The breathtaking, the immaculate Ronaldo!
[Ed. Note: Once again, I apologize for the lack of daily updates from Euro 2008. To be honest, I really haven't watched any of the matches from the group stage and now that part is over. With this update I hope to get you ready for the Quarterfinals which start tomorrow.]Here I will preview(read: make stuff up) and formulate outcomes for each of the quarterfinal matches which run from June 19th to the 22nd.
June 19, Portugal vs. Germany: Portugal looked strong in their first two group matches and then gave up a meaningless loss to Switzerland in their final match in which the second string players saw most of the action for Portugal. They're facing the Germans in what should be a pretty much uninteresting match. Germany has looked flat in its past two matches and is going into the Portugal match with very little momentum. I think that the Germans will defend poorly, especially against the Fifa Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo. Look for the Portuguese to handle Germany with ease.
Prediciton: Portugal 2, Germany 0
June 20, Croatia vs. Turkey: Turkey was involved in the best match of the tournament, maybe even the year, when they scored 2 goals in 3 minutes for an unthinkable win over the Czech Republic, but Croatia is still the favorite in this matchup. The Croats won all their matches in the group stage, even though they didn't blow any team away, and have been playing more consistent and solid football than the Turks. Turkey won two matches in group stages, one already having been mentioned and the other against an inferior Switzerland team. Howevah, look for this to be a highly compelling match and for Turkey to pull the upset.
Prediction: Turkey 3, Croatia 2
June 21, Netherlands vs. Russia: The Dutch look to be the favorites of this tournament after their dismantling of group C, with a scoring margin of 9-1. Having defeated traditional powerhouses, Italy and France, very easily seems to bode well for Netherlands who are the complete package. As for Russia, KillaFam tells me that they are fun to play with on Fifa 08, and he beat me with them, so I'll give them a 10% chance in this match. They beat a fairly decent Sweden team in their final group match quite decisively. But, look for this to be mostly domination for the Dutch against the Russians.
Prediction: Netherlands 3, Russia 1
June 22, Spain vs. Italy: In the final quarters matchup, we have a tremendous Spain team against the last World Cup champion, Italy. The Spanish side has scored goals at will with a total of 8 in the group stage. Italy needed a win against France to keep their Euro 08 dreams alive, and won 2-0. Spain has excellent strikers in Fernando Torres and David Villa, who can strike the ball from anywhere on the pitch because of their brilliant precision. This is also a very fast team, or at least that's the case in Fifa 08, who can get into open spaces at anytime. Italy didn't look like the same team that won the 2006 Fifa World Cup in their first two matches, but returned to form in their win-or-go home match against the French. They are carrying momentum into this matchup and it should be a highly entertaining one. Look for this to be the best match of the quarters, maybe even for it to go into extra time, with Spain narrowly avoiding defeat.
Prediction: Spain 2, Italy 1
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