Lee Dixon says Croatia are on a roll and will beat Turkey.
Wee Gordon Strachan says there’s no time for coaching in a tournament, so top players just need a leader, like Klinsmann.
The quarter-finals are :
Portugal v Germany on Thursday on ITV1.
Croatia v Turkey on Friday on BBC1.
Holland v Russia or Sweden on Saturday.
Spain v Italy on Sunday.
England’s Howard Webb will referee tonight’s Greece v Spain game on ITV4.
Andrei Arshavin is back for Russia, having been suspended for Russia’s first two games.
Coached by Dutchman Dick Advocaat, Arshavin had a good second half in Manchester when Zenit St Petersburg beat Rangers to win the Uefa Cup. Dick told Rob Hughes what he said to Arshavin at half-time but said that remark was not for publication.
Arshavin is a creative left winger, a perceptive passer who can make goals. He is 27 but looks younger. I’m not sure how good he is. We may find out tonight if Guus Hiddink, another Dutch coach, can get the best out of him, as Dick Advocaat does, against a Swedish side who still play methodical English football more intelligently than we do.
Van Basten played eight reserves and beat Romania 2-0, after having already won the group.
Huntelaar stabbed in a good goal in 54, Van Persie took a ball on his chest in 86, jabbed the ball away from right back Contra with his right foot and smashed it in with his left. That goal will do him a lot of good. People have raved about RVP’s performance but he’s rusty and needs more games.
Italy 2 France 0 ?
The blundering Raymond Domenech put left back Abidal at centreback on a night when France were never in the game. Never in the game. Whatever anybody tells you, France were never in that game.
They lost Ribery with a knee injury in 10 minutes, Nasri replacing him. But Abidal stupidly brought down Luca Toni and got sent off in 26. Pirlo converted the penalty and poor Nasri was taken off after being on for only 16 minutes. The dreadful Boumsong came on at centreback. France were 1-0 down and he took off the only guy who knows how to play with Benzema, his most lively striker. Luca Toni missed six chances, which meant that France were still in the game until 62, when De Rossi’s 30-yard free-kick deflected of Henry’s boot and wrong-footed unconvincing keeper Coupet.
For Chelsea, Makelele never starts two games in a week. For France, he’s played on June 9, 13 and 17. And Maka was good last night. But why not use Lassana Diarra, an exceptionally mobile talent, a buzzy ball-winning playmaker who can intercept and pass in tight areas? Diarra was wholly ignored by a side that’s drawn 0-0, lost 4-1 and lost 2-0.
Domenech failed to rebuild, failed to give responsibility to younger players, failed to create new partnerships. And I thought the Italians were too backward-looking ! De Rossi is 24 and had 33 caps before the tournament started. Diarra is 23 and had only 12 and Toulalan is 24 and had only 12.
His France had no core, no concept., no style, no leader, no idea except to squeeze a few more games out of France’s greatest generation of footballers.
The magnificent Thuram has retired after 142 caps and so has Makelele. Their friends Vieira and Henry would be wise to do the same.
There was no dignity in being hammered 4-1 by a vibrant young Dutch team and when Domenech was faced by an all-or-nothing third group game, he picked Thierry Henry as captain. Say no more.
Are world champions Italy really contenders?
Gattuso, their bulldog , is suspended, and so is Pirlo, their quarterback.
Seems to me this Euro 2008 is about Croatia, Holland, Portugal and maybe Spain. Russia can’t defend. Turkey have flair but their temperament is suspect.
German coach Joachim Low, like Domenech, doesn’t know what he is doing, as he proved by picking the appalling Mario Gomez against Austria on Monday night.
Holland are on a roll and, as Lee Dixon says, Croatia are on a roll. Bilic’s boys are great because they are so patient. They keep passing to each other and don’t give you the ball back.They are in England’s World Cup qualifying group.
Talking about Italy coach Roberto Donadoni, his former Milan teammate, Marco van Basten said, “I’m happy for him and Italy that they have gone through, but tonight was about us. I’ve got a very good group. They work hard and laugh together; this makes us free. I don’t know where this will take us but I hope it will be a long way.”