International Football

Euro 2012: Germany v Italy

June 28, 2012

Germany v Italy, 19:45 With Spain waiting in the final, as everyone thought they would be and having taken penalties to defeat Portugal, we’ll now get to see the defending champions defend their crown, and it’s down to Italy and Germany to decide who gets the honour of challenging them. Pre-tournament, you’d undoubtedly have picked [...]

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Euro 2012: Portugal v Spain

June 27, 2012

Portugal v Spain, 19:45 Iberia will hold its breath as the two best sides produced by that region in recent memory meet in a European Championship semi-final, which is a pretty big deal for Portugal at least. The Spanish superstars may have forgotten what it’s like to be nervous, but you can bet there will [...]

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Euro 2012: England v Italy Tips

June 24, 2012

England v Italy, 19:45 That legend of Italian football and all-around top man Paolo di Canio (0 caps for his country) has described this England side as being like an ‘Italian team from the 1980’s’, and when a distinguished, intelligent fascist (his words, not mine) like the Swindon boss speaks about international football the average [...]

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Euro 2012: Spain v France Tips

June 23, 2012

Spain v France, 19:45 As loudly as the French management protest that it is entirely normal for a squad to fight within itself, especially after a loss, the evidence would seem to suggest that this is not true of all squads, and the Spanish have spoken in the past about their own problems in overcoming [...]

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Euro 2012: Germany v Greece

June 22, 2012

Germany v Greece, 19:45 If you wanted to bet on one of the quarter-finals this is most likely the one you’d pick for a safe result. Greece may be a recent winner of this competition, but Germany are pretty much favourites to win Euro 2012 after picking up maximum points in their group, and the [...]

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Euro 2012: Czech Republic v Portugal

June 21, 2012

Czech Republic v Portugal, 19:45 The Czech Republic have a great tournament pedigree, especially when it comes to memorable moments in the European Championships, but this generation would probably admit things aren’t quite as good as they were. With that in mind, a team that no longer boasts the genius of a Nedved or Smicer [...]

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Euro 2012: Day Twelve Tips

June 19, 2012

England v Ukraine, 19:45 There has been none of the bravado that surrounded Rooney’s return in 2006, and some of that humility probably stems from the dead-headed manner of his sending-off. If the Luis Suarez handball against Ghana could be considered the most useful way to get sent off, Rooney’s stupid kick out at a [...]

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Euro 2012: Day Eleven Tips

June 18, 2012

Croatia v Spain, 19:45 Before the competition began there were some people wondering how the loss of David Villa would affect the Spanish system, and after the Italy game I think those questions had only got more difficult to ignore for Vicente Del Bosque. However, toward the end of that game Fernando Torres showed a [...]

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Euro 2012: Day Ten Tips

June 17, 2012

Portugal v Netherlands, 19:45 Holland have a fairly simple equation this evening, a win is required, and preferably a big one. For Portugal it is more complex, and the result in the other game in the group will dictate what they need to do, but a loss would certainly put them out. With that in [...]

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Euro 2012: Day Nine Tips

June 16, 2012

Czech Republic v Poland, 19:45 The simple fact for both of these sides is that a win would almost certainly be enough to qualify, and we all know how simple it is to get a result under massive pressure. With that in mind you can expect the home crowd, which up until this point had [...]

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