[Football] U21 EC in Portugal.. [Archive]

Ajacied

05-21-2006, 07:26 AM

I thought this was at the very least deserving of its own thread.

Despite the fact that the U21 EC will be held in the same year the WC is held, there will still be plenty of potential superstars who will entertain us in Portugal.

Poules:

Poule A)
- Serbia and Montegro
- France
- Germany
- Portugal

Poule B)
- Ukraine
- Holland
- Italy
- Denmark

Schedule:

Dinsdag 23 mei:

17.15 uur: Groep A: Servië-Montenegro-Duitsland

19.45 uur: Groep A: Portugal-Frankrijk

Woensdag 24 mei:

17.15 uur: Groep B: Oekraïne-JONG ORANJE

19.45 uur: Groep B: Italië-Denemarken

Donderdag 25 mei:

17.15 uur: Groep A: Frankrijk-Duitsland

19.45 uur: Groep A: Portugal-Servië-Montenegro

Vrijdag 26 mei:

17.15 uur: Groep B: Denemarken-JONG ORANJE

19.45 uur: Groep B: Italië-Oekraïne

Zondag 28 mei:

19.45 uur: Groep A: Duitsland-Portugal

19.45 uur: Groep A: Frankrijk-Servië-Montenegro

Maandag 29 mei:

19.45 uur: Groep B: JONG ORANJE-Italië

19.45 uur: Groep B: Denemarken-Oekraïne

Donderdag 1 juni:

17.15 uur: Halve finale: Nr .1 Groep A-Nr.2 Groep B

1.945 uur: Halve finale: Nr.1 Groep B-Nr. Groep A

Zondag 4 juni:

19.45 uur: Finale in Braga

Please post teams and formats in this thread..

EDIT : Not many people speak dutch, so I edited the title.
Evilo.

Engineer

05-21-2006, 08:09 AM

Danish squad:

Goal:
Kevin Stuhr Ellegaard - Hertha Berlin
Theis Rasmussen - Vejle
Jesper Hansen - FC Nordsjælland

Defense:
Frank Hansen - Esbjerg
Michael Jacobsen - AaB (formerly PSV Eindhoven)
Leon Andreasen - Werder Bremen
Jakob Poulsen - Heerenveen
Martin Pedersen - AaB
Henrik Kildentoft - Brøndby
Jonas Troest - Hannover 96
Daniel Agger - Liverpool

Midfield:
Niki Zimling - Esjerg
Jacob "Tas" Sørensen - Free agent
Rasmus Würtz - AaB
Martin Bergvold - FC Copenhagen
Thomas Kahlenberg - AJ Auxerre
Mikkel Thygesen - FC Midtjylland

Forward:
Johan Absalonsen - Brøndby
Nicklas Bendtner - Arsenal (youth team, Walcott's running mate)
Simon Busk Poulsen - FC Midtjylland
Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen - Brøndby
Jonas Kamper - Brøndby

Analysis:

A variation of 4-3-3 and 4-5-1, always with two defensive and one offensive midfielder.

As strong a U21 team as Denmark has had since... yeah, good question. Long time, anyways.

The strength of this team is undoubtedly the central ranks.

Stuhr-Ellegaard is as experienced as they come, at this level.

Central defense is very strong indeed with Agger and Andreasen, though Andreasen has struggled with minor injuries of late.

Midfield with Kahlenberg (offensive) and Würtz (defensive) is class - both have been in the squad for the senior team, and have earned their debuts.

Center forward was a bit in question of late. Morten Rasmussen is very strong, but has been beset with injuries this spring, and is most definitely not in form. However, Nicklas Bendtner debuted for the U21 team this past week, and scored two well-taken goals in a 2-0 win over Spain. He was a revelation indeed; big (1,93), strong, fast both in top speed and acceleration, good shot, good header... He'll be a very, very good player, very soon. He's only 18...

I expect Denmark to be very competitive, and quite possibly gain a semifinal berth. The loss through injury of Kasper Lorentzen (Brøndby) and Krohn-Dehli (RKC Waalwijk, on loan from Ajax Amsterdam), both creative offensive players is a loss indeed, but they would always have been secondary to Kahlenberg.

Ajacied

05-21-2006, 08:15 AM

Any guesses at the starting line-up?

Also, I wouldn't worry about the loss of Krohn-Dehli too much. I'll never understand what Ajax sees in him. He's had a mediocre season for RKC and yet Ajax has already brought him back for next season. He'll never be a starter for Ajax.

I like Poulson though...

Engineer

05-21-2006, 08:24 AM

Any guesses at the starting line-up?

Something like:

Ellegaard
Troest(possibly Poulsen)-Andreasen-Agger-Jacobsen
Wurtz-?????(toss-up between Bergvold and Zimling)
Kahlenberg
Kamper-Bendtner-Tas

Evilo

05-21-2006, 08:26 AM

French selection :

GK :
Gavanon (Marseille)
Mandanda (Le Havre)
Pouplin (Rennes)

LB :
Berthod (Lyon)
Veigneau (Monaco)

RB :
Clerc (Lyon)
Sagna (Auxerre)

CB :
Aubey (Toulouse)
Badiane (PSG)
Bourrillon (Rennes)
Faty (Rennes)

DM :
Diarra (Chelsea)
Flamini (Arsenal)
Mavuba (Bordeaux)
Toulalan (Nantes)

AM :
Gourcuff (Rennes)
Faubert (Bordeaux)

ST :
Le Tallec (Liverpool)
Sinama-Pongolle (Liverpool)
Briand (Rennes)
Gouffran (Caen)
Bergougnoux (Toulouse)

Ribery's absence has left a hole on the left side as no player on the roster is naturally a left side winger/AM
In the other day's friendly (1-0 against Croatia), Gourcuff started there.

The lineup looks like an allstar team on paper really, and you might even wonder if this team could be a threat to the WC french team in a matchup.
However, it remains to be seen if they can play as a team.
Here's the probable starting lineup :
----------Mandanda---------
Clerc-Bourillon-Aubey-Berthod
-----Mavuba---Toulalan------
Faubert------------Gourcuff
-------Briand--Le Tallec-------

Belgian Fan

05-21-2006, 08:29 AM

Is this one covered by Eurosport? Or the NOS? Or Sport 2/3? Or the ARD/WDR?

I'm still halfway in shock at Belgium's second half breakdown against the Ukraine which meant we didn't even get in the tournament despite having a pretty good generation of youngsters.

Ajacied

05-21-2006, 08:35 AM

Entire coverage is on Talpa over here, Belg. I don't think the NOS even have the rights to show the highlights anymore.

The Dutch send an awesome squad this year, but due to injuries and WC selections, it's far from the best possible. The coach (Foppe de Haan) also hesitated to take the inexperienced, but immensly talented youngsters with him such as Goossens, Anita, Sarpong, Blind. But I like the squadm it has all the right ingredients. I'll post the squad in a minute.

Belgian Fan

05-21-2006, 08:38 AM

Entire coverage is on Talpa over here, Belg. I don't think the NOS even have the rights to show the highlights anymore.

Talpa? Never heard of that, is that a pay channel of some kind?

That probably means I won't get to see anything as I don't think Eurosport is broadcasting this...

Ajacied

05-21-2006, 08:40 AM

Talpa? Never heard of that, is that a pay channel of some kind?

That probably means I won't get to see anything as I don't think Eurosport is broadcasting this...

Same station that now holds all the rights to the Ere Divisie. Huge commercial station of media giant John de Mol. You can't receive it unless you have cable..

Eurosport is showing the Toulon tournament, they might show the EC too.

Engineer

05-21-2006, 08:49 AM

Same station that now holds all the rights to the Ere Divisie. Huge commercial station of media giant John de Mol. You can't receive it unless you have cable..

Eurosport is showing the Toulon tournament, they might show the EC too.

Here Viasat has the rights, a part of UK based MTG group.

Ajacied

05-21-2006, 09:15 AM

Here goes..

First the ommissions:

- Ibrahim Afellay (injured - would have been a starter)
- Kemy Agustien (John and Huntelaar ahead on the depthchart)
- Anouar Diba (Injured during qualification, making him ineligible)
- Ryan Babel (made the WC squad)
- Arjen Robben (made the WC squad)
- Hedwiges Maduro (made the WC squad)
- Johnny Heitinga (made the WC squad)
- Wesley Sneijder (made the WC squad)
- Robin van Persie (made the WC squad)
- Salomon Kalou (Not eligeble in time - would've made the WC squad)
- Moubarek Boussaffa (Chose Maroccan nationality week before announcement selection)
- Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (poor season - not selected)
- Vurnon Anita (judged too young/inexperienced)
- Tim Krul (Newcastle goalkeeper - judged too young)
- John Goossens (judged too young/inexperienced)
- Jeffrey Sarpong (judged too young/inexperienced)

Then the team, players are named in order of quality:

Goalkeepers:
1) Kenneth Vermeer (Ajax)
2) Remko Pasveer (Twente)
3) Michel Vorm (Den Bosch)

Comments: I expect Pasveer to start, but that doesn't take away the fact that Vermeer is the best goalie we have to offer right now. Amazingly athletic, fast reflexes and a wide span despite his relatively short stature. He and Krul (17 - Newcastle) are the future in net. Vorm is one of the few Dutch prospects I really don't know well.

Defenders:
1) Gijs Luirink (Groningen/AZ - Captain)
2) Urby Emanuelson (Ajax)
3) Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord)
4) Ramon Zomer (Twente)
5) Edson Braafheid (Utrecht)
6) Dwight Tiendalli (Utrecht)
7) Arnold Kruijswijk (Groningen)
8) Paul Verhaegh (Vitesse)

Comments: This defense is better than the group that's going to Germany, easily. Luirink was Ere Divisie's best defender of the year IMO, pair him with Vlaar and it's a near impossible duo to beat. Add Emanuelson's creativity on the left, Braafheid and or Tiendalli's physical game on the right and it has the making of a potentially superb defense. Definitely one of the strongest groups of defenders we've had in a long time, and then I am not evn including Heitinga who made the WC squad.

Midfield:
1) Ismael Aissati (PSV)
2) Stijn Schaars (AZ - Reserve captain)
3) Haris Medunjanin (AZ)
4) Nicky Hofs (Feyenoord)
5) Demy de Zeeuw (AZ)

Comments: Aissati is probably one of the youngest participants of this tournament, being a full 4 years younger than most others. Yet he is crucial to our succes. I like the different things this set of midfielders bring. Assati controls, Schaars cleans up, Medunjanin creates while Hofs runs and works hard and does a little bit of all. Hofs even played some games for the big squad. De Zeeuw is an experienced and reliable benchwarmer for this squad.

Forwards:
1) Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax)
2) Collins John (Fullham)
3) Daniël de Ridder (Celta de Vigo)
4) Romeo Castelen (Valencia)
5) Patrick Geritssen (Twente)
6) Fred Bensson (Vitesse)

Comments: In Huntelaar we might have the best player who will lace up his shoes in Portugal. In fact, he might be Holland's best striker period. Collins John provides physical strenght and power, de Ridder plenty of creativity whereas it's hard keeping up with Castelen. I like it.. Geritssen and Bensson have been two revalations in the Ere Divisie this year but are unlikely to see much time on the pitch.

My line up:

------------------------- Huntelaar ------------------------
de Ridder --------------------------------------- Castelen
--------------- Aisatti ----------- Medunjanin-------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------- Schaars (A) ----------------------
Emanuelson ----------------------------------- Braafheid
----------------- Luirink (C) ---- Vlaar ---------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------- Vermeer ---------------------------

I expect Foppe de Haan to play Hofs instead of Medunjanin, but he's such a joy to watch I hope he plays.

What could've been:

------------------------- Huntelaar ------------------------
-------- Babel ----------------------------- Robben ------
-------------- Sneijder ---------- van Persie -----------
---------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------- Maduro ----------------------------
Emanuelson ------------------------------------- Heitinga
----------------- Luirink (C) ---- Vlaar --------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------- Vermeer ---------------------------

Ah well, it's probably better for the competition most of the guys above can't join.. ;)

Evilo

05-21-2006, 09:32 AM

Well, if you go with injuries, WC players and co, many teams could line up some huge teams (England with Rooney, Walcott and co, Portugal with Ronaldo and co, France with Ribery, Kaboul and co).

FlyHigh

05-21-2006, 10:15 AM

Well, if you go with injuries, WC players and co, many teams could line up some huge teams (England with Rooney, Walcott and co, Portugal with Ronaldo and co, France with Ribery, Kaboul and co).

England could have an attacking trio of Walcott, Rooney, and Lennon which would probably give defenses nightmares, other than that though, I'm not sure if there's really a lot in the pipeline.

Ajacied

05-21-2006, 10:28 AM

England could have an attacking trio of Walcott, Rooney, and Lennon which would probably give defenses nightmares, other than that though, I'm not sure if there's really a lot in the pipeline.

Not sure that would even work though. Either way, you'd have Anton Ferdinand as another notable. Perhaps Jones as well with the way he's playing for NEC but England has never been known for producing entire generations, hence they suck at youth tournaments.

ATG

05-21-2006, 11:51 AM

At least I get to watch the dribbling showcase that is Ricardo Quaresma in this tourney :handclap:

Bubbles

05-21-2006, 12:08 PM

The Italian squad is very strong this year as well. After all, they have won 5 of the last 7 championships. ;)

Ajacied

05-21-2006, 12:13 PM

The Italian squad is very strong this year as well. After all, they have won 5 of the last 7 championships. ;)

I'd say that the big 3 are likely to actually end up being the final 3 (Italy, Holland and France). With Portugal finishing 4th.

Bubbles

05-21-2006, 12:34 PM

I'd say that the big 3 are likely to actually end up being the final 3 (Italy, Holland and France). With Portugal finishing 4th.

Holland would have an amazing team if they didn't have so many call ups to the WC squad. Lots of great players.

helicecopter

05-21-2006, 02:39 PM

Portieri: Agliardi (Palermo), Curci (Roma), Mirante (Siena).

Difensori: Bovo (Roma), Canini (Cagliari), Chiellini (Juventus), Coda (Empoli), Ferronetti (Parma), Potenza (Maiorca), Mantovani e Scurto (Chievo).

Centrocampisti: Aquilani (Roma), Biondini (Reggina), Donadel (Fiorentina), Foggia (Ascoli), Galloppa (Triestina), Montolivo (Fiorentina), Rosina (Torino), Sammarco (Chievo).

Attaccanti: Palladino (Livorno), Pazzini (Fiorentina), Pepe (Udinese), Bianchi (Reggina), Defendi (Atalanta).

Talent wise this team is not on par with the best of the recent past, but not all the Italian squads that has been able to win the title were blessed with top talent either.
Anyway, Holland, France and maybe Portugal as well feature more talent, we will see if they will be better teams on the pitch.
I'm not a fan of coach Gentile, so i am not that optimistic even if the draw was lucky.
A key could be Aquilani, as his presence is still questionable, recovering from a previous injury. WIll he play? and will he be 100%?

The team i would use:

-----------------Palladino-----Pazzini-----------

Foggia-----Aquilani(Sammarco)-----Montolivo----Rosina

--Chiellini-------Canini--------Bovo---------Potenza

-----------------------Agliardi----------------------

or a more complicated but potentially better:

-----------------------Pazzini------------------
-----------Palladino---------------------------
------------------------------------Foggia(Defendi,Rosina)
-----------Montolivo--------Aquilani----------
--------------------Sammarco------------------
Chiellini-----------------------------------------
-------------Canini---Coda-----Bovo-----------

---------------------Agliardi---------------------

the team Gentile will use should be slightly different though:

------------------Palladino--------Pazzini--------------

--Galloppa------Donadel-----Aquilani(Sammarco)---Foggia

--Chiellini--------Canini--------Bovo--------Potenza
-------------------------Curci-------------------------

ATG

05-21-2006, 02:44 PM

I'd say that the big 3 are likely to actually end up being the final 3 (Italy, Holland and France). With Portugal finishing 4th.

I beg to differ ;)

Gwyddbwyll

05-21-2006, 06:12 PM

England could have an attacking trio of Walcott, Rooney, and Lennon which would probably give defenses nightmares, other than that though, I'm not sure if there's really a lot in the pipeline.

Stewart Downing
Darren Bent
Kieran Richardson
Tom Huddlestone
Wayne Routledge
James Milner
Nigel Reo-Coker
Anton Ferdinand
Michael Dawson
Curtis Davies
David Nugent

All those guys have played for England or very likely will one day. Nugent, Jerome and Lita are more excellent prospects largely unrated as they play outside the Premiership. Dean Ashton was playing for the team quite recently but I think he's just graduated. The Championship is very underrated - the majority of these players were produced there.

Also bear in mind that England only missed out very narrowly to a strong French team - Ribery who isnt there now, scoring the matchwinner. This squad is a good one - I'd say very capable of beating any other team.

FlyHigh

05-21-2006, 07:45 PM

Stewart Downing
Darren Bent
Kieran Richardson
Tom Huddlestone
Wayne Routledge
James Milner
Nigel Reo-Coker
Anton Ferdinand
Michael Dawson
Curtis Davies
David Nugent

All those guys have played for England or very likely will one day. Nugent, Jerome and Lita are more excellent prospects largely unrated as they play outside the Premiership. Dean Ashton was playing for the team quite recently but I think he's just graduated. The Championship is very underrated - the majority of these players were produced there.

Also bear in mind that England only missed out very narrowly to a strong French team - Ribery who isnt there now, scoring the matchwinner. This squad is a good one - I'd say very capable of beating any other team.

I love Reo-Coker, he's everything I look for in a CM except for size, it would be great to see him at Ashburton Grove someday.

Ajacied

05-22-2006, 02:08 AM

Holland would have an amazing team if they didn't have so many call ups to the WC squad. Lots of great players.

One thing I don't understand is why Feyenoord hasn't been getting any attention. Jonathan de Guzman would challenge Afellay and Medunjanin to be a starter on this team. I completely forgot about him but I think he's the biggest, perfectly eligeble ommission on this team. I can understand the ommission of Diego Biseswar as he's barely 17 but de Guzman? He's 19 and one of Feyenoord's most important players already.

Evilo

05-22-2006, 02:26 AM

Well, maybe Holland has the same politics as France : no player from a previous generation is selected.
The goal is that every player goes through all youth selections without skipping one year.
The only exception that I have seen in recent years is that Gourcuff is currently selected for this U21 tournament even though he's only 19 (which is quite a shocker since it's against the federation's policy).
That's basically it. Nasri, Benzema and co could be in this U21 tournament otherwise, as they're already good enough (easily), but the federation policy doesn't allow that.

Ajacied

05-22-2006, 02:34 AM

helicecopter

05-22-2006, 03:05 AM

Evilo

05-22-2006, 03:13 AM

Yes it's frustrating.
Another frustrating (but understandable) policy is not to select guys who fled without a compensation to a foreign team.
Frey is the most obvious example, another one is N'Zogbia, who was in the U21 french pre-selection but who got booted out thanks to pressure from Le Havre (whose suing is still under way).
End result : Frey is an asset we don't use, and a guy like N'Zogbia has talked about playing for Gabon, even though he'd like to play for France.
:shakehead

helicecopter

05-22-2006, 03:16 AM

Yes it's frustrating.
Another frustrating (but understandable) policy is not to select guys who fled without a compensation to a foreign team.I can't say if that's used in Itay as well, cause Rossi and Lupoli are not selected already for the previous reason.

Evilo

05-22-2006, 03:18 AM

Imagine Spain not selecting Cesc Fabregas. :shakehead
At least they're brighter than us.

Evilo

05-22-2006, 11:10 AM

Bad news for France and good news for Portugal : Anthony Le Tallec won't play, he's injured. He's scored nearly half of France goals in the qualifyiers.

ATG

05-22-2006, 08:43 PM

Bad news for France and good news for Portugal : Anthony Le Tallec won't play, he's injured. He's scored nearly half of France goals in the qualifyiers.

Portugual's offence will flow through Ricardo Quaresma he is a hand full out their when he is on. Stop him and France should do well

Shabutie

05-22-2006, 10:11 PM

Portugual's offence will flow through Ricardo Quaresma he is a hand full out their when he is on. Stop him and France should do wellIsn't Quaresma 22?

Engineer

05-22-2006, 10:18 PM

Isn't Quaresma 22?

U21 is a pretty flexible term. I think it goes by if you're under 21 by the time qualifying starts - or something to that effect.

Belizarius

05-22-2006, 11:39 PM

U21 is a pretty flexible term. I think it goes by if you're under 21 by the time qualifying starts - or something to that effect.
Yes you're right. It's a matter of birthday, like the world juniors in hockey.

Evilo

05-23-2006, 04:30 AM

Pretty shocking starting line up for today's game against host Portugal :

GK Mandanda
No surprise here
RB : Sagna
Everyone was expecting Clerc, who's twice the player Sagna is. No idea why he was picked over Clerc.
CB : Bourillon and Faty
Faty has a shaky confidence these days, and Bourillon has been really average this season I'd say. Aubey and Badiane are on the bench. I really thought Aubey would start.
LB : Berthod
Obvious choice here.
DM : Toulalan and Mavuba
Girard chose to have only 2 DMs, so that leaves Diarra on the bench.
AM : Faubert and Sinama
Faubert was a lock if France lined up two AMs, but Sinama is a surprise at this spot. I'd rather have him as striker, and Gourcuff right there. Gouffran would have been a possibility here as well.
ST : Briand and Bergougnoux.
Briand was a lock, and Bergougnoux replaces the injured Le Tallec. Still with Sinama or Gouffran here and Gourcuff as AM, it would have been better IMO.

My ideal line up would have been :
--------Mandanda------
Clerc-Faty-Aubey-Berthod
-----------Diarra------------
----Toulalan----Mavuba---
----------Gourcuff---------
---Le Tallec*---Sinama----
* If Le Tallec can't play, dress Briand.

no one important

05-23-2006, 10:19 AM

I just found out that this tournament is not shown in German TV. I didn't expect this. I thought either Eurosport, DSF or even ARD/ZDf would show it. Very disappointing.

Is it broadcasted in other European countries?

Evilo

05-23-2006, 10:22 AM

Hmm, I'll check into this, but I was hoping for DSF to broadcast it.
I'll let you know...
Maybe Sport +.

Belgian Fan

05-23-2006, 10:38 AM

Is it broadcasted in other European countries?

Not here for sure, but since Belgium didn't make it that is somehow a bit understandable. Even though I still don't agree :rant:

Evilo

05-23-2006, 10:39 AM

Apparently, it's not on Sport+ nor on Canal+.
I'm hoping I get it on portugese TV.
Can't believe nobody broadcasts it.
Are you sure it's not on any german chanel?

Engineer

05-23-2006, 10:44 AM

It's on TV2 Zulu here. They usually buy their rights for one-off tourneys.

Hellström

05-23-2006, 10:48 AM

Eurosport is showing something like a U21 Tournament from Toulon tomorrow (sorry, i don´t care that much about UXX games at all), but aside from that i can´t see any UXX games scheduled until friday.

Shabutie

05-23-2006, 11:00 AM

U21 is a pretty flexible term. I think it goes by if you're under 21 by the time qualifying starts - or something to that effect.When did the qualifying start? He's turning 23 this Sept, I believe.

Evilo

05-23-2006, 11:05 AM

Yes the Toulon tournament has the 3rd place game and the final tomorrow.
But the U21 is of much higher interest and quality (especially this year).

Ajacied

05-23-2006, 11:30 AM

Every game will be shown live in the Netherlands. They'd probably even show live U15 games ahead of the Idols finals, the coverage on youth teams is exceptional the past few years. During the U21 WC of last year, they hyped it up like it was the last WC on the planet.

They show Portugal - France this evening. When the Dutch play they will start with a long pre-game, while ending with an 30 minute analysis.

Pretty thrilled. Great warm up for the WC.

no one important

05-23-2006, 11:48 AM

Evilo

05-23-2006, 11:51 AM

Evilo

05-23-2006, 11:56 AM

Got it.
It's W9.

no one important

05-23-2006, 12:01 PM

So your article states there's a french brodcast? Any idea of the chanel?

No, it just says the agency found partners for all participating countries except for Germany.

:shakehead

Edt: Just saw your answer. Lucky you. :)

Hellström

05-23-2006, 12:05 PM

I'm jelous.
This article (http://www.ftd.de/sport/fussball/nationalmannschaft/75874.html?zid=45025) says that Germany is the only country that takes part that is not broadcasting the EC. DSF apparently didn't want to pay enough.

Pretty unbelievable especially when you consider the general football-crazy atmosphere here so shortly before the World Cup.

I'm pissed. I was so looking forward to this.

I think that most germans don´t care about those UXX teams. I´ve seen a report about the UXX success in Germany and about 50% of the players haven´t made it to the 2.Bundesliga (and even less to the Bundesliga).
Just remember the highly touted U18 team in 2000 with Michael Zepek, Gino Laubinger, Marco Stark, Christian Fickert & friends. Zepek has been a legend for UXX teams for Germany.

no one important

05-23-2006, 12:16 PM

That's true. Well I at least would have liked to watch it. There are quite a few players on that team that already made the Bundesliga like Kießling and Polanski.

Apparently Germany won it first game against Serbia & Montenegro 1:0 because of a Polanski goal.

Evilo

05-23-2006, 12:17 PM

No, it just says the agency found partners for all participating countries except for Germany.

:shakehead

Edt: Just saw your answer. Lucky you. :)
Germany up 1-0 ;)

Evilo

05-23-2006, 12:21 PM

Final score 1-0 Germany.
Sorry GG, I didn't see the game, so no report from me... :(

Hellström

05-23-2006, 12:23 PM

Apparently Germany won it first game against Serbia & Montenegro 1:0 because of a Polanski goal.

Eugen is going to be a stud in some years :)

Ajacied

05-23-2006, 12:35 PM

Final score 1-0 Germany.
Sorry GG, I didn't see the game, so no report from me... :(

Me neither.

Will watch France - Portugal in a few minutes though. I'll try to post my thoughts on the players after the game.

ATG

05-23-2006, 01:02 PM

A possible missed penalty and a yellow already for Quaresma looks bad :shakehead

Evilo

05-23-2006, 01:37 PM

missed penalty?
We're watching a different game maybe?
I don't even know what penalty you're refering to? Is it when Almeida hit Bourillon's foot? How can it be a penalty if he's the one shooting in the defenseman's foot?

France is up 1-0 at half time and has TOTALLY dominated the game.
Portugal has zero occasion, the only shot on target was actually a missed cross.
France has scored a goal, hit the post (goalie clearly beaten to boot) and Faubert had a goal saved by a desperate dive by a defenseman with the goalie beaten.

I'm incredibly impressed by the way France has played.

For Portugal, Quaresma and Moutinho have played like 15 year old in street soccer : trying tricks and getting eaten alive every time.

Interesting stat I thought. Since Girard (wisely) decided to bench Bergougnoux and dress Gourcuff, out of the 11 starters, 4 were formed in Rennes (Gourcuff, Briand, Faty and Bourillon).

Shabutie

05-23-2006, 01:42 PM

A possible missed penalty and a yellow already for Quaresma looks bad :shakehead
What channel are you watching it on?

ATG

05-23-2006, 01:45 PM

ATG

05-23-2006, 01:46 PM

What channel are you watching it on?

Radio unfortunately, I have Dish Network don't know if it's on any place

Ajacied

05-23-2006, 01:47 PM

Shabutie

05-23-2006, 01:48 PM

Radio unfortunately, I have Dish Network don't know if it's on any placeSucks, my aunt has a portuguese channel (don't recall the name) costs like 15$/month though.

ATG

05-23-2006, 01:51 PM

Sucks, my aunt has a portuguese channel (don't recall the name) costs like 15$/month though.

RTP and Sport TV aren't carrying it either so really doesn't matter

Evilo

05-23-2006, 01:54 PM

yikes that doesn't sound good so I take it Quaresma has not impressed you at all?
Maybe I was expecting too much...
But they played as if they don't care.
For a home game, they should be fired up.

Evilo

05-23-2006, 01:55 PM

- Penalty to Almeida? :lol:

- France "totally dominating"? :lol:

Pretty decent game in general. Portugal with some flashy, yet not very effective players who are dangerous mostly on the counter. Scary team in the transition but not much else. Their defense is like usually swiss cheese. France seems more mature and experienced thoughout the entire line-up. They created two real chances and are the better team, but they are hardly dominating, let along totally. The goal was redirected, btw, but well deserved.

First time I watch Toulalon. If you were to tell me he's 37, I would believe you. No real standouts on either team yet.

Well, three golden opportunities to zero and having the ball more than the opponent in an away game is dominance.
They could be 3-0 up at half time in Braga, Portugal against a very good Portugal team, and you don't call that dominance?

As for Toulalan, yes, he has grey hair already. But he sure doesn't run like a 37 year old... :D

Gwyddbwyll

05-23-2006, 01:58 PM

How did Briand play? I was very impressed with him against England.

Ajacied

05-23-2006, 02:01 PM

Well, three golden opportunities to zero and having the ball more than the opponent in an away game is dominance.
They could be 3-0 up at half time in Braga, Portugal against a very good Portugal team, and you don't call that dominance?No, not really. Dominance is continuesly creating chances while the other side can't even play solid minutes on the offensive end. France "only" created 3 real chance, of which one was a rebound of the other. Ball possesion is still fairly close I think (I think it's around 55 to 45, something close to that). That's not dominant.

I don't think it's a very good Portugal team to begin with though. As I said prior to this game, I don't consider them a top 3 contender like I do France.

As for Toulalan, yes, he has grey hair already. But he sure doesn't run like a 37 year old... :DNo kidding.

France seems to have a fairly old squad now that I look at it. Most are 21/22. Same in the Toulon tournament, actually. Definitely an advantage.

Evilo

05-23-2006, 02:02 PM

Briand was the scorer. He didn't have a lot of job in the first half but did well. I think he made the nice pass to Sinama who hit the iron.

Portugal coming back with much better intentions.

And regarding the dominance, France managed to completely block the midfield and Portugal couldn't create anything. They had to resolve to long passes, which were easy targets for big guys like Faty and Bourillon.

Evilo

05-23-2006, 02:05 PM

France is not older than Portugal.
In fact Sinama and Le Tallec are eligible next year and Gourcuff for the next 3 years.

And yes O=S, Portugal looks bad also because France is simply dominating them tactically.

Faubert goes out (has he missed anything in this game?) and Flamini goes in.
Scary depth at DM when you think that when Flamini comes in, Diarra is still on the bench.

Evilo

05-23-2006, 02:10 PM

And now Girard sends a fourth DM on the field (Diarra) in place of the lone remaining AM (Gourcuff, who had a nice solid but unspectacular game).
I'm not sure it's a good thing not to try for that second goal.

Evilo

05-23-2006, 02:31 PM

Quaresma goes out under the boos. So I'm not the only one unimpressed I guess.

Portugal is playing a lot better in this second half (I also blame Girard's tactics, as Gourcuff would have been golden to keep the ball and in counter attack, Rennes style).

Evilo

05-23-2006, 02:34 PM

Evilo

05-23-2006, 02:44 PM

Game over 1-0 France. A convincing win, especially because of that awesome first half. The second half, France just closed the door.
I expected more from Portugal, but they were dominated tactically and physically.
France's D was perfect from start to finish and when you have Mavuba and Toulalan in front of the defense, you know the opposing offenses will have trouble keeping the ball and creating anything.
That's what happenned there. The DM's duo dominated physically, and the nice combination of Sinama-Briand-Gourcuff-Faubert is enough to create danger.
With Le Tallec coming back (hopefully for the next game), France's offensive firepower will go up.

The good ones :
For France, Faubert, Sinama and Briand were good, and the DMs/CBs were perfect.
Mandanda was perfect as usual. His only drawback is that his kicks were actually too strong. They reach the other guy's box after one rebound!
For Portugal, RB Nelson was impressive.

The bad ones :
Gourcuff was shy I thought. Didn't try some highlight reel. Berthod and Sagna only took part on D, and didn't try a cross (I think Berthod did try one in the first half).
Quaresma and Moutinho were horrible. Quaresma was booed when he was subed, and deservely so.
Fernandes was invisible. You wonder if he even played.
Almeida was without a good ball all game. He simply jumped at every long ball and was dominated by Bourillon and Faty in the air (I must say these two are good at this though).

ATG

05-23-2006, 10:26 PM

ATG

05-23-2006, 10:28 PM

BTW, I'm very impressed by Nelson, Portugal's RB. Very technical and rather solid defensively.
Fernandes is invisible though.
For France, Briand had a good game and Sinama was very good. The D was rock solid I thought and Mandanda would be a top 10 goalie in most big leagues (probably top 5 in the EPL). He's only 21 and emerging in Le Havre in Ligue 2. He's incredibly strong and quick at the same time.

Yes, Nelson was looking like a strong candidate for the big team this year but his play fell off quite a bit for Benfica during the second half of the season. Congrats to France though on the opening day victory

Ajacied

05-24-2006, 09:26 AM

The Dutch take on the Ukraine in about 90 minutes. They've been showing camp reports the past few days and the players are really having alot of fun, they're getting along well. However, there's a huge downer as our stud at midfield; 17 year old Ismael Aissati hasn't fully recovered yet and will not start this evening. With Afellay already out of the tournament due to injuries, this position might prove to be our strugglepoint, as hard as that may seem considering the nations general depth at midfield is just rediculous.

Here's the line up, I've added their grade from my latest prospect list as well:

----------------------- Huntelaar (9.0B) --------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
de Ridder (8.5D) ------------------------- Castelen (7.5C)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------- Emanuelson (8.5C) --------- Hofs (7.0B) ---------- ------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------- Schaars (7.0A) ----------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
Verheagh (7.0C) -------------------------- Braafheid (7.0B)
------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------- Luirink (8.0B) --- Vlaar (8.5D) --------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------- Pasveer (6.0B) --------------------

Just looking up their grades and this really is a C squad we're sending. Anyway, I was close with my original line-up. Like I said, I expected Hofs to get the nod above Medunjanin, who has more offensive potential than most on the team but Hofs is a quick, hard working litle bugger. Emanuelson has to play at midfield due to Aissati being injured, especially since our D is as solid as it is we can afford so.

The goalie call remains laughable, Vermeer is twice the goalie Pasveer will ever be, but we have a coach who likes to go the safe road (experience).

For comparison or fun, here's my Dutch prospect list:

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=5121991&postcount=83

Ajacied

05-24-2006, 11:20 AM

Half time, Dutch trail 1-0 on a pathetic call from the ref. On the play, the Ukrainer was offside, manages to get to the ball, dives and gets a penalty.

Other thoughts:

- We play really, really, really bad but still a pretty even game in general.

- De Ridder is a right footed winger from the left, whereas Castelen tends to go inside as well. They provide zero crosses for Huntelaar.

- Huntelaar has been invisable. Largely because of aforementioned point. He's been guarded extremely tight as well. There are 2/3 defenders around him whenever it appears he might be receiving the ball.

- Why play such a defensive minded style vs a defensive orientated team?

- Our jersey rocks, but that's it for all the positive points. Though I like the Vlaar/Luirink duo very much.

Second half starting, Aissati in.

EDIT: Shrug.. Poor executed off-side trap makes it 2-0.

helicecopter

05-24-2006, 11:20 AM

Aquilani didn't recover from his knee injury and is out of the whole competition. Sammarco should replace him as a starter.

Gwyddbwyll

05-24-2006, 11:44 AM

de Ridder! I'd forgotten him. What an annoying player. I dont think he'll ever be as good a player as he could be because of his ego.

Evilo

05-24-2006, 12:08 PM

Ajacied

05-24-2006, 12:22 PM

Wow, Holland sucks so much in this game, it's not even funny.
I've watched 30 minutes (from 55th to 85th), and Aissati has managed the grand total of ONE successful pass (and it was a two meter pass)!
Huntelaar has managed one shot!
The only guy that seems to care is Emanuelsson.
De Ridder and Castelen are perfectly useless so far.

Let's hope they get better for that second game, because that's an awful display.

As for Ukraine, they're solid defensively, and they have that Milevskiy (sp?) who is diving every time he touches the ball (no idea why the ref falls every time), but who seems very talented.

Are you kidding me about Aissati?

You can't really judge a game on 30 minutes either.

Can't say I disagree. But I blame it more on Foppe than anyone else. His tactics didn't make any sense.

I'd be surprised if you were as fast to judge if Holland was actually playing decent though.

My grades:

Vermeer: 6/10 - Didn't get tested much, saved the balls he had to save. Allowed a penalty and one of which he faced 5 Ukrainers.

Verhaegh: 6/10 - Pretty solid if not for being the one who caused the 2nd goal. He was the one who stayed behind.

Luirink: 8/10 - He and Vlaar were the only lightspots. Scored a goal, too.

Vlaar: 8/10 - Rock solid.

Braafheid: 5/10 - Looked frustrated. Had some good moments but not enough.

Emanuelson: 7/10 - Poor at LM, but great in the second half when he had to play LD again.

Schaar: 5/10 - Cleaner, did alright. Nothing special, didn't really notice him.

Hofs: 4/10 - He was very poor, I thought. Didn't run as much and didn't connect offensively.

Castelen: 6/10 - He was the only danger in the first half and had a few nice actions in the second. Didn't get by his man a whole lot and definitely looked off.

de Ridder: 3/10 - Got no cross in, poor passes, never showed any techniqual highlights, either.

Huntelaar: 5/10 - Tight defense, no crosses received, no support from midfield result in a poor game. I don't think he could really do anything about it.

Ajacied

05-24-2006, 12:25 PM

de Ridder! I'd forgotten him. What an annoying player. I dont think he'll ever be as good a player as he could be because of his ego.

No kidding. His upside is quite high and has been starting for the 5th team in the Primera Division quite often this year, but he has the "van Persie/Seedorf" syndrome..

Evilo

05-24-2006, 01:09 PM

Are you kidding me about Aissati?
No, I'm not. He was even worse than when PSV faced Lyon.
I guess I'm just unlucky and I only catch his bad games.
He really brought nothing but lost balls today.

You can't really judge a game on 30 minutes either.
I know. Which is why I hope they play much better in the next game (and I hope I can catch it).

I'd be surprised if you were as fast to judge if Holland was actually playing decent though.
Why?
Maybe I was expecting too much, but when a team lines up with extra-hyped forwards like Huntelaar, Castelen, De Ridder and Aisatti, you expect at least a decent opportunity or two in 30 minutes. They had a semi-opportunity by Huntelaar and that was it.
When I say I'm disappointed by Gourcuff yesterday and when I see Aisatti's game today, I think I'm way too harsh with Yoann.

Anyway, let's all hope we have a more competitive team next game. I want to see what these guys can REALLY do.

helicecopter

05-24-2006, 01:44 PM

Mooooole!

WHO IS THIS BENDTNER!?? ('88 born!)

:amazed:

mole

05-24-2006, 04:42 PM

He had a good game, I take it? Only his 2nd ever at U21 level. Bloody pissed I missed the game. Got text message updates though. So close, so ****ing close. Gonna go look for some highlights now.

Anyway, NB is a january 88 born striker, formerly of KB (amateur/junior section of FC Copenhagen), has been with Arsenal for 2 years now. Linkage (http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=first+team&article=384829&lid=&Title=Wenger+-+Why+I+don%27t+want+to+buy+Nikola+Zigic). Older linkage (http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=first+team&article=358934&lid=&Title=Young+Guns+-+Nicklas+Bendtner).

Obviously a great talent. Made his U21 debut last week with both goals in a 2-0 home win over Spain. Pours in goals at the reserve level for Arsenal. This season, in 22 starts (with 2 sub appearances) in the PL Southern Reserve League with an amazing 18 goals (in comparison, Lupoli had 17 goals in 15 starts, apparently the two forged quite a partnership together) and 9 goals in 7 starts (+2 sub-ons) in the U18 league. Also featured three times in the Carling Cup for Arsenal, including 90 minutes (subbed on at 30 minutes, game went to extra time) against Doncaster.
I'm currently trying to figure out if he should be #1 or #2 on my new list. Ahead of or behind Agger. Obviously annoyed that I missed the game today, but I hope to get a good look at him in the other games.

helicecopter

05-24-2006, 05:05 PM

He had a good game, I take it?To be honest i saw three minutes early in the game (when Italy scored), then 20 minutes when Denmark scored three!..and that's all, i missed all the second half (only saw some highlights with Italy's goals and scoring chances) :cry:

but during that brief span i was VERY impressed by this guy.
Complete package, huge potential and apparently the understanding of the game of a veteran already!

Anyway, NB is a january 88 born striker, formerly of KB (amateur/junior section of FC Copenhagen), has been with Arsenal for 2 years now. Linkage (http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=first+team&article=384829&lid=&Title=Wenger+-+Why+I+don%27t+want+to+buy+Nikola+Zigic). Older linkage (http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=first+team&article=358934&lid=&Title=Young+Guns+-+Nicklas+Bendtner).

Obviously a great talent. Made his U21 debut last week with both goals in a 2-0 home win over Spain. Pours in goals at the reserve level for Arsenal. This season, in 22 starts (with 2 sub appearances) in the PL Southern Reserve League with an amazing 18 goals (in comparison, Lupoli had 17 goals in 15 starts, apparently the two forged quite a partnership together) and 9 goals in 7 starts (+2 sub-ons) in the U18 league. Also featured three times in the Carling Cup for Arsenal, including 90 minutes (subbed on at 30 minutes, game went to extra time) against Doncaster.Thanks for the info. Thinking of Lupoli, i guess these two together form a well assorted duo!

I'm currently trying to figure out if he should be #1 or #2 on my new list. Ahead of or behind Agger. Obviously annoyed that I missed the game today, but I hope to get a good look at him in the other games.Same hope here, but i'm not sure i'll be able to get the next Denmark's games. :rolleyes:

Evilo

05-25-2006, 02:22 AM

Here's France's starting line up according to L'Equipe (they were wrong two days ago, predicting Bergougnoux would start in place of Gourcuff) :
--------Mandanda---------
Clerc-Bourillon-Faty-Flamini
-----Toulalan--Mavuba------
Bergougnoux-Diarra-Sinama
------------Briand----------

Main changes : Flamini replaces Berthod, Bergougnoux replaces Faubert, Clerc replaces Sagna and Diarra replaces Gourcuff
I personally expect less changes than that.
Faubert is a great sset, and I'd be surprised to see him on the bench.
That L'Equipe team lacks creativity, and I'm not sure I like it.

For Germany :
----------Rensing--------
Volz-Sinkiewicz-Matip-Fathi
------Lehmann-Schulz-----
-Hilbert-Polanski-Rafael-
-----------Kiessling--------

Meier could start instead of Polanski.
You german guys (and gals) is there any guy I should focus on (besides Polanski)?

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 10:15 AM

Foppe de Haan (coach young Oranje): "Obviously we never should have used Aissati, but we had to take risks. The team was flat and created nothing. The moment Aissati came in we started to get a better grip on the game, but as the game went on he started to get more pain in his foot so that was eary. It were just cramps though and I'm expecting him to start friday."

Germany - France starting in a few minutes. Ajax product and should-be-Dutchman Nando Rafael somehow is not in the starting line-up. Not sure what's wrong there. Can't seem to find Polanski either.

Evilo, why no Gourcuff? I've been wanting to see him for quite some time now and he didn't really play all that well vs Portugal. Even getting substituted I believe..

Juni

05-25-2006, 10:37 AM

Sinkiewicz and Fathi are supposedly excellent prospects, and if that's Christian Schulz then him too.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 10:38 AM

Here's France lineup :

-------Mandanda------
Clerc-Bourillon-Faty-Sagna
---Mavuba-Toulalan--
Faubert-Diarra-Sinama
---------Gouffran-------

Girard (France coach) is not happy with the schedule (game every two days), so he plan on using his whole bench.
As for Gourcuff, he apparently left the Portugal game exhausted, and he was pretty much a lock to be on the bench today.
Gourcuff will most likely play the third game or a piece of this one if France needs it.

As for the game, after 20 minutes, France has the ball, but Germany has the best opportunities off counter attacks. So far Mandanda has been perfect though.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 10:41 AM

So far I like Kiessling. Powerful (a bit of a diver though) and a nice shot.

The game is played under heavy heavy weather, and both teams seem tired already.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 10:49 AM

Faubert is hurting this german team.
Poor Fathi is struggling against him.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 10:50 AM

Nice move by Sinama and Gouffran there.
Gouffran is good, but he's not well fit for lone striker role. I think Girard should team him with a Briand or Sinama (and in that case Gourcuff on the left).

Toulalan is a step above anyone on the field really.
Kiessling is really good and tries a lot of things. But he dives half the time he touches the ball. I'm not used to dives by Germans I must say (except Mueller of course).

mole

05-25-2006, 10:54 AM

Klinsmann? :D

Evilo

05-25-2006, 10:59 AM

Klinsmann? :D
True, can't believe I've forgotten Mr "I won a WC with my dives" Klinsmann.
France has had only two chances in this game, Germany probably had 3 or 4.
Very good free kick for France here.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:00 AM

1-0!!!! Sinama on a very nice free kick.
Was about to say that besides Toulalan, Sinama was the best french player. Plays well defensively and brings a lot offensively.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:05 AM

France leads 1-0 at half time.
Neither team really deserves the lead.
Germany are playing very well defensively and are dangerous on the counter attack.
France has had the ball and is clearly superior technically, but were unable to find much offensive impact and creativity.

Captain Conservative

05-25-2006, 11:08 AM

1-0!!!! Sinama on a very nice free kick.
Was about to say that besides Toulalan, Sinama was the best french player. Plays well defensively and brings a lot offensively.

Blazing speed as well.

Don't sell him Rafa!

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 11:10 AM

Pretty boring game for the neutral viewer. No real chances on either side. Germany seems well organised but lack creativity whereas France at least tries but can't get anything going when they near the box.

They're talking about the free kick now. They say it was a dive and that the the usual well organised Germans have to blame themselves on the free kick (which was a smart one IMO), but the goalkeeper should've stand there.

No player really impressed me so far. Toulalon did for the first 20 minutes but then dissapeared. Sinama-Pongollo looks nice, as well as Gouffran. No player on German side impressed much, either.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:14 AM

They're talking about the free kick now. They say it was a dive
I have to watch a replay, but it seems like an obvious foul to me. A huge foul in fact.

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 11:16 AM

I have to watch a replay, but it seems like an obvious foul to me. A huge foul in fact.

Same here. Actually thought it deserved yellow until they showed the replay. He let his legs hanging and deliberately went for the foul by letting himself fall. Not the worst of dives, but I think a dive nonetheless.

Toulalon substituted. Didn't think he was playing very well from minute 20th on.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:17 AM

Gourcuff is in, Toulalan is out.
Diarra wil come near Mavuba to control the midfield.

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 11:23 AM

Should've been a penalty there..

Bad timing by the French goalie on the resulting cornerkick.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:23 AM

Hmm, Sagna touches the ball with his elbow in his own box. Could have been a penalty. I'm not sure it's intentional or not, but some refs will whistle a penalty for this.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:25 AM

Sinkiewicz is really hard to move. Big powerful guy.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:26 AM

France have a hard time getting the ball back since Toulalan has left.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:28 AM

So close!
Sinama's pass was perfect, but Gourcuff misses the ball! He had the sun in his eyes, but what a nice play!

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:30 AM

Mandanda is looking shakier than usual today. Twice that he's hesitating.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:33 AM

- Ridiculous yellow for Faty who perfectly took the ball on a nice tackle.

- Briand in for Sinama. Nice overall game from Sinama.

- Niemeyer is out, Castro is in for Germany.

- For France, the last sub will be Badiane for Faty (probably the yellow card here).

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 11:36 AM

Ridiculous yellow for Faty who perfectly took the ball on a nice tackle.
Briand in for Sinama. Nice overall game from Sinama.

:huh:

He came in with both legs, not to mention stretched. Yellow was definitely at his place.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:37 AM

:huh:

He came in with both legs, not to mention stretched. Yellow was definitely at his place.
His feet didn't leave the ground though. He simply blocked the ball with his feet.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:40 AM

Mandanda coming out with authority!

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 11:41 AM

His feet didn't leave the ground though. He simply blocked the ball with his feet.

Regardless, you can't tackle with two feets and he did that. Don't think it was a yellow to debate about..

I'm hoping Germany add some strikers, it's been a real boring game so far.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:44 AM

- Gouffran makes it 2-0 off a rebound after a fantastic Gourcuff free kick.

- Oh my god! Mavuba with a highlight reel. He took the ball in his half and dribbled through the D and scored. 3-0!
Most players would hve dived after the obvious german foul in the box, but Rio didn't and stretched to shoot the ball.

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 11:47 AM

Too bad for Germany. They deserve better. Very flattered score so far.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:48 AM

What have they shown except some defensive solidity? Offensively, they were dangerous in the first 15 minutes and nothing after that.:

- Interesting stat : since Mandanda has taken over the starting spot, he has not been scored against for France : 6 straight games.

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 11:51 AM

What have they shown except some defensive solidity? Offensively, they were dangerous in the first 15 minutes and nothing after that.

Just being stable and pretty errorless for most of the game and limiting France to only a few chances all game long (well to the 60th minute at least) is enough for me.

Just goes on to see Germany depending so much on its defense. When they are down and put pressure on their forwards, they become so vulnerable. Just like the A-squad.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:52 AM

- This german team's main problem is that they're too slow and not technical enough. Tactically, they're good enough, and physically as well.

- Faubert goes alone one on one with the goalie and the ref calls it back on offside : replays shows there wasn't. Could have been 4-0.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:54 AM

Just being stable and pretty errorless for most of the game and limiting France to only a few chances all game long (well to the 60th minute at least) is enough for me.

Just goes on to see Germany depending so much on its defense. When they are down and put pressure on their forwards, they become so vulnerable. Just like the A-squad.
Absolutely, they limited France's chances. But 3-0 is a logical score when you can't create danger. After a while (especially under this sun), you expose yourself to danger.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 11:56 AM

Rafael is bringing energy to this german squad. He should have started.

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 11:57 AM

Absolutely, they limited France's chances. But 3-0 is a logical score when you can't create danger. After a while (especially under this sun), you expose yourself to danger.

Not sure. It's a well deserving victory but I still find it flattered. France looks pretty scary though, I'll definitely admit that. Best team I've witnessed so far.

Evilo

05-25-2006, 12:02 PM

I'd say the midfield is scary, and the defense has IMO overachieved.
The offense could be better (maybe when Le Tallec comes back).

Evilo

05-25-2006, 12:11 PM

3-0 final score.

- Bourillon has had another great game, he's not used to be being this good, I'm surprised.
- Sinama was very good.

It's no surprise that out of France's 4 goals, 3 were off set plays (Briand off a Faubert free kick, Sinama on a free kick and Gouffran after a Gourcuff free kick). The last one was a solo run by Mavuba.
Basically, it's France's technical ability that's talking.

They need to improve the offensive plays though. Gourcuff is not put in a postion where he's the playmaker (though he did good enough today, I expect more).
The key for France has been their dominating DMs.

Ajacied

05-25-2006, 12:27 PM

LOL

They are showing every single move by Huntelaar vs the Ukraine. They dive more than Peter Forsberg in a swimsuit.

Anyway, I heard Germany had two players on its squad who also made the WC squad?! I believe the Ukraine also had a few players who follow the same path..

There should be clearer rules as of who are and who aren't permitted to join the squad. I don't like to whine, but it's not fair. Other teams are line-ing up their C-squad.

I don't think this squad would be beatable;

------------------------ Huntelaar --------------------
Robben ---------------------------------- van Persie
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------- vd Vaart ----- Sneijder --------------
---------------------------------------------------------
------------------------- Maduro -----------------------
Emanuelson -------------------------------- de Jong
------------------ Heitinga --- Vlaar -----------------
---------------------------------------------------------
------------------------ Vermeer ----------------------

Bench:

- Luirink
- Babel
- Owusu-Abeyie
- John
- Schaars
- Diba
- Afellay
- Medunjanin
- Aissati
- Drenthe

And yes, I'm bored.. Well actually I'm stuck in my projects.

12# Peter Bondra

05-25-2006, 12:32 PM

If posts on the Other Sports forums counted, Evilo at this rate would have 20,000+ I believe (looking at this thread).

Evilo

05-25-2006, 12:38 PM

If posts on the Other Sports forums counted, Evilo at this rate would have 20,000+ I believe (looking at this thread).
:D
Yes I guess next time i'll edit my post for the updates... ;)

12# Peter Bondra

05-25-2006, 12:56 PM

:D
Yes I guess next time i'll edit my post for the updates... ;)
I dont mind that just that I logged on yesterday and you had 9,083 posts, I come here today, you post like 50 posts here and have only 9,088.

mole

05-25-2006, 01:22 PM

(snipped whine)

There should be clearer rules as of who are and who aren't permitted to join the squad. I don't like to whine, but it's not fair. Other teams are line-ing up their C-squad.

(snipped boasting)
Rules? It's the associations' own choice. You can thank KNVB and noone else.

Gwyddbwyll

05-25-2006, 03:59 PM

Would you REALLY want guys like Robben risking life and limb (well it seems like it every time he's tackled) in what is a meaningless tournament compared to the World Cup..

Evilo

05-26-2006, 11:56 AM

Engineer

05-26-2006, 12:23 PM

1-1 between Holland and Denmark with 10 minutes to go.
Huntelaar scored Holland's goal.
Kahlenberg scored for Denmark.
From the few minutes I've seen (just before half time and the last 15 minutes), the game is simply awfully boring, and both sides have ZERO offensive ambition.
There's a foul every 30 seconds.

It's over, tie game 1-1.
The commentators are very harsh on both teams : "you should have rented a DVD"... :eek:

It was indeed a poor game. Even worse, Denmark lost two starters on defense to injury: Jacobsen and Agger. Jacobsen with a hip injury of some sort, and Agger with... best case a significant black eye, worst case a broken orbital bone.

Belgian Fan

05-26-2006, 12:52 PM

Better now then during the real season...

Evilo

05-26-2006, 01:07 PM

Entertaining game between Ukraine and Italy right now. Ukraine playing their usual cross field passes collective play. Italy are fast and dangerous too.
Best opportunity came to Aliiev for Ukraine who shot just wide with Curci beaten.
Wow and just as I typed, Italy almost scored on a nice Rosina shot.
The player that impresses me the most so far is once again Milevskiy, Ukraine's #10. He has really great touch and can really protect the ball with ease.
The drawback is that he's still one of the most ridiculous divers I've ever seen, on par with that chillian that was diving all over the place in the 70s/80s, can't remember his name.

Evilo

05-26-2006, 01:08 PM

BTW Pazzini is on the bench.

Foggia is showing nice moves and nice speed for Italy.

Saved on the line by Ukraine on a nice italian header on a corner!

On the counter attack, Ukraine comes close to scoring too.

Ajacied

05-26-2006, 01:14 PM

Pathetic. If you thought the French commentarors were harsch, you've got to hear the Dutch. The ballmovement is utterly slow, there's no creativity and the tactics are just wrong every single play.

Foppe still doesn't get it that you have to attack from the wings. It happened all but ONCE. And that resulted in an immediate goal from Huntelaar.

Evilo

05-26-2006, 01:32 PM

And Milevskiy continues to dive at every opportunity... :shakehead
He avoids contact as much as he can, doesn't even jump on high balls.
Too bad because he has a nice technique and can really hurt a defense.

Evilo

05-26-2006, 01:33 PM

Huge opportunity for Rosina who managed to shoot over the bar from 10 meters out.
Scoreless at half time, but both teams played well and offensive football.

Evilo

05-26-2006, 01:55 PM

Awful dive by an italian in the box. Deserved a yellow. At the same time, if the ref gives out yellow cards for dives, both teams will se lots of reds.
Foggia is head and shoulders the best italian on the pitch.
Anyway, I'm leaving the game, no more updates from me.

Evilo

05-28-2006, 01:22 PM

Le Tallec with a great pass to Gouffran who puts it nicely to Bergougnoux for the tip in : 1-0 France against Serbia.
Toulalan is having a huge game again.
For Serbia, I like Krasic a lot. Nice pace, nice technique and explosiveness.
Besides the obvious ones (Kahlenberg, Toulalan and others), Krasic (CSKA Moscow) and Milevskiy (Dynamo Kiev) are among the most impressive guys I've seen in the tournament (obviously, I haven't seen all the game, far from it).

- L. Diarra (Chelsea) is dominating in this game after two average games.
He's throwing precise passes all across the field, can keep the ball like few can thanks to nice agility and vivacity, and is still a defensive presence as usual.
The guy has incredible potential, but I have a hard time seeing him getting any playing time in Chelsea. He needs to leave ASAP.

1-0 at half time.

ATG

05-28-2006, 01:42 PM

Damn, error on livescore thought we were up 1-0, we need three goals and the France result to stand to go through, not gonna happen :cry:

ATG

05-28-2006, 01:43 PM

BTW how many teams move on to the next round? two from each group?

Evilo

05-28-2006, 01:53 PM

Yes.

Evilo

05-28-2006, 01:55 PM

2-0 France on an awesome collective play. Toulalan with the goal. Le Tallec with the blind pass on ther assist.

Evilo

05-29-2006, 06:08 AM

Final score France 2-0 Serbia-Montenegro
Both teams are through to the semis, as Germany couldn't get a point from their last game against Portugal (0-1).
We'll know the last teams that get through tonight. All teams of tha group can go through (Holland, Italy, Ukraine and Denmark).

Evilo

05-29-2006, 02:00 PM

Facing an elimination game, both Italy and Holland suck.
If this tournament is of any indication (and I sure hope it's not), I wouldn't want Castelen at PSG. And he's not even Holland's worst player.

I'm severely disappointed at Holland's player so far. I know they have been probably overhyped a little by our friend O=S (;) ), but still they lack imagination, lack rythm and simply don't seem to care.
That 3 game sample sure wasn't what I expected.

Evilo

05-29-2006, 02:22 PM

And just 5 minutes after my post, Castelen finally provides a good acceleration, finally manages a decent cross and De Ridder scores on a header.
As of now, it's 1-1 between Ukraine and Denmark, which would mean that Ukraine, Italy and Holland would all have 4 points (Denmark would have 3).
No idea who goes through in that case.

Evilo

05-29-2006, 02:42 PM

1-0 final score. Holland produced three bad games but are still through (the quality of that group was weak I thought).
Ukraine won 2-1 and are also through.
So in the semis, we will have a France-Holland showdown and a Ukraine-Serbia.

Evilo

05-29-2006, 02:43 PM

Maybe Holland and O=S will make me eat my words.... :D

Ajacied

05-29-2006, 02:45 PM

Holland advances, beating Italy (deservingly) 1-0.

I thought Holland dissapointed me in the tournament, but Italy is riding driverseat in this regard. Italy created zero chances, and only were dangerous once, maybe twice. Not to say Holland was anything special but they had the ball at least 60% (as most do vs Italian teams) and created more.

I like Castelen in the first 30 minutes and in the last 10. His crosses remained poor I thought. De Ridder was pretty impressive in his short stay on the pitch. Huntelaar remains the most guarded player in the tournament, it's just too bad Castelen en de Ridder can't quite deal with the freedom they're given because of it. Aissati still looks off. Defense was great except for a little unawareness at times.

I thought Holland played decent, but nothing more. They just play such a low tempo, something I'm not used to.

I believe Holland will face France now. Ukraine will face Serbia & Montenegro.

Evilo

05-29-2006, 02:47 PM

Italy played very dirty at times too. A lot of diving I must add.

Evilo

05-29-2006, 02:49 PM

In the other game, Mlievsliy scored yet again (I already told you I liked that player if not for his constant dives) and Kahlenberg scored his third in three games.

Ajacied

05-29-2006, 02:49 PM

Italy played very dirty at times too. A lot of diving I must add.

Thing I most hate about the Italians is their urge to whine. Whenever there's a supposed foul made, they start to whine. Either to their opponent or to the ref.

They play even more boring than the Dutch, I'm glad they're out.

First prediction: France 3 - 0 Holland, Serbia & Montenegro 2 - 1 Ukraine.

Ajacied

05-29-2006, 02:50 PM

In the other game, Mlievsliy scored yet again

He was Piet de Visser's 4th best player at the tournament before it started. Something I doubted untill I watched him play.

Evilo

05-29-2006, 02:51 PM

Meh, I expect both games to be close.
Sure France has absolutely bulldozed through their opponents, but Holland has nothing to lose, and France will have pressure.

My predictions :
France 2-1 Holland
Serbia 1-1 Ukraine, Serbia wins on penalty shootout and Milevskiy misses his (as usual for the MoM).
I would not be surprised by any final. All 4 teams can go through in such a direct elimination.

Evilo

05-29-2006, 02:57 PM

He was Piet de Visser's 4th best player at the tournament before it started. Something I doubted untill I watched him play.
Who were the top 5?

BTW, interesting note : all french players have started at least once in this tournament, except for the goalies.
Impressive to see all of them play with the same ability and dedication. 6 goals scored, 0 goal against in 3 wins.

Ajacied

05-29-2006, 03:24 PM

He had a top 10 actually but it were the obvious so I never bothered posting (from the top of my head):

01) Huntelaar
02) Toulalon
03) Chiellini
04) Mlievsliy
05) Gourcuff
06) Luirink
07) Mavuba
08) Kahlenberg
09) Emanuelson
10) Stojkovic

Also had Vlaar, Basta and Mandala in high regards. Didn't like Quaresma much.

Evilo

05-30-2006, 12:23 AM

Well Chiellini was not very good I'd say. Surprised to see him 3rd.

Ajacied

05-30-2006, 08:33 AM

Well Chiellini was not very good I'd say. Surprised to see him 3rd.

Agreed.

Surprised to see him rank Toulalon above Gourcuff? I was until I watched Toulalon play. He's quite an all-round force.

Evilo

05-30-2006, 08:56 AM

No, I'd rank Toulalan above Gourcuff as well.
Gourcuff has a hige upside, but he could be another Meriem as well (meaning good club player, but nothing great).
Toulalan is just at a whole other level, because he's a constant force.
Right now, he's the best DM France has, and that says a lot (yes, he's much better than Vieira or Makelele) because he's 22 and it's the best position for french players.

Evilo

05-31-2006, 02:20 AM

Anthony Le Tallec has re-injured himself. That is good news for Holland.

Evilo

06-01-2006, 12:36 AM

Girard is not happy about Le Tallec : "he's had this injury for 4 to 5 months. He's at 40% physically and 30% mentally. He has to act."

Evilo

06-01-2006, 10:53 AM

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 10:53 AM

And there's your Huntelaar moment.. Subleme lob to put Holland up 2-0. What a goal!

Evilo

06-01-2006, 10:53 AM

Probably game over now.

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 10:54 AM

I'm taking this game at the 25th minute only to see the score : 1-0 Holland (Hofs, 6th).

After ten minutes, I can say three things :
- France is completely dominating
- the ref has A LOT of trouble, and maybe it's just me and the commentators (all of us are biased), but it seems to get way too often the dutch's way.
- at this rate, one french will get angry after another bad foul without a card and will throw a fist or something that will result in a red card.

PS : just as I type, Huntelaar makes it 2-0.

Holland let France play when they were up. France haven't created much of anything since, they aren't dominating by a long shot. They just have the ball alot because Holland lets them. A goal by France is unevitable though..

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 10:57 AM

Also, Sagna, who I've been thinking very lowly off all tourny long, has had trouble's with Castelen. Gourcuff has yet to impress me, too. Sinamo-Pongolle is a tough striker though.

Evilo

06-01-2006, 11:08 AM

Yes Sagna is just not very good.
I wonder why he starts in front of Clerc.

Anyway, France is done IMO because they don't play as a team, as they were doing in the group stage.
You can see they're better, but they get frustrated (some ref decisions helped there) and they don't press together.

Gourcuff is for some reason playing under-average, just as he has all competition. No idea why, but he's not playing well.

I'd like for the beast Gouffran to go on the field.

Evilo

06-01-2006, 11:23 AM

Faubert makes it 1-2. Well deserved.

Let's go boys!

Evilo

06-01-2006, 11:53 AM

Holland are playing like 90s italians : fouling every time they lost the ball, throwing the ball down the field every time the ref blows, etc...
And for some reason, he doesn't give a card.

I won't mention the numerous huge fouls he's not even calling!

Evilo

06-01-2006, 11:57 AM

2-2!

Hofs makes a HUGE handball, and the ref only gives a yellow. On the free kick, Bergougnoux makes it 2-2!

Evilo

06-01-2006, 12:04 PM

And now the french players are resting it seems and Holland is getting multiple opportunities to win the game in the extra-time.
Incredible misses.

Game over, we're through to overtime.

Evilo

06-01-2006, 12:28 PM

There you.
A french player has the ball, a dutch player fouls him horribly, another french player takes over the ball, gets fouled, the ref still says nothing (the advantage rule had no point, it was in midfield), and then a dutch player fouls Faubert (after a late whistle), who makes a gesture towards the dutch guy, who falls as if he had been hurt by a Tyson punch, and Faubert gets a red card. The dutch player was in fact fighting Faubert for the ball in order to throw it down the field to gain some time.

All I can say is :handclap: to the ref and :handclap: to the Harrison Ford among the dutch players. Next stop : Hollywood!

Evilo

06-01-2006, 12:32 PM

3-2 Holland.

I think the ref can get a villa in Rotterdam now... :lol:

Incredible to see such poor refing at this level.
Then again, we only have to look at the CL final.

Evilo

06-01-2006, 12:49 PM

Game over 3-2 Holland.

French players are completely mad, and the french coach goes ballistic.

Highway robbery, it must be said.

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 12:50 PM

:lol:

The refs were decent, I thought. He really wasn't really consistent throughout the entire game as one moment he'd allow everything, the next moment he whistles for a slight touch. I think it went both ways equally. I can think of 3 free kicks on dangerous position which were just handed by France.

Holland letting France play when they were up 2-0 was a huge mistake and is one of the reasons I'm not much of a fan of Foppe's tactics. Even then, France couldn't create much at all. When the score was 2-2, Holland played their own game again and had about 4 real good chances within 5 minutes. France looked tired and aiming at the penalties in the end.

Hofs came through bit time today. But the men of the match were Vlaar and Castelen.

Evilo

06-01-2006, 12:55 PM

Evilo

06-01-2006, 12:59 PM

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 12:59 PM

Decent?
both ways?

Come on O=S, it wasn't even close.
With a normal ref, Luirink should have had 4 yellow cards and Schaars made a Hollywood impression that deserved a red card (and trying to throw away the ball to boot).
By the book, when a guy throws the ball away, you book him. In that case, Holland would have had 3 sent offs at least.

I mean come on, it will be national news here that the ref screwed us, I can't see how you can say otherwise.

Luirink played on the edge, but I didn't think any of his previous fouls were worthy of yellow. Also, the Dutch had 7 yellow cards to 4 for France.

It really did go both ways. There were plenty of occasions where the ref f'd us. France lost but primarely blaming the ref because of it is rather sad.

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 01:01 PM

BTW O=S, you also feel Hofs' huge handball twenty meters from his goal (the one that resulted in France's tying goal off the free kick) didn't deserve a straight red?
And how about when Hofs hit Berthod above the knee and he didn't even get a yellow?

I mean the whole game was a farce when it comes to the ref.

Ha, **** no!

The player wasn't the last man standing. The ball would arrive on the wing and wouldn't have been a straight-to-the-goal-scoring chance. Yellow was at his place..

Agree on your second example. That one was bad, but like I said, there were simular situations on French side.

Evilo

06-01-2006, 01:04 PM

Evilo

06-01-2006, 01:05 PM

Ha, **** no!

The player wasn't the last man standing. The ball would arrive on the wing and wouldn't have been a straight-to-the-goal-scoring chance. Yellow was at his place..

Agree on your second example. That one was bad, but like I said, there were simular situations on French side.
No there wasn't. Berthod was alone, he was on the side sure, but he was alone. Without the handball, you don't know what happens.
The book is strict on this : yellow in offensive situations, red in a defensive situation.
-> red card.

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 01:08 PM

Yes I blame the ref for the red card.
His work was awful before that, but at least the game was tied, and he didn't make any HUGE mistake (plenty of big ones though).

But the red card was just ridiculous. And it cost us the winning goal.

Luirink threw the ball downfield on every one of his 15 fouls or so.
He got booked in overtime as he knocked a guy down, and that guy (Gouffran) didn't even have the ball.

If it was hockey, the holland team would have been in the PK the whole game because of all that clutching and grabbing.

Sorry but even when a former pro player like Leboeuf says the ref screwed us, I think I'm not biased here.
When the whole team gets mad, when the media blames the ref, when the fans boo the dutch (after the red card), you know something's wrong.

Leboeuf is French, talk about being objective.

The red was argueble. At first it looked like a dive by Schaars, but the replay showed a hitting motion. Whether it was hard or whether he barely touched him, he made the intensions.

I really don't see how you can blame this loss on the refs. The French came back strong but their maturity didn't come through at all in the end. Holland also proved much more fitter..

Evilo

06-01-2006, 01:31 PM

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 01:37 PM

I don't blame the whole game.
I already blamed the players at half time for their showing.
But when the ref made that awful decision, it was still 2-2.
5 minutes after his decision, it was 3-2. Correlation indeed.

As for Leboeuf, he's french, but he's also a former player.
We're not talking about some random fan (like you and me). He knows what a ref should or should not do.
He was outraged, like everyone that part of the border.

As for being fitter, France had ran after the score the whole game, they were bound to be exhausted. Holland didn't do anything but defend for 80 minutes.

Blame Gourfrann, not the ref. He already had a yellow and then he did something stupid. Yes Schaar overreacted (as most players do these days), it doesn't take away the fact that Goufrann had hitting intensions. The fact that it was in extra time and with the score tied makes it more debatable how?

I think Holland is going through on a more deserved note than you'd like to admit.

Frolov 6'3

06-01-2006, 01:42 PM

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 01:46 PM

Evilo

06-01-2006, 01:52 PM

Blame Gourfrann, not the ref. He already had a yellow and then he did something stupid. Yes Schaar overreacted (as most players do these days), it doesn't take away the fact that Goufrann had hitting intensions. The fact that it was in extra time and with the score tied makes it more debatable how?

I think Holland is going through on a more deserved note than you'd like to admit.
It wasn't Gouffran, it was Faubert.

Anyway, the play was dead (the ref had whistled) and the dutch guy comes to hit Faubert who had every right to take the ball, while the dutch had none.
If anything, the dutch guy deserved as much a card as Faubert.

Evilo

06-01-2006, 01:54 PM

:clap:

Completely deserved win. The chances Holland got weren't countable on one hand.

Castelen humilited his opponent like I've rarely seen before. His pricetag immediately went up with €2M. :yo:

Evilo I hope this was NO for taste of what we can expect from you during the World Cup. Complete madness, dominating, refs this and that, Hofs deserved red card bla bla bla.

Only thing I agree with is that Hollywood performance from Schaars.

:yo:
My god, you're so biased it's incredible.
France had the ball most of the game, Holland scored on their first two chances (and they didn't have another one until the 75th minute or so).

To deny that the ref scrwed France in overtime (and before that as well in fact) is complete bias.
And it's not like I'm alone on this. The coach, the players, the media, the commentators are in outcry right now over the ref's decision.

We're all a bunch of biased I guess while you two are model unbiased dutchies... :D

Evilo

06-01-2006, 01:56 PM

BTW Frolov, I think Helice is waiting for you to post in the Juventus thread... :D

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 01:57 PM

It wasn't Gouffran, it was Faubert.

Anyway, the play was dead (the ref had whistled) and the dutch guy comes to hit Faubert who had every right to take the ball, while the dutch had none.
If anything, the dutch guy deserved as much a card as Faubert.

Huh? The score was 2-2 with the Dutch having the momentum. Schaars only wanted to speed things up and perhaps still create a chance before the first half of extra time ended. He never hit Faubert, he never did anything illegal. Where does it say that you can't get the ball to speed things up when you aren't doing anything wrong to your opponent? Faubert overreacted.

Completely deserved red..

Frolov 6'3

06-01-2006, 01:59 PM

Frolov 6'3

06-01-2006, 02:00 PM

BTW Frolov, I think Helice is waiting for you to post in the Juventus thread... :D
I cannot disappoint my friend. ;)

I didn't know there was a Juve thread.

Ajacied

06-01-2006, 02:02 PM

My god, you're so biased it's incredible.
France had the ball most of the game, Holland scored on their first two chances (and they didn't have another one until the 75th minute or so).

To deny that the ref scrwed France in overtime (and before that as well in fact) is complete bias.
And it's not like I'm alone on this. The coach, the players, the media, the commentators are in outcry right now over the ref's decision.

We're all a bunch of biased I guess while you two are model unbiased dutchies... :D

Your "sources" as of who feel the same way in regards to France being "*****" are all French. They don't add anything to this conversation.

France put up a heck of a fight but were outplayed by a smarter opponent when it mattered the most. The Dutch, who defended for much of 60 minutes, still created more chances, something which I think says enough.

Blaming this loss on the referee really is a sad, sad thing.

Holland goes through to the finals deservingly so. Now if you would excuse me, I'm going to check who our opponent will be..