As an alternative to team of the tournament, Sandals For Goalposts have compiled a list of players who have underachieved, underwhelmed and were down-right rubbish during the tournament.
GK – Shay Given (Republic of Ireland)
The Republic of Ireland keeper was pretty poor during the tournament, conceding a variety of goal that were deemed to be “soft”, as well as looking nervy between the sticks from time to time. Although the rest of the team were bad, Shay has to shoulder some of the blame.
The second semi-final was the last to be played in Poland, contested in the National Stadium in Warsaw. This game was a hotly-contested game between two powerhouses in the tournament: Italy and Germany. Italy came into the game into the game with an undefeated record against the Germans and planned to continue this outstanding record. Italy extended this record by beating the Germans 2-1, both Italian goals scored by Mario Balotelli and Mesut Ozil scoring a penalty for Germany.
1. Super Mario Shows His Brilliance
Adding to the collection of brilliant Balotelli celebrations
For all the criticism he has received from the pundits and media (I’m looking at you, BBC pundits), not to forget the amount of racial abuse he has received during the tournament. Mario Balotelli’s mission was to not only make it into our Team of the Round, but also to prove all of his critics wrong. That’s what he achieved tonight, scoring both of Italy’s goals. He proved to be a handful for Badstuber and Hummels, both who have had excellent tournaments, by using his pace and knowledge of attacking positions in order to score the goals via a header and beating the offside trap. I told you to look out for him, didn’t I?!
A highly anticipated match, Portugal squared-off against the European and World Champions Spain in the first semi-final. With what was seen as a tense game by some, boring by others and alright by the rest, the game managed to go to penalties, with Spain winning 4-2 in the end, thus advancing to the finals.
1. Both Sets Of Full-Backs Were Brilliant…
The Real Madrid teammates were involved in a key battle today
A vast array of attacking was exhibited by all four full-backs during the game. Portugal’s two full-backs Coentrao and Pereira provided that extra dimension in attack that Spain found difficult to contain. Combined with Nani and Ronaldo on the flanks, Portugal seemed to be a threat, especially in the 1st half. The 2nd half, however, saw the Spanish full-backs step up to the podium, most notably Sergio Ramos who even outpaced Ronaldo at one point. To praise him further, Ramos had the highest pass completion in the whole match: 89 pass, 76 completed, 85% completion rate, which is slightly more than his teammate Xavi who racked up an impressive 84% completion rate.
Fixture List
Summary of Matches:
Portugal 1-0 Czech Republic
Captain Ronaldo shone once again, showing his dominance during the game and ended up scoring the only goal of the game.
Germany 4-2 Greece
Six goals. Greeks parked the bus, but Germany managed to not pay the fare and netted 4 goals past them. The Greeks scored 2 goals, but they were only seen as consolation goals.
Spain 2-0 France
Some found it boring, others thought it was a passing masterclass. Either way, the European and World Champions beat the French by two goals from Xabi Alonso.
England 0-0 Italy (2-4 on penalties)
After a 120 minute stalemate, a handful of Italian chances and the England post rattling on numerous occasions, it came down to penalties, which Italy has won 4-2.
The first Quarter Final match saw Portugal face off against Czech Republic. Neutrals were expecting to see Ronaldo continue his run of form and also to see Petr Cech improve his form, subsequently receiving both. After a tense tie, Portugal emerged as winners, with Christiano Ronaldo heading in the only goal of the match, concluding the game at 1-0.
1. Portuguese Talisman Shines Again
Ronaldo nods in the only goal of the game
Carrying over his blazing run of form from the previous game, Christiano Ronaldo is currently on fire, scoring the winner and only goal of the game after getting on the end of a superb cross to head the ball towards goal. He had numerous opportunities beforehand, hitting the woodwork on numerous occasions just like he did in the Group Stages. Not only he create a lot of opportunities, he also bullied the Czech Republic defence, who found him quite difficult to contain. With the semi-finals coming up soon, Portugal are one step closer to lifting the trophy, something that Ronaldo craves.
