Euro 16 gamethread

Schnerres

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If you can´t score from 90mins of pressure and x chances (Origi was the last one, Lukaku before when he was through), then you don´t deserve anything. Can´t expect 10 chances against Italy...

Atletico tactics from Italy. 8 in the box, daring them to launch crosses to Origi and Fellaini all day. It's the right choice, just not pretty.
There´s nothing wrong with Italy´s play. Nothing. They do the fouls, they collect the yellows. But there´s no dirty BS, like the spanish club teams are showing in each close match. Comparing Italy to Atletico isn´t doing them (Italy) justice.
The tactics, staying home, play the counter: that´s true and if you know football, you have to say that Atletico play Italian tactics. It was always this way and it will always be this way :)
 

shawnrbu

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What were Italy's odds to win the whole thing 3 days ago? They look very impressive. Their draw in the knockout round is going to be very tough as they are lined up to play Germany in the Quarterfinals and France in the Semifinals if things go true to form in Groups A, C and E.
 
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There´s nothing wrong with Italy´s play. Nothing. They do the fouls, they collect the yellows. But there´s no dirty BS, like the spanish club teams are showing in each close match. Comparing Italy to Atletico isn´t doing them (Italy) justice.
The tactics, staying home, play the counter: that´s true and if you know football, you have to say that Atletico play Italian tactics. It was always this way and it will always be this way :)
I wasn't criticizing the park-the-bus choice, and you're right that it's typically, even classically Italian. I'd argue Atletico brings an intensity and unity of movement to the approach that not even the Italians display, but the Azzurri were certainly doing it long before Simeone graced the Vicente Calderon.

I'll agree there were no dirty fouls, although some of those "professional fouls" to prevent breakaways were so cynical I thought a red might have been justified there (the one on Hazard was very close to a last-man DOGSO).
 

Ale Xander

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The waffling on man marking on the 2nd goal was ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as UEFA apparently thinking a headlock is a legitimate defensive maneuver (I disagree PiW, those fouls are dirty)

F chiellini

That said , Kompany is obviously very missed
 

sachmoney

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Had a great time at the Ireland-Sweden game:


I'd agree with the assessment that Sweden is especially poor outside of Zlatan, but Zlatan's poor work rate hurts them too. Yes, that's part of the allure of Zlatan. Put it at his feet and he'll make magic happen. He can disappear and reappear in an instant. Unfortunately, because Sweden is so lacking, they need him to do more. Larsson doesn't do a lot. I thought Kallstrom picked things up after the goal. Olsson was the only one providing consistent incision. I don't think Sweden advance.

Ireland, I'm much more hopeful for, especially after Belgium drew. They played tough, they played together. I was really impressed with how Ireland played. Heck, imagine if Belgium played like Ireland. They'd be unstoppable. Agree with Zomp that Hoolahan (I can spell, Zomp can't) coming off was a bit of a surprise given the confidence he was showing after his goal. I don't think that it's out of the imagination that Ireland advances. I think that they can hold serve against Belgium and Italy. I really do.

They were playing the Spain game on the big screens before the match. It got real quiet after Spain scored. Man, are they disliked.
 

teddykgb

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What were Italy's odds to win the whole thing 3 days ago? They look very impressive. Their draw in the knockout round is going to be very tough as they are lined up to play Germany in the Quarterfinals and France in the Semifinals if things go true to form in Groups A, C and E.
I don't think Italy's odds would have changed substantially. They played that like a final and took cards all over the place to secure their win. Which was a fine strategy but they were still opened up several times and could easily have drawn or worse. It was a good performance today but they won't play their way through the entire tournament like that
 

soxfan121

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Thanks, I know about the shenanigans, I just missed the reference during the game.
Darke was talking about Buffon's career, and greatness, and referenced him staying with Juve when they were relegated because of "financial problems at the club".

I am sure that everyone who heard it had a hearty chuckle, just as Zomp did.
 

swiftaw

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Darke was talking about Buffon's career, and greatness, and referenced him staying with Juve when they were relegated because of "financial problems at the club".

I am sure that everyone who heard it had a hearty chuckle, just as Zomp did.
That's funny.
 

mauf

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I'm not sure why everyone is impressed with Italy's performance. They benefitted greatly from two Belgian miscues -- the first goal resulted from a defensive breakdown, and Lukaku should've converted that breakaway. Give Italy credit for taking advantage (in particular, the long ball that set up that first goal was perfectly struck), but it feels to me that they were lucky to get three points.
 

teddykgb

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Yeah, I agree that Wilmots could just play the fullbacks available to him. I really have no clue how good they are or whether they can get forward and support an attack but it would probably be easier/less risky than going into some crazy Bielsa formation
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Everybody excited for the battle of the House of Habsburg? Its not quite Belgium-Italy. Austria could be one of the sleeper teams of the tournament. They crushed their (fairly easy) qualifying group. I'm interested to see what David Alaba looks like as a midfielder lin a team built around him, rather than as a very talented cog in the Bayern machine. Hungary appears to be largely shit, although some people seem to be talking up Adam Nagy as a promising young player with a big future.
 

Infield Infidel

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Yeah, I agree that Wilmots could just play the fullbacks available to him. I really have no clue how good they are or whether they can get forward and support an attack but it would probably be easier/less risky than going into some crazy Bielsa formation
Another weird thing with their roster is that the DMs don't have the positional flexibility of, say Geoff Cameron or Vurnon Anita, to be deployed as an FB. Witsel and Fellaini, forget about it, they don't have nearly the speed needed. Nainggolan has the skills and speed, but probably doesn't have the defensive discipline. If even one of them could play FB that would free up some more options, but nope.
 

soxfan121

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Research project? Could you elaborate a bit?
Mobile, so no link, but I've read speculation Russia sent professional provacateurs to France to start shit and then study how the French security deal with the situation - in preparation for Russia 2018.
 

fletcherpost

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It's for days like these that i read Schnitzler, and watch Bela tarr movies. Austria is Anatol to Hungary's Max.

Edit: that's actually not all that apt but I reckon I'm safe.
 

BelgianSoxFan

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This is a great point that I think people are missing- there are fullbacks on the roster: professional, qualified fullbacks.

The one thing that does kind of get missed is what a political hornets nest the nation is. When my Uncle was visiting a handful of years ago, he said the Flemish/Walloon animosity was shockingly current, with what he felt was legitimate dislike apparent. (Full disclosure- my family is from the Flemish half without reservation). That doesn't even begin to get into the whole Congo fiasco, let alone some of the issues with immigration, radical muslim enclaves, unemployment, far right nationalism, etc. It wouldn't surprise me if there were locker room issues with this team, especially without the strong leadership of Kompany.

One thing I need to give Wilmots credit for was building unity among a fractious group- the national team had been a mess for years, but he did a nice job bringing them together. The influence of Kompany cannot be overstated in that regard either. Maybe Wilmots' other deficiencies are showing through and people are tuning him out at this point.

I'm sure @BelgianSoxFan could give a better summary than I.
I have not read abything in the Belgian press about animosity between the different players on the team. But the Belgian press I read is not very gossipy. There is animosity which ebbs and wanes in the population but I don't see it affect the team. If anything, the group seems to like each other a lot as far as I can tell. Many have been playing together since a very young age. Eg when Hazard was celebrating his new Chelsea contract, it was with Fellaini and Benteke as far as I remember so some of them are friends. Tonythepony did make some allusions about Wilmots treating the players like babies, but I was not aware of it.
Someone mentioned that KdB has not been able to play as well for the NT as for his clubs. I would have to disagree, he has been their most important player for a long time and had some amazing games. He had a bad game yesterday and so did Hazard and Lukaku. Italy is a pretty good team and Belgium did not play great. Yet if Lukaku or Origi finishes one of these chances I think they win. If they don't beat Ireland and Sweden they don't deserve to move on. I dont think Wilmots is a good coach and I would not mind seeing another one take his place soon, but they had the chances to win and failed to execute. Italy played well and did not steal the win. But it could have been different.
 

Schnerres

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With the 16/24 teams advance system, I doubt it is even mathematically possible to be eliminated before your 3rd match. But now Austria plays Portugal and faces a ton of pressure, no matter how tonight´s 2nd match ends..
 

soxfan121

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ESPN's public Paris studio has been overrun by protestors and riot police.
 

fletcherpost

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I think it's a protest gainst French Labor Laws.

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/highlight/labor-protests-in-paris-force-espn-to-shut-down-euro-2016-studio

Protests in opposition to planned changes in French labor law that would make it easier to hire and fire employees erupted in violence, resulting in 26 injuries—including 20 police officers—and a virtual shut down of Paris. Thousands of protestors took to the streets and clashed with police, who are already spread thin due to security concerns related to Euro 2016 and the threat of further terrorist attacks in the wake of the attacks in Paris last November.
 

teddykgb

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It's impossible to properly explain how common labor protests and unrest are in France. It can feel like a daily occurance

edit: Pepe (i think) uncharacteristically pulls out of a tackle to avoid a foul and Portugal nearly pays
 

ifmanis5

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Tirico's last ESPN gig turning out to be a memorable one. Floods and riots. Did not see the game but that Austria result is pretty shocking.
 

teddykgb

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Having to root for Nani and Ronaldo really takes some adjustment for me. Portugal have looked OK but there's little width on the pitch and it shows.

Andre Gomes seems like a player primed for a big move, I'm surprised we don't hear more about him.
 

Merkle's Boner

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I'm really liking the way Taylor Twellman is progressing as an analyst. Insightful and comfortable.

He just had a great back and forth with Ian Darke after suggesting that Ian "fancies" Romania before admitting he had no idea what the word meant.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Andre Gomes seems like a player primed for a big move, I'm surprised we don't hear more about him.
There are a lot rumors about him going to Man United. I don't know if there is anything to the rumors but he is a Mendes client so it makes a certain amount of sense.

I haven't really seen him much but his statistics for Valencia are pretty unimpressive. Whether he contributed to Valencia being totally wank this year or was held back by it, I don't know.
 

teddykgb

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Really? That would bum me out. He's really classy on the ball, a bit herky jerky but it seems to throw people off. I think he'd be a really good addition for United but if he's a Mendes client he's probably already signed there.