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Official Euro 2012 thread.

Right, here goes England and Republic of Ireland fixtures below.

England
Monday 11th Kickoff 5pm (BST) V France
Friday 15th Kickoff 7.45pm (BST) V Sweden
Tuesday 19th Kickoff 7.45pm (BST) V Ukraine

Republic of Ireland
Sunday 10th Kickoff 7.45pm V Croatia
Thursday 14th Kickoff 7.45pm V Spain
Monday 18th Kickoff 7.45pm V Italy

What do we think? just had a look at the official fifa website, and England will either play the winner or runner up of group c in the next round should we get through the group, which as much as me being of irish routes pains me to say will either be probably be a match between Spain or Italy. Spain we all know about and are rightly to be feared, but a 1-0 nil win back at wembley and baracelona's recent wobbles does show they can be beaten.
Italy are in turmoil, police arresting players and coaches left right and centre on match fixing charges. So that could also mean Croatia sneak in the back door and we have played them often enough of late to know this will not be an easy game. Of course this is all pie in the sky if england dont make it out of group D which on paper is by no way a walk in the park.
Certain newspaers have already started to dig out Roy and predict nothing but doom and Gloom. Having seen recent interviews with him i really am going to back him and i think he could do really well. Anything past round 2 will be a great result for England and will have us in good shape for the world cup games starting in september.
As for Ireland, jesus wept! could we have got a harder group? i still remember ronnie whelans wonder goals and ray houghtons lob over the italians in usa'94, we have a much stronger team and play the italian way, can we upset a few? of course we can, finish second and if England top the group we will have a cracking match to look forward too.
This is the first Euro's in years that i am actually looking forward to and cant wait for it to begin, have started a sticker book with my little lad and he is getting excited too, ignore all the doom and gloom about roy and whats going on in poland and ukraine and lets enjoy a summer of great football which will be a great starter for whats to come back in the championship in August!

Come on England!

Come on Ireland!..

ps, lets all laugh at scotland...

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Comments

  • I'm really looking forward to it but then I just love all football tournaments.

    Good preview Adam but I would disagree about Italy, I wouldn't say they are in turmoil, I think I'm right in saying only Criscito has been kicked out of the squad, they also have an excellent manager in charge, Prandelli will get the best out of what is probably one of the better Italian squads in recent years and his teams generally play some nice football.
  • Ireland would appear to have the fitter players.
    Like Colthe3rd, I love all football tournaments, possibly because they remind me of being young. I just hope England play openly and without fear, instead of the castrated bull performances we normally produce at tournaments.
    BTW - is it bad form to leave a funeral early to watch a football match?
  • I reckon England will not even make it out the group stages.

    German's are going to win it, again.
  • I reckon England will not even make it out the group stages.

    German's are going to win it, again.
    Well at least that will be nice for all those neo-Nazis.
  • I think the good thing about this is its fgairly open, Spain are probably still favourites but I think they have dropped off slightly from 2 years ago.
  • Germany or Holland for me, I think Spain will lose in the Semi Final.

    France will be the surprise package, they cocked up in South Africa but they have a good young squad that will be eager to impress.
  • i think the semi finals will be;

    germany v england (england win on pens)
    holland v croatia (holland in extra time)

    england v holland final... england to return both happy and glorious!
  • I also though that we had France First game on the 11th and Sweden on the 15th might be wrong and i aint checked
  • yep its france first not sweden mate edit ya post big boy
  • yep its france first not sweden mate edit ya post big boy
    done mate. cheers.
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  • i think the semi finals will be;

    germany v england (england win on pens)
    holland v croatia (holland in extra time)

    england v holland final... england to return both happy and glorious!
    Lol...your dreaming
  • This England team does have the advantage of having such low expectations from the whole country that even if we get through the group stages we will have done very well.
  • i think the semi finals will be;

    germany v england (england win on pens)
    holland v croatia (holland in extra time)

    england v holland final... england to return both happy and glorious!
    Lol...your dreaming

    i know.... croatia aren't likely to get to the semis.... :-)
  • Anyone else travelling, I am over for the France game only, usually a few addicks I bump into on these trips
  • This England team does have the advantage of having such low expectations from the whole country that even if we get through the group stages we will have done very well.
    But you are doing what all those great sages on the BBC are doing "well we don't expect anything so you never know!" so by doing that you are effectively saying before we were half decent and had a decent chance, now because we are rubbish we still have a decent chance. Makes no sense whatsoever, why not just say we aren't expecting much and leave it at that?
  • France will win it and it will be great
  • Anyone else travelling, I am over for the France game only, usually a few addicks I bump into on these trips
    Hopefully !! Have tickets for semi and final if we make it.
  • edited May 2012
    need to be more creative than the standard 442 Hodgson appears to favour, 433 allows Parker, Gerrard and Lampard to play with probably Young and Walcott up top with Carroll until Rooney is available

    stick to a rigid 442 and we'll do well to get out the group and the Manager will end up getting hammered by the press.....I actually just thought Capello was getting the team and formation right when he went

    I think the Germans will win it
  • edited May 2012
    Swerve I have that great pic of you and George from Carlisle my mate took, I am seeing him Saturday at Wembley so will get a good copy to forward on, envy your semi/final tickets, I got the France group game in the fans ballot, the FA guide/booklet arrived today so quite excited now, no real expectations but looking forward to the whole event as they are always fun
  • @SE7toSG3 Lovely, cheers. Have a great trip out to the France game, a few mates are going out, would have loved to but only had limited holiday (and dough!).Will use it for the Poland qualifier if we get knocked out!
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  • Can't see Italy or Ireland progressing to be honest. Seems fairly obvious that Germany or Spain will win.
  • I really hope that I am wrong, but I'd be surprised if we qualified out of the group.
    I think English footballers in general (Rooney, Cole and Wilshere exempt) have been trained to be a bit too one dimensional. Our strength has always been direct, fast football but now most other countries seem to have figured out how to counter that. Maybe it's becasue the laws of the games have been tweaked to encourage a more non-contact game or whether they've just developed a style of play that negates our threat.
    The creative foreign players in the premier league have always kept our teams successful in Europe but in international football we don't seem to have the skill or know-how to retain possession and to open up teams. I'm not knocking everyone, we have some great players; Gerrard, Lampard etc but to excel in modern football they need to be playing alongside the David Silva's or Juan Mata's of the world.

    My team for the group would be 4-2-3-1.

    Hart

    Jones Lescott Jagielka Cole

    Gerrard Parker

    Milner Lampard Young

    Carroll

  • I'm in Spain for a potential 1/4 final with Spain. Hmmmm
  • Think we will do well, semi finals at least.

    Havent got any tickets this time but would be tempted to try my luck if we get past the group stages finances permitting.
  • No pressure on England as no one expects them to win. The thing with Roy Hodgson is that he sets his teams up to defend so if we go a goal up in any other games and adapt the Chelsea siege mentality, who knows what might happen. I also happen to think that the squad is slightly stronger than the squad we took to SA for the World Cup so I might have a checky score on England to win it.
  • Ireland would appear to have the fitter players.
    Like Colthe3rd, I love all football tournaments, possibly because they remind me of being young. I just hope England play openly and without fear, instead of the castrated bull performances we normally produce at tournaments.
    BTW - is it bad form to leave a funeral early to watch a football match?
    I think leaving the service early would be a poor show,but leaving the wake early or not attending at all is not unreasonable.

    You're the boss of you and no doubt you'll do the proper thing with a gentle nudge from Mrs Boat perhaps...
  • Euro's are a brilliant tournament. i expect Germany, Holland and Spain to do well but i do fancy a dark horse, as recent tournaments suggest. Who'd have ever predicted Denmark or Greece?

    I think Russia will do pretty well. Group A is easily the weakest group, and i can see them cruising through that.

    With the expectancy off England for the first time since i can remember, it will filter through to the players who i hope will relax and play to the standards we would love to see. I quite like Roy and i reckon he will have the respect of the players. We will make it out the group but more penalty heartbreak is on the cards.

    But in football nothing is certain and everything is possible.

  • edited May 2012
    Agree with what colthe3rd says regarding Italy think they will do a lot better than everybody thinks, of course ITV and the BBC especially Hansen will all reel off the "I don't fancy the Italians one bit" line like he did on the opening day of the 2006 World Cup, "Balotelli is an idiot/liability/going to do nothing etc". However Italy have a good manager and some good players and I actually think that Balotelli will be a big player at the tournament. That said it is very much a transitional squad that has been named by Prandelli with a mix of youth and experience, semi-finals would be an achievement and with a bit of luck they could win it.

    England I think will go dramatically one way or the other under Hodgson, they'll either crash out at the group stage or reach the semis at least.

    Cannot wait for the tournament to start but as always with big international tournaments I watch it to see everybody play and just enjoy the spectacle and if Italy and England do well then its a bonus. Always going to be a club before country man, and after the amazing seasons that both Charlton and Juventus have had I'm not fussed with the outcome of the Euros.
  • I reckon England will not even make it out the group stages.

    German's are going to win it, again.
    I'm not a betting man but I've had a modest flutter on both these outcomes.

  • Agree with what colthe3rd says regarding Italy think they will do a lot better than everybody thinks, of course ITV and the BBC especially Hansen will all reel off the "I don't fancy the Italians one bit" line like he did on the opening day of the 2006 World Cup, "Balotelli is an idiot/liability/going to do nothing etc". However Italy have a good manager and some good players and I actually think that Balotelli will be a big player at the tournament. That said it is very much a transitional squad that has been named by Prandelli with a mix of youth and experience, semi-finals would be an achievement and with a bit of luck they could win it.

    England I think will go dramatically one way or the other under Hodgson, they'll either crash out at the group stage or reach the semis at least.

    Cannot wait for the tournament to start but as always with big international tournaments I watch it to see everybody play and just enjoy the spectacle and if Italy and England do well then its a bonus. Always going to be a club before country man, and after the amazing seasons that both Charlton and Juventus have had I'm not fussed with the outcome of the Euros.
    Must say I was shocked to see so many Juve players/officials the subject of the match fixing allegations, not like them at all ;-)
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