in the second group of seeds for the Euro 2012 finals draw, with the Republic of Ireland in pot four. Reigning world and European champions Spain are in the top group of seeds, alongside the Netherlands and co-hosts Poland and Ukraine. Pot two consists of England, Germany, Italy and Russia. The Republic of Ireland join Denmark, Czech Republic and France in the bottom group for the draw on 2 December. The third pot of teams is made up of Croatia, Greece, Portugal and Sweden, who were beaten 1-0 by England on Tuesday. Spain and Germany were the only two teams to qualify for the finals with 100% records in their qualifying group with eight and 10 straight victories respectively. The Netherlands also qualified with ease after winning nine out of their 10 qualifying matches, but Portugal, who made the last eight in 2004 and were beaten finalists in 2000, qualfied via the play-offs. Forty per cent of the seeding for the finals is decided by the teams' respective qualifying record, with the same amount based on their performance in World Cup 2010 qualifying and finals and the remainder on their performance in Euro 2008. As was the case at the 2004 and 2008 finals, the 16 finalists will be divided into four seeding pots, ranked by their UEFA coefficient, with each of the four groups having one team from each pot. As co-hosts, Poland and Ukraine were automatically placed in Pot 1, along with Spain and the Netherlands, with the Polish placed in Group A and Ukraine in Group D to ensure all of their fixtures will be played in their home nation. The tournament will expand to 24 teams from the present 16 from the 2016 edition onwards. Seedings for Euro 2012 Pot 1: Spain, Netherlands, Poland*, Ukraine*. Pot 2: Germany, Italy, England, Russia. Pot 3: Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Sweden. Pot 4: Denmark, France, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland * Poland already allocated to Group A, Ukraine already allocated to Group D as joint hosts. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15755453.stm
December 2, 201114 yr Show starts in Kiev at 5pm, Euro 2012 Draw commences at 7, Sepp Blatter announces the winner of tournament at 10. https://twitter.com/#!/coytey/status/142522195850182657 :lol:
December 2, 201114 yr The draw for Euro 2012 is as follows... Group A: Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Russia Group B: Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Germany Group C: Spain, Republic of Ireland, Croatia, Italy Group D: Ukraine, France, Sweden, England
December 2, 201114 yr The draw for Euro 2012 is as follows... Group A: Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Russia Group B: Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Germany Group C: Spain, Republic of Ireland, Croatia, Italy Group D: Ukraine, France, Sweden, England Group of Death, Group B for sure!
December 2, 201114 yr I think the Group C is the Group of Death too. Italy has a big challenge against the Spain, but always GO ITALY!!!
December 2, 201114 yr Group B is so.. UGH! Portugal with that Ronaldo, who makes me wanna puke, and our 'enemy' Germany. Boo! =(
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