czech republic vs portugal...
Czech Republic vs Portugal: 3-1
(Sionko 17'; Deco 8', C. Ronaldo 63', Quaresma 90+1')
Portugal: Ricardo -
Bosingwa, Pepe, R. Carvalho, P. Ferreira - J. Moutinho (F. Meira, 75'), Petit - C. Ronaldo, Simão (Quaresma, 80'), Deco - N. Gomes (Almeida, 79')
Czech Republic: Čech - Grygera, Ujfaluši, Rozehnal, Jankulovski - Matĕjovský (Vlček, 68'), Galásek (Koller 73'),
Polák - Sionko, Plašil (Jarolím, 85') - Baroš
I have no clue how they do it. They play on seemingly equal terms with their opponents for a long while, and then, out of nowhere, they suddenly score goals. I don't want to say that the victory wasn't deserved because the Czechs were far too unlucky most of the time and didn't manage to create many clear chances, but still, it seems a bit too high compared to the share they had of the game.
But let's start at the beginning. I was glad for the changes Karel Brückner made in this line-up, especially for him playing Milan Baroš. The wide passes to Koller that most attacks against Switzerland consisted of annoyed the hell out of me because they never worked, and with Baroš, the midfield had to do more to bring the ball forward. I also approved of the decision to play Matĕjovský instead of Jarolím because Jarolím is a damn unfair player and the less I see of him the better. Granted, Matĕjovský wasn't really that fair either (he was lucky not to get punished for stepping on Petit's hand or kicking Deco in the butt), but at least he didn't dive.
The game itself was more exciting than both teams' previous games, but strangely enough it didn't really fascinate me that much either. As I wrote before, both teams played on more or less equal terms and showed good combinations and tactical play as well as glaring incompetence at times. Ujfaluši and Pepe, heroes of the games against Switzerland and Turkey, had surprising concentration lapses, the midfields tired themselves out by focusing on challenges too much, and the forwards were unoccupied most of the time, especially Baroš, who eventually resigned himself to do midfield work and thus allowed Sionko to get at least a couple of good chances. Also, the game was a tad too rough on occasion because the referee seemed seemed a little overtaxed in his assessment of fouls and challenges.
Honestly, the best part of the game were the post-match interviews with Tomáš Ujfaluši and Fernando Meira. I love their accents when they speak German. Also, I really appreciated Ujfaluši's view of the game and how he judged Baroš' effort. Since they can advance only if they improve their game, I hope they do advance because we'll all profit from it. =)
(Sionko 17'; Deco 8', C. Ronaldo 63', Quaresma 90+1')
Portugal: Ricardo -
Bosingwa, Pepe, R. Carvalho, P. Ferreira - J. Moutinho (F. Meira, 75'), Petit - C. Ronaldo, Simão (Quaresma, 80'), Deco - N. Gomes (Almeida, 79')
Czech Republic: Čech - Grygera, Ujfaluši, Rozehnal, Jankulovski - Matĕjovský (Vlček, 68'), Galásek (Koller 73'),
Polák - Sionko, Plašil (Jarolím, 85') - Baroš
I have no clue how they do it. They play on seemingly equal terms with their opponents for a long while, and then, out of nowhere, they suddenly score goals. I don't want to say that the victory wasn't deserved because the Czechs were far too unlucky most of the time and didn't manage to create many clear chances, but still, it seems a bit too high compared to the share they had of the game.
But let's start at the beginning. I was glad for the changes Karel Brückner made in this line-up, especially for him playing Milan Baroš. The wide passes to Koller that most attacks against Switzerland consisted of annoyed the hell out of me because they never worked, and with Baroš, the midfield had to do more to bring the ball forward. I also approved of the decision to play Matĕjovský instead of Jarolím because Jarolím is a damn unfair player and the less I see of him the better. Granted, Matĕjovský wasn't really that fair either (he was lucky not to get punished for stepping on Petit's hand or kicking Deco in the butt), but at least he didn't dive.
The game itself was more exciting than both teams' previous games, but strangely enough it didn't really fascinate me that much either. As I wrote before, both teams played on more or less equal terms and showed good combinations and tactical play as well as glaring incompetence at times. Ujfaluši and Pepe, heroes of the games against Switzerland and Turkey, had surprising concentration lapses, the midfields tired themselves out by focusing on challenges too much, and the forwards were unoccupied most of the time, especially Baroš, who eventually resigned himself to do midfield work and thus allowed Sionko to get at least a couple of good chances. Also, the game was a tad too rough on occasion because the referee seemed seemed a little overtaxed in his assessment of fouls and challenges.
Honestly, the best part of the game were the post-match interviews with Tomáš Ujfaluši and Fernando Meira. I love their accents when they speak German. Also, I really appreciated Ujfaluši's view of the game and how he judged Baroš' effort. Since they can advance only if they improve their game, I hope they do advance because we'll all profit from it. =)