Friday, 22 June 2012

Welcome back. Let's take a look at our other four quarter-finalists.

GROUP 2 - WINNERS B & D, RUNNERS-UP A & C


GERMANY
My tip to win at the beginning, I still think they have it in them to win it, or at least make the final. Three wins in the group, without really looking on fire - though remember it was a tough group.

ENGLAND
The consensus in the British media is that England have rode their luck and not really been too dominant, so probably won't last too long in the knockout stages. To be honest, it's hard to draw any real conclusions. They've not looked terrible, but they've not looked terribly good either. One thing that Roy Hodgson seems to have done, however, is to keep the team relatively organised, and after Rooney got that first game out of the way, he should be able to contribute a bit more.

GREECE
The big surprise for the knockouts, we all remember their heroics eight years ago, but with some injuries and suspensions, this team is certainly not quite as good as the one that triumphed back in Portugal. However, like Turkey four years ago, one thing they will have is real determination. It remains to be seen if they can keep a better team from scoring.

ITALY
Off-field problems haven't bothered Italy too much, as usual, and they looked surprisingly good in getting out of the group. They gave Spain a tough game, but struggled to break down Croatia, before just about squeezing past the whipping boys Ireland. They can certainly go further, but we'll see if they can manage it.

GERMANY vs GREECE
Other than the obvious political connotations behind this match, Germany really shouldn't struggle too much against the Greeks. It may not be a high-scoring game, knowing what Greece can be like, but that shouldn't stop the Germans putting one or two in the net.
GERMANY WIN

ENGLAND vs ITALY
This is definitely the closest of the four quarter-finals. Statistically, England are the better team, but they looked a little average in the group. Italy, by contrast, showed some real promise. It's a tough one to call, but I'm going to go with momentum on the Italians.
ITALY WIN

POTENTIAL SEMI-FINAL: GERMANY vs ITALY
You know already that I think Germany can win the tournament, so obviously I think they'd come out on top here. The Azzurri would need a lot of organisation to stop the German attack, and even then they'll need to snatch a goal from somewhere.
GERMANY WIN

So, there you have it. After my terrible predictions for the groups, I kind of hope these predictions will be totally wrong, too: it means this has been an exciting, unpredictable tournament. Let's find out.

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