Euro 2012 day eight: what we've learned

England has a team to be proud of again


Two summers ago, Wayne Rooney stormed off the pitch after a dismal England performance against Algeria, and angrily criticised his own fans to a waiting camera. A few days later England were on their way home from the World Cup, following a humiliating 4-1 defeat to arch rivals Germany. The fans were angry not upset; the press bayed for blood; the players hid from the spotlight. It's hard to imagine a time when the national team's popularity was lower.

Fast forward to Kiev in 2012 and after a nervy 3-2 victory over Sweden, England might just have won back the hearts of those same supporters that had seemingly deserted them after the South Africa debacle. For whilst England were far from perfect last night, they played with a spirit and determination that can only be admired.

Let's not pretend that this is anything but an average England squad. It doesn't have the star names of squads from yesteryear, and the young players it includes are promising without creating the kind of hype that Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney's inclusion in previous squads did. The manager, Roy Hodgson, has been in the job a matter of weeks and was recruited from mid-table West Brom, not head-hunted from one of Europe's premier clubs. But with expectations uncharacteristically low, England - as demonstrated last night - are punching their weight in an international tournament for the first time since perhaps Euro '96.

It was by no means a perfect performance - Hodgson will surely have been disappointed with the manner in which the goals were conceded - but the victory over Sweden should be celebrated, rather than a cause for concern. England scored three goals - something in itself many thought beyond them - but the telling factor was the quality of those goals. Have you seen a better header in this tournament than Andy Carroll's? A sweeter strike than Theo Walcott's? Or a more incisive move finished off with a piece of individual brilliance than Danny Welbeck's? And there was potential for more too, with Steven Gerrard prevented from scoring a great counter-attacking goal only by a superb save from Isaksson. 

Of course, the team looked far from assured at the back, but you only have to go back to the France game a few days ago for evidence that England can be solid and stubborn when they need to be. We should not dwell on the negatives. Instead, we should praise the team - and Hodgson - for the verve with which they attacked, the spirit they showed to battle back from going 2-1 down and, whisper it, the manner in which the players are conducting themselves with a sense of togetherness that was clearly lacking in South Africa.

The anger directed at England after South Africa and the indifference shown since can at last be replaced by pride. This England team may not go very far in this tournament, but it as least one the supporters can get behind and be proud to support. We have our England back.

Euro 2012 day three: what we've learned

And so the first weekend of Euro 2012 is over and thankfully, we're not bemoaning the lack of attacking football from the opening games as we were in South Africa two years ago. But apart from the fact that international teams have remembered how to attack again, what have we learned from the opening day of Group C?

Spain are beatable
There, I said it. Sorry to broadcasters across the world, but this Spanish team can be got at and Italy probably should have taken all three points today. The Italians are not fancied by many but today they were excellent both technically and tactically, and for long periods, Spain struggled to handle them. That difficulty was caused by Spain's tactical arrogance of playing six midfielders and no centre forward, which played into the Italians' hands. 

What was Del Bosque thinking? Call me paranoid, but I genuinely believe it was a move of bravura to demonstrate the fluidity of his Spanish team; to show they can easily do without such conventions as strikers, and will punish anyone that crosses their path with a blitz of short passing and rapid movement; 'we're Spain, come and have a go if you think you're hard enough'. It didn't work. Instead, it afforded Daniele de Rossi all the time in the world to spray the ball left and right, and to feed the imperious Andrea Pirlo. It will be interesting to see if we see the 4-6 formation again. I suspect not....

Andrea Pirlo is still class
Last summer Andrea Pirlo was seen as surplus to requirements at Milan. A club legend maybe, but everyone's time comes to an end and it was felt Pirlo's star was on the wane. But after winning Serie A with Juventus last season and today's brilliant performance, it's clear that there is still life in those twinkled toes of the Italian playmaker. 

Today's display of passing, pressing and maturity - his decision making nearly always spot on - was as good as I've seen from a central midfielder so far in this tournament, and we're in for a treat if we see a better one. The man oozes class and is exactly the calming influence that England don't have, nor have they ever had. He was a joy to watch against a fantastically talented Spanish midfield, and could be the key to Italy going further in this tournament than most of us imagined.

Ireland are out of their depth
As in, completely out of their depth. No pace, no subtlety and on the evidence of today's game against Croatia, absolutely no chance of going through to the knockout stages. 

Perhaps I'm being harsh on a team that draws most of its players from the lower reaches of the Premier League and the Championship, but their approach to today's game - knocking it long and hoping to win enough set pieces to nick a goal - seemed like something from another age. They struggled to keep the ball throughout the game and never really looked like getting much out of the game - bar a few corners. Simon Cox and Shane Long injected a bit of pace late on, and have to start in their next game if they are to improve on today's showing.

Peter Drury should not be allowed to commentate ever again
"Ireland's sheet has been stained". We all heard it, but let's close our eyes and remember the days when Brian Moore commentated on ITV and forget it ever happened eh? Please? Thank you.

Euro 2012 day one: what we've learned

Russia look quite good

Ok so admittedly the Czech Republic were pretty poor, but few can deny that Russia were very impressive in tonight's 4-1 victory. Arshavin looked interested for about the first time since the last European Championships, and Pavluchenko showed that he still possesses a hammer of a right-foot. Interestingly, the Russian team also included a player with "Alan" as a first name - something not even England have this year. We'll see if Alan and his mates are the real deal when they come to play one of the lucky two to emerge from the group of death.

Czech Republic look quite rubbish

A few bright spells excepted, the Czech's were pedestrian in pace and beige in creativity. Tomas Rosicky tried to influence the game, but with only the once-again-as-always-awful Milan Baros to aim for, his passes rarely found a worthwhile target. Surely they have someone other than Baros to try out up front? Surely? If not, they could well be making the short trip home at the end of the group stage.

Poland look ok, nothing more, nothing less

At times in the first half of today's game, they certainly looked like they could be more than ok, but they lost their way and seemed reliant on the partizan crowd being in full voice to really make them play. They will probably have to play better than they did today to have any chance against Russia, but they have some talented players - notably Lewondowski - and could well make it through to the quarters. It's difficult to see the co-hosts going further than that though.

Greece look a bit boring

Ok so they woke up in the second half when they needed to, but seldom have I seen such a negative start to a tournament. It's as if they were a caged animal that needed to be prodded with a big Polish stick in order to be brought into action. Even then their response was hardly one to strike fear into Russia or the Czechs. Actually, the Czechs will probably be scared of their own shadows after tonight. Much improvement needed if they're to go through.

And so day one is over with the group of death's first games to come tomorrow. It will be interesting to see who draws first blood, as a positive result in either game will set the group up nicely. Is it too much to ask for Cristiano Ronaldo to turn up to a tournament as well?