There was a lot of international action today with Euro 2012 qualifying group play wrapping up, as well as the USA vs. Ecuador and Brazil vs. Mexico matches on ESPN2.
Starting with Euro 2012, there was some interest in it from others at work besides just myself. There is a native German in international sales who of course was interested in Germany’s form against Belgium (even though Germany had already qualified many games ago.) The most interest was from a coworker in my own department who is of full Serbian background. Serbia needed a win today but needless to it just wasn’t to be. It should have been a draw but Serbian captain Nemanja Vidic (who plays for Manchester United) couldn’t follow score from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute.
As for myself I always root for Germany in European play and mildly Ireland as well. As I mentioned Germany was already locked in for the final tournament. They had a very comfortable win over Belgium. Ireland beat Armenia 2-1 to get a spot in the play-off for the final tournament. I wish Ireland could have won their group like Germany did and gotten an automatic spot in the final tournament, but oh well.
I also have teams that I root against. Ever since the 2006 World Cup, I’ve disliked Portugal. In games, but especially in that tournament that would dive and fake fouls like crazy. I also hate Ronaldo. He’s just a cry baby pretty boy in my opinion. With that said, I was happy to see that they did not automatically qualify, but also got a play-off spot. I was also hoping that France would not get an automatic spot. I have nothing against them, but in 2010 Ireland should have gotten to the World Cup and not them. You can look it up, but it all has to do with a blown non-call on a handball in the penalty area.
Just to run down the Euro 2012 teams that are still alive, the teams that have automatically progressed to the final tournament are Germany, Russia, Italy, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, England, Denmark, and Spain. As hosts, Poland and Ukraine automatically qualify as well. The teams that got into the play-off for the final four spots are the Czech Republic, Portugal, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Estonia, Turkey, and Ireland. The pairings for the eight teams in the play-off will be announced on Thursday.
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To follow up that Euro 2012 action, ESPN2 had some nice international friendlies. First up was the USA vs. Ecuador match. What I normally say about the US team is that they would be a great team if they could have a decent defense and some decent strikers. They are solid at goalkeeper – Tim Howard is one of the best in the world and the best player for the US – and are good at midfield with Dempsey, Donovan, and Edu.
Tonight though the defense seemed to be a lot more cohesive than usual and didn’t leave everything to Howard. The midfield still looked good too even with Dempsey playing a forward role. Brek Shea really stepped up in the midfield in the first half. However, the US still didn’t have a real attacking front line, even with Dempsey coming forward. The only true striker the US has is Joey Altidore and he can only do so much. In tonight’s match, they could get the ball in the final third but couldn’t do anything with it. In the 78th minute, Ecuador took advantage of that and scored. The defense that was holding their own in the first half had some holes in the second, especially with the captain Bocanegra subbed out.
The game ended in a disappointing 1-0 defeat, but the team did show some bright spots. As I mentioned, the defense looked better and some younger players stepped up, especially in the midfield. I know new coach Jurgen Klinsmann is just trying out players and trying to get everyone playing time, but dang, a win would have been nice. Heck, even some goals (or a goal) would have been nice. In the five games that Klinsmann has now been at the helm, the US has only scored two goals. Scoring has always been a problem for the US and Klinsmann can’t change that overnight, but that needs to be addressed before this team can be a serious international contender.
Luckily after the unimpressive USA/Ecuador fixture, there was the very handsome match of Mexico vs. Brazil. When I saw this fixture I thought two things – speed and goals. I could swear that the ball made the end thirds more times in the first ten minutes that it did in the whole game with the US and Ecuador. With that said the first goal came in the 11th minute, but from all things an own goal from a Brazilian defender. At the end of the second half, Mexico could have been up by two, but Brazil’s keeper kept out a penalty. However, Danny Alves, the Brazilian player that committed the foul that led to the penalty was set off with two yellow cards, one earlier for dissent and one for the foul.
In the second half, the play became really back and forth, down the field one way and then back the other. The game also became really chippy and aggressive, especially from Brazil. It seemed like Mexico just got into the Brazilians heads and they couldn’t control the pace and the match like they normally do. I guess I should give them credit for playing the second half with only ten men but still they just don’t play like the Brazil of years past. They were just getting angry and playing overly rough. Still, I say that but then what happens in the 80th minute? Mexico committed a foul just outside the box, Ronaldinho scored off of the free kick, and Brazil tied the game. Then a few minutes later, Brazil scored another with a screaming shot that Mexico’s goalie had no chance of saving. That ended up being the winning goal.
The Brazil/Mexico match wasn’t the match I had hoped it would be but it was entertaining nonetheless. Of the two teams, I was rooting for Mexico more but Brazil proved the better at the final whistle. Wouldn’t you know it too, right when I start writing Brazil off for losing their cool, for committing cheap fouls, and for not playing their brand of football is of course also when they come alive and turn the game around.
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I can’t help but end with a comment made by my native German coworker. Of course you normally expect Germans to be uber serious and to not have the best sense of humor, but when I made a comment on Ronaldo being a pretty boy, his response was –
“He applies makeup when no one is watching.”
That basically made my day.
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