Second Round, more tactical gameplay! We were all hoping for some open attacking football now that the group stages are over, but it wasn’t to be on the first day of Round 2. One entertaining game followed by two drab affairs made for painful watching.
In this post, I take stock of the damage from last night and
look ahead to today’s fixtures.
Match Reviews
Switzerland vs Poland
Right after the kick-off, Poland had a chance when Swiss
goalkeeper Sommer was dispossessed. The ball fell to Milik, who missed an open
goal, by dragging the ball high. Switzerland had more of the ball in the first
half but failed to create any clear-cut opportunities. They had a few good runs
into the Polish defense down the flanks. Poland, with lesser possession, created
better chances. Lewandowski headed a tame effort intot he hands of the grateful
Sommer. At the end of the first half, Poland broke with pace down the left
flank with Maczynski. He got lucky with a deflection off the defender, getting
the ball back. The cross into the box was left by the first man, falling to Blaszczykowski,
who made no mistake in slotting it past the goalkeeper.
Switzerland were once again the team dominating possession
in the second half. Poland were happy to just sit back and defend their lead.
It was a dangerous ploy, but they were holding on. Ricardo Rodriguez went close
for the Swiss from free-kick which Fabianski tipped over. Switzerland hit the
bar too. As the last 10 minutes approached, Xherdan Shaqiri lined up a loose
bouncing ball on the edge of the box. He connected perfectly with an overhead
kick, which went in off the post. No goalkeeper in the world would’ve stopped that
effort. This was definitely the moment of the tournament so far. Switzerland
pressed for a winner but it didn’t come about.
Extra time continued
in the same vein with Switzerland pressing and Poland defending deep. Not many
shots on target and the match drifted to penalties. Both captains stepped up
first and scored. Granit Xhaka dragged Switzerland’s second penalty wide,
clearly the pressure had got to him. There were no other misses and Poland went
through 5-4. The result was unfair on the Swiss, who were the better team on
the day. A shame that Shaqiri, with his wonder-goal, ended up on the losing
team.
My Prediction:
Switzerland 1-1 Poland, Poland to qualify
Final Score: Switzerland
1-1 Poland (Poland won 5-4 on penalties)
Wales vs Northern
Ireland
Wales were overwhelming favourites especially after their
good showing in the Group Stage. The Northern Irish were expected to play the
same way they did against Germany, sit back and hope to catch their opponents
out in a counter or from set piece. Surprisingly, it was the latter that
started on a more positive not. Northern Ireland were the better team, creating
chances in the first 20 minutes. Wales, for all their good teamwork, were
looking disjointed. As the game matured, Wales came into it more. The game took
on the expected form after the initial spell with Wlaes keeping more of the
ball. They were unable to worry McGovern a great deal though.
The second half continued in the same vein. Northern Ireland
rarely made forays into the Welsh half. Wales were struggling to break down
their opponents’ defense. After a lot of huffing and puffing, Wales had the
breakthrough in the 75th minute. Gareth Bale put in a good low cross
from the left which Gareth McAuley could only deflect into his own net. The
Northern Irish defender really had no choice but to try to get a touch on the
ball with Hal Robson-Kanu bearing down behind him. The game petered out with the
same score, and it was heart-break for McAuley and the Northern Irish. Wales
were through, only just.
My Prediction:
Wales 2-0 Northern Ireland
Final Score:
Wales 1-0 Northern Ireland
Croatia vs Portugal
The truth, I switched off this game after 30 minutes. It was
that aimless!! A brilliant decision, having read that Portugal scored with the
second attempt on target in the whole game in the 117th minute! This
is not the free-flowing football we wanted see.
Not much to write about this match to be honest. It was
extremely disappointing with neither team able to keep the ball for long
spells. Pepe skied a free header early in the first half. Mandzukic too missed
a header early in the second half. Later, Vida missed an open goal from a free
header, with the Portuguese goalkeeper having run into his own defender, in an
attempt to get to the ball. The match skidded to a goalless conclusion after 90
minutes.
Deep into injury time, Perisic hit the post with another header.
From the resulting loose ball, Portugal broke with pace and numbers. Renato Sanches found Nani on the left flank,
who drilled a grounded pass to Ronaldo on the other flank. Ronaldo’s shot was
saved by the goalkeeper, but it fell kindly to Quaresma, in front of an open goal.
He headed in and Portugal had completed the unlikeliest smash-and-grab of the
tournament.
My Prediction:
Croatia 2-1 Portugal
Final Score:
Croatia 0-1 Portugal (after extra time)
Match Previews
France vs Republic of
Ireland
The Irish showed spunk against the Italians, although much
changed, in their last group game, to garb the win and ensure qualification to
Round 2. They would find it doubly difficult to get the better of the French
team. The hosts would be looking to put on a good show for the home fans. They
were on the front foot against Switzerland and were unlucky to only get a point
from that game. I can’t see past a French victory in this game, given how
Ireland struggled against a full strength Belgium.
My Prediction:
France 2-0 Republic of Ireland
Germany vs Slovakia
Germany haven’t got going in this tournament so far. Yet,
they’ll be happy with the results they’ve been eking out. They’ll need to keep
a check on Slovak danger-man Marek Hamsik, who can cause them a lot of pain if
in full flow. The Slovakian defense did an excellent job of negating the
English attack in their last group game, with Captain Martin Skrtel putting in
a Man of the Match performance. With Germans having failed to emphatically
break down any defense in the tournament, this match will a closely fought
affair. I’m with Germany to just edge it.
My Prediction:
Germany 2-1 Slovakia
Hungary vs Belgium
World number 2 Belgium have blowed hot and cold in this
tournament. They were impeccable against Ireland but haven’t done very well in
the other matches. Hungary, on the other hand have been a real surprise package
of the tournament. Unbeaten, with a win against Austria and having run Portugal
all the way, they’d probably be the team with higher spirits coming into this
game. I get the feeling that the Hungarians will ride on that good feeling and
get past this Belgium team, still struggling to become more than a collection
of individuals. As such, I think this will be the only upset of the second
round.
My Prediction:
Hungary 1-0 Belgium
Everyone is hoping for better matches on this second day of
the knockouts. Hopefully the teams come out of their defensive stupor and put
on an entertaining show for the fans. I’ll be back tomorrow with a round-up of
these matches. Till then, enjoy the football…
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